The ten rules that matter most

Version: 1.0 · Status: 2026-09-18 · Structural model: Microsoft Writing Style Guide – Top 10 tips (CC BY 4.0) · Normative basis: Microsoft Writing Style Guide; Merriam-Webster for spelling

If you have no time for the full guide, follow these ten rules. They cover the decisions that come up most often.

This version is not a translation of the German guide. Several rules differ, because English and German set different conventions. Where they conflict, the English rule applies here.

Open with the main point. Put keywords at the start of sentences and paragraphs so they stand out when the page is scanned.

Cut every word that carries no meaning. Short sentences read faster than long ones — but never shorten a technical statement until it becomes imprecise.

Carry the sentence on a verb, not on a chain of nouns. Name who does the thing.

Customer-facing content uses you; the company is we. Do not switch person within a text. English has no formal/informal distinction — where German chooses Sie, English simply uses you.

Use a technical term correctly or not at all. Established English terms stay as they are (key exchange, hash, commit, ML-KEM). Spell out an acronym on first use.

Capitalize the first word and proper nouns; everything else stays lowercase. Title Case is not used in this documentation set, even though it is common elsewhere in English.

Headings, subheadings, button labels and short list items take no closing punctuation. A question mark is acceptable where it fits the content.

This is the opposite of the German rule. In English, place a comma before the final and or or in a list of three or more.

• Quotation marks: „…“ (curly double quotes); single quotes inside a quotation.
• Dash: the em dash — set without spaces, or an en dash with spaces. This differs from German, which uses only the spaced en dash.
• Decimal separator: the point (3.5 GB), not the comma.
• Thousands separator: the comma (1,000,000).
• A space between number and unit: 5 kg, 100 MB, 50% takes no space in US usage.

Give evidence instead of emphasis. Describe risk precisely and without alarm; make a promise only when it is covered. Avoid superlatives and marketing phrases.

Editorial guide of The White Knight Labs. Structure follows the Microsoft Writing Style Guide (© Microsoft Corporation, CC BY 4.0); the rules and examples are written for this documentation set.