# Source: https://www.mintlify.com/docs/guides/style-and-tone.md

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.mintlify.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Style and tone

> Write effective technical documentation with consistent style.

<Tip>
  This page explains stylistic choices, common mistakes, and implementation tips for writing technical documentation.
</Tip>

## Writing principles

* **Be concise.** People are reading documentation to achieve a goal. Get to the point quickly.
* **Clarity over cleverness.** Be simple, direct, and avoid jargon or complex sentence structure.
* **Use active voice.** Instead of saying "A configuration file should be created," use "Create a configuration file."
* **Be skimmable.** Use headlines to orient readers. Break up text-heavy paragraphs. Use bullet points and lists to make it easier to scan.
* **Write in second person.** Referring to your reader makes it easier to follow instructions and makes the documentation feel more personal.

## Common writing mistakes

* **Spelling and grammar mistakes.** Even a few spelling and grammar mistakes in your documentation make it less credible and harder to read.
* **Inconsistent terminology.** Calling something an “API key” in one paragraph then “API token” in the next makes it difficult for users to follow along.
* **Product-centric terminology.** Your users don't have the full context of your product. Use language that your users are familiar with.
* **Colloquialisms.** Especially for localization, colloquialisms hurt clarity.

## Tips for enforcing style

Leverage existing style guides to standardize your documentation:

* [Microsoft Style Guide](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/)
* [Splunk Style Guide](https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/StyleGuide/current/StyleGuide/Howtouse)
* [Google Developer Documentation Style Guide](https://developers.google.com/style)

When you know which writing principles you want to implement, automate as much as you can. You can use  [CI checks](/deploy/ci) or linters like [Vale](https://vale.sh).

## Related pages

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    Choose the right content type for your documentation goals.
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    Make your documentation accessible to more users.
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    Learn text formatting and styling options.
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