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Use inclusive language
Professional writing should reflect social standards of courtesy and be inclusive of our diverse
population. Use the following principles:
Always analyze your audience, either by asking them directly and respectfully about how
they wish to be identified, by researching up-to-date sources, or by consulting experts in
your school, work, or volunteer setting. Seek advice for specific situations. See the
Progressive style guide and The Indigenous people: Guide to terminology in the
Bibliography for more examples.
When communicating, use examples that reflect a broad range of identities/the population
of Canada.
Use the singular “they”, not the former binary “he/she”. “They” is correct whenever the
person has not identified what their gender is or their gender is unknown.
Use the chosen words by those self-identified in the group. For example, “indigenous” is
the term used to include the First Nations, Inuit and Métis as the Indigenous Peoples of
Canada. Some indigenous people may also identify as being from a certain band, for
example, the “Burns Lake Band” or nation, for example, “Kwantlen First Nation”.
Consider how to identify disabled people for your specific situation. Many disabled
people prefer “identity first” language since their disability is simply one feature of their
personhood, for example, “an autistic person”. Follow these steps to accurately identify
people:
o Do audience analysis, as with all professional communications.
o Decide if the disability is relevant to what you are saying. If not relevant, don’t
include it.
o Decide if you can be specific and particular, for example, “Tajinder has anxiety
and will need a ride to our meetings”.
When referring to people in groups, consider using “people first” language, which is
currently the standard in business and government, for example, “KPU bursaries for
students with disabilities”. However, analyze the situation and audience as stated above.
Achieve readability
Whatever the reading or education level of your audience, your communications objective will
best be reached if you take the time to write simply, clearly, and concisely.
All good writing should be strong, simple, and concise, but academic writing is formally
different than business writing. See Appendix B for a comparison of academic and professional
writing.
Words: most are less than three syllables; not abstract; concrete examples. For example, don’t
say “too expensive”, say “it costs $1,000”.
Sentences: most are less than 15 words; one or two main ideas. Most paragraphs are 4–6 lines
(lines, not sentences).