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Checklist

Content Strategy Basics

UI copy is clear, consistent, and serves user goals — not internal jargon.

Platform: bothTags: content, copy, writing, ux-writing, microcopy

Check

All UI strings: (1) use plain language (8th grade reading level for general audiences), (2) are consistent — same action always uses the same verb, (3) use active voice, (4) have no jargon unexplained to new users, (5) use second person ("your") not third ("the user"), (6) button labels are verb-first ("Save changes" not "Changes saved").

Why This Matters

Johnson's reading-is-unnatural principle: users scan UI text, not read it. Every word that doesn't immediately communicate value is friction. Jargon and inconsistent terminology cause confusion that no amount of visual design can fix.

Category

Content

Priority

important

How to Verify

Copy audit: screenshot every screen. Read each string aloud. Flag: anything you would need to explain to a non-technical friend, any passive-voice string, any label that is a noun not a verb.

Source Topic

ux psychology

Reading Is Unnatural

Why reading requires deliberate effort and how UI design can support or hinder it