Google Style Guide

Attribution: This skill adapts material from the Google developer documentation style guide, © Google, licensed under CC BY 4.0. The content here has been condensed and restructured into skill form. As a derivative work it is distributed under the same CC BY 4.0 license — not MIT.

Quick Start

Apply Google's documentation style guide principles to technical writing:

• Use active voice and present tense
• Write clear, concise headings
• Use numbered lists for procedures, bulleted lists for non-sequential items
• Put conditional clauses before instructions

Core Principles

• Clarity first: Write for software developers and technical practitioners
• Consistency: Follow project-specific > Google > third-party style guides
• Accessibility: Use inclusive language and consider global audiences
• Timeless: Avoid time-specific references; use "currently" or "as of [date]"
• Reader-focused: Prioritize user understanding over strict grammatical rules

Common Patterns

Voice and Tense

Use active voice and present tense. Example: "The API returns..." not "The API will return..."

Headings

Use sentence case for headings. Make them descriptive and actionable.

Lists and Procedures

• Numbered lists: For sequential steps
• Bulleted lists: For non-sequential items
• Start each item with a capital letter

Code and UI Elements

• Use code font for code elements, filenames, and UI elements
• Use bold for UI elements users interact with
• Use descriptive placeholder names like YOUR_PROJECT_ID

Worked Example

Several rules usually apply at once. Before/after for a typical doc sentence:

Before: "Once the Configuration File has been Edited by the user, the changes will be applied by the system and the build process will then be triggered."

After: "After you edit the config file, the system applies your changes and triggers the build."

What changed: passive → active voice; future → present tense; title case → sentence case; wordy clauses tightened; filename in code font.

Review Workflow

When reviewing a doc, make one focused pass per concern rather than reading once and hoping to catch everything:

1. Voice & tense — rewrite passive/future-tense sentences as active present tense.
2. Structure & headings — sentence-case headings; numbered lists for steps, bullets otherwise.
3. Formatting — code font for code/filenames/UI, bold for interactive elements, descriptive placeholders.
4. Inclusive & timeless language — flag biased terms and time-specific phrasing (see references).

Reference Files

For detailed documentation, see:

• references/language-grammar.md - Voice, tense, pronouns
• references/formatting.md - Dates, numbers, lists
• references/inclusive-language.md - Accessibility guidelines

Notes

• Official guide: https://developers.google.com/style
• Third-party references: Merriam-Webster (spelling), Chicago Manual of Style
• When in doubt: Choose clarity over strict rule adherence