Quick reference guide for Unity documentation

The Unity Style Guide provides detailed guidelines for creating content that is clear, concise, consistent, accessible, and usable. For a summary of the main points, refer to the following quick reference guide.

Guideline	Incorrect	Correct
Use US English spelling. To confirm spelling, refer to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.	Behaviour Centre Licence Analyse Draught Programme	Behavior Center License Analyze Draft Program
Use short, simple sentences. For concept or reference pages, use less than 25 words per sentence. For task pages, use less than 20 words per sentence.	Complex, ambiguous, or unclear English is more difficult to translate, making localization more time-consuming and also more costly and difficult to understand.	Simple, clear, and easy-to-understand English is faster and less costly to translate.
Use present tense.	The Inspector window will open.	The Inspector window opens.
Use articles (include “a”, “an”, or “the”).	Open Unity Editor.	Open the Unity Editor.
Use one precise action per sequential step.	Check the power and switch settings.	Check that the power is on Check the switch settings
Limit each sentence to one thought or action.	Unity performs the calculations for baked lights in the Unity Editor and saves the results to disk as lighting data in a process called baking, then at runtime, Unity loads the baked lighting data, and uses it to light the scene.	Unity performs the calculations for baked lights in the Unity Editor. The Editor saves the results to disk as lighting data. This process is called baking. At runtime, Unity loads the baked lighting data, and uses it to light the scene.
Avoid slang, idioms, sporting references, and humor. Instead, use descriptive names.	Edge case Pain points Home run	Rare Issues or problems Success
Spell out abbreviations and acronyms, and define them where necessary.	LOD is a technique that reduces the number of graphical operations that Unity requires to render distant meshes.	Level of detail (LOD) is a technique that reduces the number of graphical operations that Unity requires to render distant meshes.
Use consistent terminology.	Number, no., num. Member, customer, user Join, enroll, subscribe Enter, click, select	Number User Subscribe Select
Avoid ambiguous words or terms. Assign only one meaning per word.	Once you have saved the new animation clip asset… Since the mesh is made up of triangles… To test the test…	After you save the new animation clip asset… Because the mesh is made up of triangles… To check the test…
Use bulleted lists to present information in a way that users can scan. If you have several items listed in a paragraph use a bulleted list.	There are three render pipelines: Universal Render Pipeline (URP), High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP), and Built-in Render Pipeline.	There are three render pipelines: Universal Render Pipeline (URP) High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) Built-In Render Pipeline
Use tables to present information in a way that users can scan, for example, use tables on reference pages that describe multiple settings/options.	Refer to Tables for detailed guidance.	Refer to Tables for detailed guidance.
Avoid symbols and icons. Many, such as the check and cross marks, have different meanings in different cultures.	Thumbs up icon Check mark √	Approved or Yes Complete or Done
Combine multiple unnecessary words into single-word equivalents.	Put up with Stock up on Think it over	Tolerate Store Consider
Use active voice; give direct instructions.	A window is opened.	Open a window. Unity opens a window.
Be explicit and avoid ambiguity. Check for ambiguity if you use the following: Should, could, would We recommend Pronouns: it, this, that, these	You should only disable garbage collection during performance-critical parts of your application. This can help you optimize the memory usage of your app.	Disable garbage collection only during performance-critical parts of your application. Group objects into bundles to optimize the memory usage of your app.
Use punctuation appropriately and consistently.	Choose from two types of light: Point light, a light that is located at a point in the scene and emits light in all directions equally, Spot light: a light that is located at a point in the scene and emits light in a cone shape.	Choose from two types of light: Point light: A light that is located at a point in the scene and emits light in all directions equally. Spot light: A light that is located at a point in the scene and emits light in a cone shape.
Avoid over-modified nouns.	The staffing level authorization permission reassessment process should result in major improvements.	To achieve major improvements, the process reassesses the permissions that we need for staffing levels.
Avoid gerunds (…ing verbs).	Importing a GameObject	Import a GameObject
Use the Oxford comma	The buttons are blue, red, green and pink.	The buttons are blue, red, green, and pink.