Writing Style Guide

Audience

We write for

• Policymakers, funders, and development professionals

• Technologists, regulators, and researchers with interest in AI, health, and governance

• Readers with limited time and mixed levels of technical background

• Your writing should bridge strategic depth and clarity - think smart, not academic.

Tone & Voice

• Clear, concise, strategic

• Direct, active voice preferred

• No filler, no hype

• Jargon-free - if you must use a technical term, explain it briefly

• Think: your sharpest colleague explaining something well, not a professor lecturing

Use:

• Oxford comma

• Inclusive language (singular "they", gender-neutral examples)

• Second person ("you") when appropriate

Avoid:

• Untranslated acronyms

• Passive constructions unless they genuinely improve flow

• Long, wandering paragraphs - keep it skimmable

Structure

Use:

• Headings every 3 - 5 paragraphs

• Frequent line breaks

• Transitional phrases to link ideas

• Bullet points or tables where useful

• Subheadings with lowercase (e.g. how AI is shaping procurement)

Example headings structure:

Understanding compute governance

Gaps in current global frameworks

Policy tools emerging in Africa

What’s next for Neuravox

Article Length & Format

• Policy briefs: 800 - 1,200 words

• Memos or explainers: 1,200 - 1,500 words

• Rapid reflections/op-eds: 600 - 900 words

• Research summaries: Short + linked references

Include:

• A short summary box up top (2–3 sentences max)

• Author bio at the end (max 5 sentences)

• Links to sources (don’t use academic footnotes - hyperlink instead)

Examples of Transitional Phrases

Use these to guide readers between ideas

Referencing

• Link only the most specific part of a sentence

• Link facts, claims or frameworks

• Limit footnotes to 5 max (if used at all)

• Use hyperlinks, not academic citations

• Don't link the author’s name or bio

Stylistic Conventions

Region-Specific Clarity

• Don’t generalize. Say “In Uganda…” not “We’ve seen...”

• Clarify regional context especially when discussing regulation, funding or public health systems.