This resource is an archived version of the Readability Guidelines.
New wiki is at: readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org
Go to the Contractions page.
Recommendations
Some organisations are reluctant to use contractions, but others favour using them as they can make content sound more conversational and friendly.
Use contractions like you’ll and we’ll. Positive contractions have not been observed to cause difficulty for users in usability testing that we know of.
Avoid negative contractions, like 'shouldn't', 'can’t' and 'don’t'. Research shows that many users:
- find negative contractions difficult to read
- misread them as the opposite of what they say
Usability evidence
GOV.UK Writing for web guidance, UK Government website, 2016
GOV.UK 'Writing content for everyone', UK Government website, 2016
GOV.UK Verify and the government Design Standards UK Government website, 2016
Using contractions, US Government website, 2011
Using contractions, US Government website, 2015
'Why contractions are perfect for web writing', 2015
'How to make information accessible', 2016
'Use contractions', 2018
'Contractions', 2017
'Using contractions could be making your writing inaccessible', Joanne Schofield, 2017
'Contractions' Canadian Government website, 2018
In #techcomm it is common to not use contractions at all. This is largely due to the reasons you pointed out about confusing people, but I believe they may also pose problems when translating to certain other languages. I've no evidence to back this up, but when I worked for Schneider Electric (huge multi-national), we had a system that would check for words and phrasing that were not allowed. I remember it highlighted contractions as something that should be avoided.
If research shows that only negative ones are problematic, that's music to my ears. But would be good to consider that translation angle.
At NHS.UK, we've seen evidence in medicines information that 'Do not' is clearer (as well as more emphatic) than 'Don't'.
Gov uk and home office visa research - we started to challenege idea contractions are “ok” or “ok when used like this or only this type” - some confuse non english speakers and, following on from sarah richard’s blog that accessibile content is fundamentally clear content, Like idea of re-thinking approach.
I tend to just don’t use them - keeps it.
Why do we use them? Tone / less words on page? / simpler? You can manage all these aspects via better design and content generally.
A GDS blog about GOV.UK Verify.
"In our research, however, we found people would sometimes misread some types of contractions like ‘don't’ and ‘can't’. This was a serious problem as they could end up making the wrong decisions in the interface. This could mean, for example, that they end up at a certified company that can't verify them. Using the long form of ‘do not’ and ‘cannot’ makes the all-important ‘not’ clearer, and prevented these mistakes."
https://identityassurance.blog.gov.uk/2016/03/31/gov-uk-verify-and-the-government-design-standards/
In short:
This is all prefaced with a reference to their informal tone of voice.
https://developers.google.com/style/contractions
"Do not use contractions such as ‘don’t’, ‘isn’t’, ‘can’t’ in news stories (except in direct quotes). Spell it out: do not, is not, cannot etc." While this implies it is only negative contractions, a separate section on who's versus whose says "This is relevant only for direct quotes since it is our policy otherwise not to use contractions."
No reason is given.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/journalism/news-style-guide/article/art20130702112133530
This has a guide called 'Use contractions' that says "Use common contractions, such as it’s, you’re, that's, and don’t, to create a friendly, informal tone."
Microsoft has a tone of voice principle that says "We’re natural. Less formal, more grounded in real, everyday conversations. Occasionally, we’re fun. (We know when to celebrate.)"
The guide also says to avoid mixing contractions and in full versions, never form an apostrophe s contraction like Microsoft's that means Microsoft is, and avoid "ambiguous" contractions like "there’d, it’ll, and they’ll".
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/word-choice/use-contractions
GDS blog about writing for people with lower levels of literacy who may also have dyslexia, poor vision and learning difficulties. There is a section called "Punctuation can slow people down" that says people struggle with contractions and apostrophes.
https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2016/02/23/writing-content-for-everyone/
The US government guide has a 'Use contractions' section that says "Contractions make your writing more accessible to the user. Research shows that that they also enhance readability." The research cited was about readability in novels.
It also says "Use contractions with discretion. Just as you shouldn’t bullet everything on a page, you shouldn’t make a contraction out of every possible word. Don’t use them wherever possible, but wherever they sound natural."
https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/conversational/use-contractions/
In their voice and tone guide, 18F say to use contractions to "As a government organization, we need to sound somewhat official; we also recognize that official doesn’t need to translate to stuffy, archaic, or aloof."
https://content-guide.18f.gov/voice-and-tone/#use-contractions