All the templates are designed so that the content can be customised for your local context. Logos, images, text and language can all be updated without losing the consistency of the design.

This toolkit provides all core text for Learn English and Exams products. Introductory sample text for all activity areas has been provided on the Managers’ CD. Placeholder text is copy that has been placed into the template to give an indication of text appearance and the name of the associated style sheet.

Some layouts feature Latin text purely to give a visual representation: ask your designer to replace and/or update the placeholder text in the template with any final approved text you have written.

Broadly speaking, when you are writing text it should follow the structure and length of the introductory placeholder text where provided. When adapting this text be careful to maintain a similar tone of voice. Be relevant, clear, friendly, approachable, intelligent, confident, unpatronising and, above all, engaging. Please follow the rulings in the British Council’s Style Guide, which is included on the discs or can be downloaded below.

	British Council style guide (1.9 mb)
	British Council house style rulings (113 kb)

Clear English
http://bcnet.britishcouncil.org:8000/lets_be_clear/

Please note:
This web address is an internal website for use by British Council staff only and is password protected.

Plain English Campaign
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk

Writing for the web
http://bcnet.britishcouncil.org:8000/esd/write_website.htm

Please note:
This web address is an internal website for use by British Council staff only and is password protected.

These two documents contain details of our editiorial house style rulings. They are a mandatory part of the identity standards, which are covered by our corporate code of practice. The style guide includes advice about grammar and about the various spellings, usages and definitions that commonly cause uncertainty, difficulty or disagreement. There is also guidance on the use of plain English and alternatives to undesirable management-speak.

Before you start writing copy, it will help to think about who your specific target audiences are and what you have to offer them.

Marketing messages are a good way of catching your audience’s attention and summarising your offer succinctly. They should:

be short and snappy and directly related to the customers you’re targeting

show your customers that the British Council offers what they are aspiring to achieve and not just the product you’re promoting

be no more than ten words in length.

When translating text into a non-Roman language, the text on document covers must be justified left as shown below.