Style guide: Social Security Tribunal of Canada decisions

By adopting the following strategies, you will be able to write legally sound, plain language decisions.

Clarity is the main goal. Right at the beginning, tell your readers what you have decided. This will help them follow you as you explain your reasoning behind your decision because they will already know what to expect. Along the way, you can pause to explain any unfamiliar legal wording or concepts.

Here are tried-and-tested strategies for writing plain language decisions.

Start with a solid structure

A solid structure will serve as the backbone for your decision. Organizing your ideas well will communicate them clearly.

The most recent decision templates in Atrium give you solid examples for how to structure your decision.

Follow the point-first approach at every level

Give the most important information first, not only at the document level (the decision as a whole), but also at the paragraph and sentence level. This is called the point-first approach.

You should be able to follow the progression of the decision by reading only the topic sentences (first sentences) of each paragraph. When read in order, the topic sentences should give a summary of the decision. So, stick to one main idea per paragraph. There is no harm in having short paragraphs of simply one sentence or a few sentences.

Example:

Draw attention to important information

Long, dense paragraphs can be daunting. Information should be easy to find. One way to draw attention to information is to create white space. There are a few ways to do this.

Use headings

Use headings as signposts.

Headings tell your readers what is next. They should be short and easy to understand. Try to keep them to one line.

Headings should never contain findings that aren’t fleshed out in the paragraphs.

Main headings give your readers the general layout of the decision. Different divisions may use different headings. Here are some examples:

Subheadings and sub-subheadings should be contextually relevant. Adapt them to each decision and the readers’ needs.

Use lists

You can use a list if you need to mention at least three related items or pieces of information. The white space and bullets or numbering will direct your readers to each point.

Example:

A list can be especially helpful when reporting a series of events or presenting the points from someone’s testimony or arguments. A list can also help you avoid repeating speech verbs.

Example:

See Lists for a description of how to make lists.

Use bold font

Use bold font (not italics) to draw your readers’ attention to a word or phrase.

This is especially helpful when highlighting a key word you want to explain and when drawing your readers’ attention to a contrast.

Example:

Write how you speak

Write as if you were speaking, but adapt your writing to your readers’ needs.

Contractions

You may use contractions that people use when they speak (example: can’t, I’m, there’s). However, use good judgement in deciding whether contractions will help your readers. Contractions could confuse your readers if they have low literacy skills.

We recommend using contractions for common negated auxiliaries. These types of contractions can prevent misunderstandings. For example, readers could easily skip over the “not” in “is not” and read it as an affirmative. This doesn’t happen when the negation and the verb are expressed as one word, such as “isn’t."

The Supreme Court of Canada uses contractions for common negated auxiliaries in its Cases in Brief.

Use:

• isn’t (is not) / wasn’t (was not)
• aren’t (are not) / weren’t (were not)
• can’t (cannot) / won’t (will not)
• don’t (do not) / didn’t (did not)
• hasn’t (has not) / haven’t (have not)

Avoid complex contractions because they can be harder for people with low literacy skills to understand.

Don’t use:

• shouldn’t (should not)
• should’ve (should have)
• couldn’t (could not)
• could’ve (could have)
• wouldn’t (would not)
• would’ve (would have)
• mustn’t (must not)

Note: Don’t use a contracted negated auxiliary when contrasting elements and emphasizing the negation.

Example:

Transitions

You can use transitional markers to create flow and cohesion between sentences and ideas.

Use transitions to:

• clarify (example: for example, in other words, that is)
• conclude or summarize (example: so, this means)
• compare and contrast (example: but, likewise, on the other hand)
• show consequence (example: because of this, for this reason, as a result)
• give further details (example: also, and, besides)
• emphasize a point (example: in fact, again, above all)
• show sequence (example: first, second, finally, afterward, meanwhile)

Use short sentences

Express only one idea in each sentence. Instead of trying to convey a complex idea in a single sentence, break it up into smaller parts and make each one the subject of its own sentence.

Keep the subject, verb, and object close together. The natural word order of an English sentence is subject-verb-object (example: The Appellant appealed the decision).

When you put modifiers, phrases, or clauses between these essential parts, you make it harder for readers to understand you.

When introducing a condition, it is best to start the sentence with “if” (or any other limiting conjunction). This helps the reader understand the relationship between the clauses.

Example:

Use the active voice

Using the active voice means that the subject of the sentence comes first and performs the action that the rest of the sentence describes.

The active voice is the most straightforward way to present your ideas because it creates a clear image in the reader’s mind of who is doing what.

In the passive voice, the target of the action gets promoted to the subject position.

Example:

The passive voice may be a good choice only when:

• we don’t know who did what
• who did it isn’t relevant
• we want to emphasize what was done rather than who did it (example: The Claimant was hit by a car.)

Use common words

Whenever possible, choose words that are likely to be more familiar to the reader. You are the expert of your case, and you know best what your parties will easily understand.

Generally, avoid:

• Latin-based words when appropriate
  • Instead, use Anglo-Saxon terms and expressions when possible.
• abstract language
  • This includes idioms and cultural references (example: dead tired, ball in their court).
• legal wording
• complex medical terminology

Here are some examples:

Explain legal wording

Sometimes, it isn’t possible to avoid legal wording. If you use legal wording without explaining it, your readers may not understand your decision.

Here are some strategies:

Paraphrase

Introduce the legal wording; then explain it in different terms in the following sentence or sentences. You can use transitional markers to tell your readers that you are rephrasing the legal wording for clarity.

For example, use:

• This means
• In other words
• So
• That is

Since the legal wording is left intact, you may not have to add a footnote.

Although this strategy could lengthen your decision, clarity is the focus in plain language writing.

Example:

If the legal wording is more complex, explain or substitute it by using more accessible wording. Then, use a footnote to make a clear link between the accessible wording and the established legal wording. In the footnote, explain the legal wording and reference the relevant legislation or case law.

Example:

This strategy is similar to the early English legal practice of using legal doublets to address audiences with different linguistic and legal backgrounds (example: will and testament, bind and obligate). In a sense, you are drawing from tradition by applying an old technique to a modern context to help make justice accessible.

Parentheses

In parentheses, give a plain language synonym for the legal wording. This works best when you need to clarify a single legal term.

Example:

Note: If you are unsure how to explain legal wording in plain language, talk to your vice-chairperson or to Legal Services.

Avoid unnecessary words

Keep your text light and easy to read by avoiding unnecessary words. You can do this by:

• simplifying prepositional phrases into single words
• cutting excess modifiers
• omitting redundant words

Here are some examples:

Avoid nominalization

Readers will understand your message more clearly when you choose verbs over verb-noun phrases.

Here are some examples. We have also included a plain language alternative when possible:

Avoid excessive negation

Writing in the negative creates another obstacle to understanding the text. It is important to present information using positive terms when possible; using the affirmative can help with this.

Example:

When a sentence contains two negations, they cancel each other out (example: not unavailable for work). This could result in a meaning that is the opposite of what you intended.

At times, there isn’t a way around using two negations (example: “not disentitled” doesn’t necessarily mean “entitled” in the Employment Insurance context). However, you should avoid or explain these whenever possible.

Many ordinary words have a negative meaning (example: unless, fail to, except, excluding, other than, terminate, void, insufficient, unemployed). Watch out for them when they appear after “not.”

Punctuation

Oxford comma

Use the Oxford comma. It is the comma before “and” at the end of a list within a sentence.

Example:

Ellipses

Use ellipses (three dots  … ) to indicate that you have omitted text from a quote.

• Do: Put the ellipsis in square brackets if the omitted text is in the middle of the quote, or if you are omitting an entire paragraph.
• Don’t: Use square brackets if the omitted text is at the end of the quote; instead, add an extra dot to signify a period, when required.
• Don’t: Use ellipses at the beginning of a quote, even if the quote begins mid-sentence.

Example:

Capitalization

Parties

For parties:

• Do: Capitalize the first letter when you are referring specifically to the individual claimant, applicant, appellant, respondent, or added party. Consider it a substitute for their name.
• Do: Capitalize a specific employer at the beginning when they are a party.
• Don’t: Capitalize the first letter when you are referring to claimants, appellants, employers, etc. from other cases or in the generic sense.

Examples:

Organizations

For organizations:

• Do: Capitalize the title of all official names of organizations, levels of government, departments, and agencies.
• Do: Capitalize short forms of the full title of government bodies when they stand for the full title.
• Don’t: Capitalize generic names of organizations.

Examples:

Official documents

For official documents:

• Do: Capitalize the names of official documents and forms when referring specifically to the document itself.
• Don’t: Capitalize the shortened or generic names of official documents.

Example:

Medication

For medication:

• Do: Capitalize the first letter of brand name medication (example: Advil).
• Don’t: Capitalize the first letter of generic medication (example: ibuprofen).

Abbreviations

Avoid abbreviations if possible. It can be difficult for readers to keep track of what a technical abbreviation means.

If your decision mentions only one piece of legislation, consider writing “the law” and explaining in a footnote that you are referring to the Canada Pension Plan, for example.

If you can’t avoid abbreviations, give the term in full the first time you use it and include the abbreviation in parentheses immediately after. There is no need for quotation marks or other words in the parentheses.

Example:

If your decision mentions a few different laws, you may be able to give them one-word shortened forms that don’t include initials.

Example:

If you have to choose a more precise abbreviation to distinguish laws, choose a well-established abbreviation that gives more information for a non-legal audience. In the following examples, readers will at least know from the abbreviation that you are referring to legislation. That isn’t clear from “EIA,” “EIR,” and “DESDA.”

Examples:

Once you note the abbreviation, refer only to the abbreviation in the rest of the document; don’t revert to writing the full term. However, treat footnotes differently. People don’t always read footnotes as they read the paragraph text. So for accessibility, it can be helpful to establish the abbreviation in the footnote too.

Don’t give a term an abbreviation if the term appears only once in the document.

Italics

If possible, avoid italics because they can be difficult to read.

Do italicize:

• styles of cause (example: Villani v Canada (Attorney General), 2001 FCA 248)
• the shortened names of cases (example: Villani)
• full names of statutes and regulations (example: Department of Employment and Social Development Act, Employment Insurance Act, Canada Pension Plan, Social Security Tribunal Regulations)
• foreign words that have not been anglicized (example: sic, res judicata)

Don’t italicize:

• the abbreviated names of statutes and regulations (example: the Act, the CPP)
• the names of programs (example: Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, Employment Insurance benefits)
• for emphasis; use bold instead

Verb tenses

Present tense

Use the present tense when referring to opinions, thoughts, feelings, etc. that are still current. This includes instances when parties state their arguments.

Examples:

• The Appellant believes that the General Division made an error.
• The Minister argues that the General Division didn’t make an error.

Use the present tense for the Tribunal’s analysis and conclusion.

Example:

• The Tribunal finds, concludes, notes, determines, etc.

Past tense

Use the past tense when referring to written submissions and when there is a time marker.

Examples:

• In her application, the Applicant failed to say why she wanted to appeal.
• In its written response, the Commission argued that the Claimant wasn’t entitled to benefits.

Use the past tense for testimony and submissions given during the hearing.

Example:

• At the hearing, the Respondent explained that there was no basis for this argument.

Past perfect

Use the past perfect to indicate that an action was completed before another event in the past. It is important to use this tense to create a logical timeline when describing events.

Example:

• When the Appellant called his doctor, he had been sick for a week.

Spelling

Make sure to set your default language to English (Canada).

• Click on the language icon “Language” icon in Microsoft Word in the Review tab and select “Set Proofing Language….”

In addition to Word’s spellcheck, you can check your spelling using Antidote.

Numbers

Spell out one-digit numbers and use numerals for the rest (example: 10 and above).

Examples:

• The file contained nine medical reports.
• The file contained 20 medical reports.

But, for consistency, one-digit numbers should be expressed as numerals if other numbers in a given sentence or passage are numerals.

Example:

• Out of the Claimant’s 16 jobs, 11 were manual labour, 2 were childcare, and 3 were administrative.

When a sentence begins with a number, always spell it out or rearrange the sentence.

Avoid ordinals when possible (example: write “tenth anniversary” not “10th anniversary”). If you must use an ordinal, don’t superscript it.

Dates

Use only cardinal numbers in dates (example: write “April 8, 2020,” not “April 8th, 2020”).

Use a comma before and after the year when citing a date in full, even if the date is used as an adjective (example: The April 8, 2020, report by Dr. Turner).

Lists

Lists give the information your readers need in an easy-to-follow way. A long paragraph can be overwhelming. If you need to mention at least three related items or pieces of information, use a list.

Use lists to express points that are more easily grasped separately than together.

Put a colon (“:”) at the end of the lead-in sentence or phrase. It tells your readers that a list is coming. Try to keep the lead-in sentence and the listed items on the same page.

If you need to make it clear that your list is inclusive, use wording such as “the following” in the lead-in sentence.

Example:

Note: Bullets should align with the text above. The indentation is normally 1.27 cm for first-level bullets and 1.9 cm for second-level bullets.

If you need to make it clear that your list is exclusive, use wording such as “at least one of the following factors.”

Example:

Give the items in a list so that they are parallel (example: all begin with a noun or verb, all are questions, etc.).

Capitalize items in a list only when the lead-in and all the items are independent clauses, meaning they can stand alone as sentences, as in the example in the “Do write” column above. End the items with the appropriate punctuation mark.

Use bulleted lists “Bullets” icon in Microsoft Word for items that don’t have to be in a specific order.

Example:

Use numbered lists “Numbering” icon in Microsoft Word for items that have to be in a specific order, such as a timeline of events. Generally, we recommend using lower-case letters in numbered lists so readers don’t confuse a list number with a paragraph number.

Example:

Spaces

An easy way to spot spacing issues is to select the “Show paragraph marks and other hidden formatting symbols” option at Paragraph under the Home tab. 

Make sure the spacing is consistent throughout the document.

Add only one space between the period and the first word of the next sentence.

Non-breaking space

A non-breaking space is the same width as a word space, but it prevents the text from flowing to a new line or page. Use non-breaking spaces (Ctrl + Shift + Space) to avoid an awkward break. With the “Show paragraph marks and other hidden formatting symbols” option selected, a non-breaking space looks like the degree symbol (“ ° ”).

Use a non-breaking space:

• between a numeral and its unit (example: 45°kg, 6°p.m.)
• between a title and a name (example: Dr.°Singh)
• between the month and the day (example: February°15, 2020)
• after reference marks (example: section°2, para°45, paras°4 and 5)

This style guide also describes how to use the non-breaking hyphen.

Decision templates

The SST uses formatting that helps with readability. Before you start writing your decision, make sure you use the most recent decision template. Use the templates in Atrium so that your decisions are consistent with other SST decisions in how they look and read.

Using Atrium decision templates has benefits:

• They have the right formatting built in.
• They often set out the legal tests.
• Some are already in plain language.

Avoid using an old decision as a template.

Word “Styles”

Templates have Microsoft Word “Styles” (not macros) built in for your different formatting needs. You should be able to click on the Style you want. The Styles bar is under the Home tab. It usually looks like this:

The sections below describe the formatting features of a decision template. We will point to Styles where they are available in templates.

Margins

• Title page: Narrow – 1.27 cm
• Body of text: Normal – 2.54 cm

Page numbering

• centred at top of page, with no hyphens or special symbols (example, simply: 2)
• no page number on cover page
• decision starting on page 2

Font type and size for paragraph text

• Arial, 12-point font

Line spacing

• 12-point spacing after each paragraph
• 1.5-line spacing within and between paragraphs

Click on the “Line and Paragraph Spacing” icon in Microsoft Word icon or the corner arrow in Showing where to find the “Paragraph Settings” icon in the Microsoft Word menu for line spacing options.

Main headings

Use the built-in headings in the decision templates. The Style is called “Heading.”

Example: Decision

Formatting specifications:

• Arial, 16-point font
• bold
• 1.0-line spacing with 0 point before and 12 point after
• only first letter of first word capitalized
• not underlined (underlining for hyperlinks only)
• not numbered (numbers only for paragraphs)
• keep-text-together options selected

Subheadings

Use the built-in subheadings in the decision templates. The Style is called “Subheading.”

Example: Capable of and available for work

Formatting specifications:

• Arial, 14-point font
• bold
• 1.0-line spacing with 0 point before and 12 point after
• only first letter of first word capitalized
• not underlined (underlining for hyperlinks only)
• not numbered (numbers only for paragraphs)
• keep-text-together options selected

Sub-subheadings

Use the built-in sub-subheadings in the decision templates. The Style is called “Sub-subheading.”

Example: – Wanting to go back to work

Formatting specifications:

• non-bold en dash (“–”) at beginning (hold down Ctrl and type “-” key on number pad or hold down Alt and type “0150” on number pad)
• Arial, 12-point font
• bold text
• 1.0-line spacing with 0 point before and 12 point after
• only first letter of first word capitalized
• not underlined (underlining for hyperlinks only)
• not numbered (numbers only for paragraphs)
• keep-text-together options selected

Paragraphs

You must write within numbered paragraphs.

Use the built-in paragraph format in the decision template. The Style is called “Default.”

Example: [1]     I am allowing the appeal.

Formatting specifications:

• Arial, 12-point font
• 1.5-line spacing with 0 point before and 12 point after
• left justified (click on the “Align Left” icon in Microsoft Word icon)
• paragraphs numbered sequentially in square brackets, starting from 1
• paragraph numbers aligned with headings

Footnotes

• Arial, 10-point font
• 1.0-line spacing with 0 point before and 0 point after
• left justified (click on the “Align Left” icon in Microsoft Word icon)
• not indented

Quotations

Short quotes (fewer than five lines)

Embed the quote directly into the paragraph.

Example:

If “that” comes before a quote within a sentence, don’t capitalize the first word of the quote (unless it is part of a proper noun). Also, the first letter of the word should be in square brackets if it is written differently than in the original text.

Example:

Place punctuation inside the quotation marks.

Example:

Long quotes (five lines or longer)

Try to avoid long quotes. There is usually no need to copy and paste legislation or case law word for word because you will need to explain the technical wording anyway. Try paraphrasing the quoted text in plain language and referencing the source material in a footnote. See Explain legal wording for strategies.

Example:

However, if a long quote is unavoidable:

• set the quote apart from the rest of the paragraph
• use 1.0-line spacing “Line and Paragraph Spacing” icon in Microsoft Word
• 12-point spacing after the quoted text
• indent the quote 2 cm on each side
• left justify the quote “Align Left” icon in Microsoft Word
• put the first letter of the first word in square brackets if it is written differently than in the original text

Example:

Keeping text together

Sometimes a heading, sentence, or word appears on its own at the end of a page or on a new page. (If you are using the templates, the different levels of headings will have the keep-text-together setting built in.)

To keep text together:

• select the dangling heading or text
• right-click and select “Paragraph…” or click on the corner arrow in Showing where to find the “Paragraph Settings” icon in the Microsoft Word menu
• go to the “Line and Page Breaks” tab
  
• select
  • “Widow/Orphan control,” “Keep with next,” and “Keep lines together” for headings, lead-in sentences for lists, and the last paragraph of the decision*
  • “Widow/Orphan control” and “Keep lines together” for sentences and words

* This keeps the last paragraph with the member’s signature and division information.

Non-breaking hyphen

A non-breaking hyphen (Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen) is called the “hard hyphen.” It keeps a hyphenated word together as a whole on the same line. Use it when a hyphenated word (example: re-read) or file name (GD-XX-XX) gets broken at the end of a line.

This style guide also describes how to use the non-breaking space.

For a more in-depth review of the topics covered in this guide, we recommend you consult the following reference tools. Note that some tools address writing for certain contexts that may not apply to your situation.

Terminology and writing guidelines

The Canadian Style

Canada.ca Content Style Guide (focus on web-publishing)

Termium

Suggestions for the portrayal of people with disabilities – General guidelines (ESDC)

Tips for gender-inclusive writing (Termium)

Canadian Oxford Dictionary

Language Portal of Canada

Referencing guidelines

Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (“McGill Guide”) – latest edition (no online version available)

Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (“McGill Guide”) Queen’s University summary

Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (“McGill Guide”) University of Alberta summary

Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation (“McGill Guide”) Carleton University summary