Apple Hig Writing

---
name: apple-hig-writing
description: Use when drafting or reviewing interface labels, instructions, empty states, errors, settings, or other product language for Apple-platform tasks.
---

# Write the action and the remedy people need

Read [Writing](../../references/writing.md). Inspect the actual flow, terminology, audience, component, device/input, and requested design/review/adaptation scope. Preserve product meaning and existing voice while changing copy. If a screenshot omits the triggering behavior, qualify the interpretation rather than inventing an error cause.

Identify the person's current question: what happened, what can I do, or what should I enter? Put that information first. Use clear action verbs and link destinations; keep terminology/capitalization consistent across entry, continuation, and completion. Adjust seriousness to context without changing the product's identity. Name the correct input action for the target device rather than telling a TV viewer to tap.

Choose the surface along with the words. An ordinary correction belongs near its field; urgent required attention may justify an alert. Label every field and provide usable formats/examples. If an error repeats, inspect whether the interaction can prevent it before polishing the message. Empty states should offer a useful next action, but essential permanent instructions should not exist only before content arrives. Settings should describe their enabled behavior and link directly where possible.

Remove needless words, ambiguous responsibility, perspective shifts, and culture-bound cleverness. Read revised copy aloud and check it in the actual component; concise wording that conceals consequences is not an improvement. Consider screen-reader access and shared/distant displays.

**Before → decision → after:** A booking form says “Oops! Invalid” after rejecting a time, with “Click here” below. Decision: the person needs the permitted time and an action. After, a nearby message reads “Choose a time between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM,” and the control says “Choose another time.” The same term “appointment” persists through confirmation.

Deliver replacement strings in context or the updated artifact, explaining meaningful behavioral assumptions. Fail if a label hides its outcome, correction still gives no remedy, or translation/large text removes essential meaning. Source review establishes wording, not actual localized pronunciation or screen-reader behavior unless tested.

Use [Inclusion](../apple-hig-inclusion/SKILL.md) for assumptions and representation, [Privacy](../apple-hig-privacy/SKILL.md) for purpose strings, or [Accessibility](../apple-hig-accessibility/SKILL.md) for semantic access.