The style guide is a resource for Malala Fund staff when writing external-facing content. It provides direction on tone, style, grammar, punctuation, word usage and more. Following these guidelines will help us:

• Make our messages more clear, compelling and effective; 
• Ensure our writing reflects the organisation’s attitudes and values;
• Reduce reputation risk to our organisation, our co-founders and partners; 
• Save staff time spent on copy-editing and revising; 
• Use language that is inclusive and respectful;
• Create a cohesive voice across multiple authors; and 
• Increase awareness of Malala Fund’s work. 
  

The language and grammar choices we make matter. 

If there are errors and inconsistencies in our writing, our supporters could lose confidence in our credibility and competence. If we don’t have a strong, united voice across the brand, our audience may not remember our work or connect with our mission. If we don’t understand the origins, histories and meanings of the words we use, we might use language that reinforces racism, colonialism or gender discrimination. 

Words have the power to engage, educate and inspire — but they also have the power to oppress, alienate and stereotype. This style guide will help you think critically about the language you use. While you can apply this guidance to any external-facing content, always keep in mind your audience and use the style and language that will resonate with them. 

It’s important to remember this is a living document. Language and grammar evolve and we will update this guide as we continue to learn and reexamine how we talk about our work.

When we’re writing, the tone we use expresses Malala Fund’s attitude toward our work, the girls we serve, our supporters and our world. Read what you’ve written and make sure your words convey the tone described below. Ask yourself what kind of feeling your writing provokes.

Hopeful

• Girls can achieve amazing things when given the tools they need to grow.
• When girls complete 12 years of school, the future is brighter for them, their families, communities and for all of us.
• Malala Fund and our supporters are excited about making a difference.

Ambitious

• We challenge systems, policies and practices that keep more than 122 million girls out of school.
• The girls we serve have high goals for themselves — and we have high expectations for the leaders who can help them achieve their goals.
• We want to provoke action, not guilt or pity.

While tone reflects our organisation’s attitude, style reflects how we think about our audience. We want to present our information, arguments and stories in a manner appropriate for both the readers and the purpose of the writing.

Malala Fund has an important, inspiring message — and we need to make it accessible to the widest possible audience. Constantly check and revise to make sure your writing is direct and engaging.

Direct

• Our vision is simple: a world where all girls can learn and choose their own futures. And, in most cases, keeping our language simple is the smartest way to get our message across.
• We avoid clichés, vagueness and complex language.
• We use as few words as possible to express our ideas. We make every word count and remove any unnecessary text.
• We make an impression with the strength of our arguments. We say what we need to say, then stop writing.
• Getting all girls into school requires complex policy change and financing. While we acknowledge complexity, we strive for straightforward language to describe the path to global girls' education.

Engaging

• We want everyone — government officials to girl scouts — to feel they can participate in a breakthrough for girls around the world.
• We don’t alienate readers with jargon and acronyms.
• We are straightforward, optimistic and ambitious. We are not hyperbolic or hand-wringing.

Here are some short examples of how to revise your writing to be consistent with our tone and style.

Example 1:

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Original

The right to education is not negated by war — but the reality is that in 2015 some 80 million children aged 3–18 had their education disrupted by conflict and natural disasters; 37 million of those children are out of school.

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Revised

A child does not lose her right to education because her country goes to war. But, in 2015, conflict and natural disasters forced 37 million children out of school.

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Let’s discuss…

The original first sentence — “The right to education is not negated by war” — takes girls and young women completely out of the picture. The revised opening sentence puts the girl and her rights at the heart of the argument.

Next in the original text, we have three sets of numbers — 80 million children, ages 3–18 and 37 million children. We know that using too many numbers reduces reading comprehension — and we know we’ll lose readers by using three numbers inside a single paragraph. For clarity and impact, we revise down to the most relevant statistic.

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Example 2:

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Original

Secondary education is a right and it brings huge proven returns to the children, their communities and wider society. It is a strong foundation for empowerment and sustainable development.

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Revised

Girls' secondary education is one of the best investments we can make. Multiple studies prove that increasing girls’ secondary education leads to economic growth, healthier communities, respect for women’s rights and more. When girls complete 12 years of school, they are less likely to marry young and more likely to have healthy children.

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Let’s discuss…

Surprise! The revised version is longer than the original. That’s not a typical outcome — but in this case we want to add evidence to back up our argument. The original version is nonspecific and vague. The revised version helps us to “show not tell” and demonstrate exactly what returns secondary education provides.

Strong, smart organisations clearly define their goals — and these goals form their identity. Malala Fund’s team should be able to describe our work with clarity and confidence. Below are some blurbs you can use to describe Malala Fund where appropriate.

About Malala Fund (boilerplate)

Malala Fund is working for a world where all girls can learn and choose their own futures. Through grantmaking and advocacy, we strengthen girls’ right to secondary education and unlock the resources needed for all girls to enjoy this right. Learn more at malala.org.

What we do

Strengthening rights: We advocate for governments and global institutions to uphold girls’ right to secondary education and implement the policies needed to realise it. We also protect girls’ right to learn when crises interrupt their education. 

Securing resources: We advocate for governments and global institutions to increase education funding and invest the resources to realise girls’ rights.

How we work

Grantmaking

Through Malala Fund’s Education Champion Network, we invest in civil society organisations to advocate for policies that ensure girls can access and complete school in places where they face the biggest education barriers. We reserve at least 20% of our grants for organisations led by girls or young women.

In crises, we act swiftly to protect girls’ right to education by mobilising grants to organisations that keep girls learning and prevent them from dropping out.

Advocacy

Malala Fund advocates for bold policies and increased education funding to ensure every girl can access and complete school. Our global advocacy confronts two critical challenges to girls’ education: rollbacks in gender equality and girls’ rights, especially in Afghanistan, and unjust global financing systems that restrict lower-income countries’ ability to invest in education.

In Nigeria and Pakistan, we advocate directly alongside grantee partners to ensure policies and government budgets enable more girls to access and complete secondary school.

Why girls’ education?

Secondary education for girls can transform communities, countries and our world. It is an investment in economic growth, healthier communities, lasting peace and the future of our planet.

• Girls’ education strengthens economies and creates jobs. If all girls could complete secondary school, it would mean millions more working women with the potential to add up to $30 trillion to global growth each year.
• Educated girls are healthier citizens who raise healthier families. Girls who complete secondary school are more likely to earn more, marry later, raise healthier children and lead in their communities. Women with secondary education earn twice as much as those with no education.
• Educated girls drive climate resilience in their communities. Education equips girls with the know-how to help communities adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. In countries that invest in girls’ education, significantly less people die from droughts and floods.
• Investing in girls’ education leads to more equitable, peaceful and resilient countries. Educating girls for 12 years can help break cycles of poverty, strengthen public institutions and fuel long-term development.

Our leadership — biographies and headshots

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is co-founder and board chair of Malala Fund. Malala began her campaign for education at age 11 when she anonymously blogged for the BBC about life under the Taliban in Pakistan's Swat Valley. Inspired by her father's activism, Malala soon began advocating publicly for girls' education — attracting international media attention and awards.

At age 15, she was attacked by the Taliban for speaking out. Malala recovered in the United Kingdom and continued her fight for girls. In 2013 she founded Malala Fund with her father, Ziauddin. A year later, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts to see every girl complete 12 years of education. Malala graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.

Ziauddin Yousafzai

Ziauddin Yousafzai is a co-founder and board member of Malala Fund and Malala’s father. For many years, Ziauddin served as a teacher and school administrator in his home country of Pakistan.

When the Taliban invaded their home in Swat Valley, Ziauddin peacefully resisted their efforts to limit personal freedoms. Speaking out put Ziauddin at risk, but he feared remaining silent would be far worse. Inspired by her father’s example, Malala began publicly campaigning for girls to go to school.

In October 2009, The New York Times filmed a short documentary about Ziauddin and Malala’s fight to protect girls’ education in Swat. Due to her increased prominence, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban two years later. Malala survived and was transported to the United Kingdom for treatment. Ziauddin, his wife, Toor Pekai, and their two sons joined Malala in Birmingham.

Determined to continue their campaign, Ziauddin and Malala founded Malala Fund in 2013. Together they champion every girl’s right to 12 years of education.

Some grammar and usage questions come up a lot. Here are some of the most common mistakes — and how to fix them! Malala Fund’s style is loosely based on the AP Stylebook. We have listed below where we diverge from AP. As language and grammar evolve, we will continue to update Malala Fund’s style.

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Malala Fund-specific style choices

Malala Fund

Not The Malala Fund or the Fund or MF (These are fine for internal messages or legal docs, but not in public-facing communications.)

Malala Fund's work

Grant types: We award three types of grants — Education Champion Network, global advocacy and education in emergencies. 

Education Champion Networks: Use the full term “Education Champion Network partner”, or “ECN partner” on second instance. Avoid using “Education Champions” or “Champions” as a standalone term, as we invest in organisations rather than individuals. 

Registered countries: Use "Malala Fund Pakistan" and "Malala Fund Nigeria" when referring to our two registered country programmes. In Pakistan we are registered as an international NGO, and in Nigeria we are registered as a private company. You do not need to make this distinction unless it’s necessary for legal or business documents. 

Non-registered countries: When describing activity in non-registered countries, refer to it as Malala Fund’s work in that country. We do not have “country programmes” or “offices” in non-registered countries. In public content, you can refer to them as “focus countries”. Examples: Malala Fund supports advocacy in Tanzania to raise the minimum age for marriage. Through our Education Champion Network, we invest in civil society organisations in five focus countries.

Global advocacy priorities: Our global advocacy efforts focus on 1) getting gender apartheid recognised as a crime under international law through our Afghanistan Initiative, and 2) reforming global debt to unlock resources for girls’ education through our Debt Justice for Girls Initiative. Do not abbreviate the initiatives’ names in public content (e.g. AI or DJ4G).

Drop “www” before web addresses.

malala.org

Not www.malala.org‍

Don’t use “developing countries” or “third world countries.”

There is no set definition for “developing countries,” and we should avoid using terms that don’t have a clear meaning. Terms like “developing countries,” and “third world countries” are also loaded with colonial baggage; they reinforce a discriminatory narrative of the superiority of “developed” or “first world” countries and fail to acknowledge the root causes of the issues and inequalities. 

Instead, be specific about what countries you mean when grouping them together. Using “low-, middle- and high-income countries” works when the country’s income is relevant to what you’re discussing, e.g., GDP. If discussing the negative effects of colonisation, acknowledge that history by using “formerly colonised” or a similar term.

We capitalise Black and White when referring to racial identity.

Capitalising Black is the preference of many in the Black community. Capitalising White ensures that White is not framed as the standard and calls attention to the ways in which Whiteness affects our society and institutions. You can read more here.

Use “enslaved” as an adjective, not “slaves” as a noun.

People weren’t slaves; they were enslaved. Using “enslaved” as an adjective ensures we are using people-first language, which stresses the humanity of individuals and separates a person’s identity from their circumstances. Use “self-liberated” or “self-emancipated” instead of “escaped” when referring to enslaved people.

Capitalise “Indigenous” when referring Indigenous peoples or any aspect of their culture. 

Use the term “Indigenous peoples” (plural!) to show that more than one distinct group comprises the Indigenous population. If you are using “indigenous” to mean originating in a region, then it should be lowercase (for example, sunflowers are indigenous to North America).

Use the lowercase “quilombola” when referring to Afro-Brazilian communities originally formed by self-liberated enslaved people.

We use the lowercase term in line with common usage in Brazil.  

We don’t italicise or put in quotes non-English words. 

Italicising or putting in quotes non-English words “otherises” those languages and reinforces colonial practices of imposing English as the dominant language. 

Don’t overuse capital letters in titles and headings.

Caps are harder to read. When titling documents or sections, take out caps except for proper nouns and the first word after a colon.

Bad: Rights in Jeopardy: How the International Community Should Respond to the Girls’ Education Crisis in Afghanistan
Good: Rights in jeopardy: How the international community should respond to the girls’ education crisis in Afghanistan

Write lists of countries in alphabetical order.

We support civil society organisations in Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania.

Use U.S. style dating with the month listed first. 

October 31, 2024

Use British English when spelling. Common words we use and how we spell them:

• organisation, organise
• programme
• enrolment, enrol
• centre
• analyse
• travelled, travelling, traveller
• labour
• empathise
• Note: use "practice" when used as a noun and "practise" when used a verb. Dr. De Soto has a dental practice for animals.  I practised Spanish ahead of the exam.

Note: When quoting or excerpting writing from a person who does not use U.K. English, keep English spellings consistent with their preference.

Use metric measurements and Celsius temperatures. 

The endnotes citations appear collectively at the end of a paper, starting on a separate page and labelled as “Endnotes.” If two notes for the same source follow one right after the other, you may use the abbreviation "Ibid." for the corresponding note.

Digital reports

1. Publishing organisation (YEAR) Title of Resource. Link to resource

Example

1. UNESCO (2016) Global Education Monitoring Report 2016. Education for People and Planet: Creating Sustainable Futures for All. http://unesdoc. unesco.org/images/0024/002457/245752e.pdf

2. Ibid.

Books

1. Author last name, first name (YEAR) “Chapter title” in Book title. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example:

1. Schultz, T. Paul (1993) “Returns to Women’s Schooling” in Women’s Education in Developing Countries: Barriers, Benefits, and Policy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

When translating Malala Fund content into other languages, keep “Malala Fund” in English for brand consistency.

Always indicate when we have translated a quote or piece of writing into English and disclose its original language in an editor’s note. 

When we update a News & Voices post with corrections, add a correction with the date and explain the error. 

Correction: July 13, 2020

An earlier version of this article featured a miscalculated statistic. Malala Fund’s report estimates that 20 million more secondary school-age girls could be out of school after the COVID-19 crisis has passed, not 10 million.

Grammar

Never (never!) use passive voice.

In passive voice, the target of the action gets promoted to the subject position. Passive voice weakens the clarity of your writing.

Here’s a formula for identifying passive voice:

form of “to be” + past participle = passive voice

Passive: Talia had been attending school until her parents were unable to pay the tuition.
Active: Talia attended school until the tuition proved too expensive for her parents.

Passive: When her family was forced to flee, Nayir wondered where she would go to school.
Active: When fighting in Mosul forced her family to flee their home, Nayir wondered where she would go to school.

Passive: A number of insights are indicated by these results.
Better: These results indicate a number of insights.
Better: Our analysis yielded a number of insights.

Cut out adverbs.

Adverbs add clutter and reduce clarity in your writing. Try to take them out and use a stronger verb. Tip: most adverbs end in “-ly” like “expertly,” “incredibly” and “literally.” When you see an adverb, delete it and rewrite the sentence if needed.

Bad: Barry ran really fast to catch the train.
Good: Barry sprinted to catch the train.

Avoid split infinitives.

Bad: Lebanon’s spending on the refugee crisis demonstrates the country’s commitment clearly to helping Syrians. Better: Lebanon’s spending on the refugee crisis clearly demonstrates the country’s commitment to helping Syrians. 

Punctuation 

Use “girls’ education” not “girls education.”

Malala Fund supports girls’ education around the world. 

Don’t use the Oxford comma or serial comma.

While many distinguished and beloved teachers may have taught you the opposite, now is the time to break the habit! To give a more rapid feel and better flow to the text, modern writers omit the serial comma, except in cases where it is needed for clarity. 

‍I bought bananas, bread and milk.

Fun fact: Not even Oxford uses the Oxford comma anymore! Check out the University of Oxford style guide (pages 12 and 13) for comprehensive comma-related advice.

Know the difference between an em dash, an en dash and a hyphen.

An em dash is a versatile punctuation mark. A single em dash can replace a semicolon. A pair of em dashes can be used to replace commas or parentheses, enhancing readability. 

An en dash is between a span of numbers.

An em dash, an en dash and a hyphen are not interchangeable.

— This is an em dash.

The heads of Commonwealth nations — including Pakistan, India and Nigeria — agreed to provide a full 12 years of quality education for all children.

– This is an en dash. 

I just finished chapters 2–7 of Matilda.

- This is a hyphen. 

There are more than 122 million out-of-school girls.

Most editors — and all that follow AP style — insert a space before and after the em dash. Read more about the differences between an em dash, en dash and hyphen here. 

A compound modifier consists of two (or more!) words connected by a hyphen, which act together like one adjective. The general rule of thumb is if they appear before the noun, they need hyphen(s). If they appear after the noun, they do not.

There are 122 million out-of-school girls. There are 122 million girls out of school.

She works full time. She has a full-time job.

After a period (or any other punctuation mark to end a sentence), use only one space, not two.

Use U.S. or U.K. in text (with periods) and US or UK in headlines (without periods).

When writing a statistic that involves a percentage, use the % sign. 

Today only 46.6% of women participate in the labour market, compared to 76.1% of men.

When referring to money, use numerals. For cents or amounts of $1 million or more, spell the words cents, million, billion, trillion etc. There is no need to include the word “dollar” as you already used the dollar symbol.

$26.52, $100,200, $8 million, 6 cents. 

Use quotation marks around the titles of books, songs, television shows, plays, computer games, poems, lectures, speeches and works of art. 

Taylor Swift sang “All Too Well” at the concert.

Do not italicise, underline or use quotations around the names of magazines, newspapers or books that are catalogues of reference materials. 

The Washington Post first reported the story.

When referring to Washington, D.C. the letters D.C. each get a period since they are abbreviations for the term District of Columbia.

Use ellipses to indicate that a quote has been condensed for clarity. Include spaces on either side of the ellipsis, and do not add spaces between the dots. 

“I use technology to engage my class … so that they can participate in the digitally driven world.”

Note: Always include an editor’s note disclosing that quotes in an article or interview have been edited for clarity.‍

Writing fundamentals

Spell out numbers one through nine; use numerals for numbers above 10.‍

Malala Fund pushed for the Sustainable Development Goals to increase from nine to 12 years of education for all children.

There are exceptions to this rule — like ages of people, addresses and a few others. But generally, numbers below 10 are spelled out.
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People’s ages are given in numbers.

Hannah Orenstein, 25, is a published recipe writer.
Muzoon, a 17-year-old Syrian refugee, spoke at the London Conference.

If the age is used as an adjective or as a substitute for a noun, then it should be hyphenated. Don’t use apostrophes when describing an age range.

A 21-year-old student. 

The student is 21 years old. 

The girl, 8, has a brother, 11. 

The contest is for 18-year-olds. 

He is in his 20s.

In giving ages for inanimate objects or other things, spell out through nine and use figures for higher numbers.

In Syria, the five-year conflict is displacing millions of children.
The Global Partnership for Education is 20 years old.

Use “nearly” when you want to magnify an amount. Nearly $1,000,000. 

Use “less than” to minimise the sum. Less than $1,000,000. 

A more neutral approach is “about.” About $1,000,000.

Use “more than” not “over.” 

More than 122 million girls are out of school around the world.  

Write “policymakers” and “policymaking” as one word — and “decision-makers” and “decision-making” with hyphens. 

“Amount” applies to things that cannot be counted.

Hamza prepared a large amount of soup, in a great number of bowls. 

Use “like” not “such as.”

We use tools like videos and petitions to engage supporters on social media.

Don’t be afraid to start sentences with “and” and “but” when it makes your writing less stilted and more accessible.

Look out for word repetition.

With the exception of proper nouns (names, titles, etc.), try to avoid using the same word in a paragraph. Use a synonym or rewrite the sentence to avoid repeating words.

Avoid buzzwords and overused words.

Some words are used so much that they become meaningless. Readers gloss over these words because they’ve seen them so many times.

Some examples of words the comms team will edit out of your writing: empower, groundbreaking, cutting edge, utilise (just say “use”). 

Be specific in naming barriers that keep girls out of school in their communities. Do not invoke assumptions about wealth, social norms or quality of life in our focus countries. 

Original: Growing up in Pakistan, Ayesha had to fight to go to school.

Revised: Ayesha’s neighbourhood in rural Sindh, Pakistan, lacks safe, paved roads. Sometimes school buses can’t reach her because of poor road conditions, and she has to walk 5 miles to school.

Choosing the right image or video is a big decision! We want our visuals to match the girls that we serve: strong, empowered and deserving of voice in global decisions that impact their lives. 

Malala Fund photos and videos are:

• Real: We only use photos and videos of secondary school-aged girls who are impacted by our programmes, who have signed a release form allowing us to use their image. (For minors, parents will sign the photo release.)
• Engaging: We use photos and videos that are empowering, inspiring and surprising.
• Dignified: We use photos and videos that preserve the dignity of the young women portrayed.
• Contextually accurate: We use photos and videos that are specific to the content they’re paired with. For example, we would not pair an article about Beirut with photos of the Beqaa valley. 
  

Crediting photos

All Malala Fund photos on News & Voices need credits. Usually this information will be included in the file where you find the photos — or in the photo information itself (right-click or control-click to find this). 

Most photos should be credited with photographer’s name and organisation name, like this:

(Courtesy of Mahina Martinson / Malala Fund)

Some photos need to include additional information:

(Courtesy of Malin Fezehai / HUMAN / Malala Fund)

If you are sharing photos with partners or journalists — or anyone else — for public use, make sure you send them the proper caption info and make sure they use it.

Malala Fund's IT policy strongly cautions staff using Chat GPT and other AI-infused applications. Please refer to the policy for more details on employee responsibilities around using AI. If you choose to use AI for writing or editing support in your work, you are responsible for checking the accuracy and quality of the content and should follow the guidelines below.

• Never input sensitive or confidential information into AI applications as this violates both the Employee Code of Conduct and Malala Fund’s Confidentiality Agreement, which apply to all staff. Anything that should not be public information should not be shared on any open AI platform (e.g., personal information about our grantees, co-founders, or other staff members; sensitive financial data). 
• When using AI-generated facts, statistics or data, always independently fact-check them with reputable sources to prevent publishing false or misleading information. Include citations or source links in public content.
• Do not copy and paste text directly from AI applications without checking and adapting the output. AI-generated text may be copied from an existing source, and publishing it as your own work would be considered plagiarism.  
• When using AI for writing or editing support, watch out for prejudice or bias in language. AI models reflect the prejudices and biases of the people who build them.

You will find a lot of helpful writing and grammar tools online. Here are some of our favourites:

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Hemingway Editor

This site makes your writing bolder and more clear by highlighting unnecessary words, identifying phrases with a simpler alternative and more!

University of Oxford Style Guide

This is a helpful guide, particularly for Americans in need of help with British spellings.

AP style guide

Malala Fund’s style is loosely based off of the AP style guide. If you don’t want to purchase the book, Purdue has a free basic guide to AP.  

Conscious Style Guide: Ethnicity, Race + Nationality

This resource provides guidance on how to write using inclusive and respectful language. Subscribe to the Conscious Language Newsletter for great monthly updates. 

Disability Language Style Guide

Writing about disability is complicated and requires sensitivity. This guide covers almost 200 words and terms commonly used when referring to disability.

Compound’s Lightweight Guide To Editing

This short guide will help you edit like a professional so that you can tighten up your own and others’ work.

GLAAD Media Reference Guide

This guide contains resources for storytelling centring LGBTQ+ people and issues.