Writing Sample
Microcopy & error messages, before and after
The three case studies show the strategy. This page is just the sentences: the small, easy-to-get-wrong UI text that decides whether someone finishes a task or calls support. Specimens below are drawn from patterns I've written and rewritten across healthcare, federal, and e-commerce-style flows, restated here without client-confidential specifics.
Error Messages
Before
"Error: Invalid input. Please try again."
After
"That doesn't look like a valid email — check for a typo after the @."
Before
"An unexpected error has occurred. Please contact your administrator."
After
"Something broke on our end, not yours. Try again in a minute — if it keeps happening, contact support."
Button Labels
Before
"Submit"
After
"Send my request"
Before
"Yes" / "No" (on a dialog asking whether to delete an account)
After
"Delete my account" / "Keep my account"
Empty States
Before
"No results found."
After
"No appointments match those filters. Try widening the date range, or clear filters to see everything."
Status Messages
Before
"Your request is being processed."
After
"We've got your request. Most take under 24 hours — we'll email you the second it's done."
Why This Matters
None of these before-versions are technically wrong. They're just written for the system, not the person reading them under stress: the moment something failed, or they're not sure they clicked the right button, or they're staring at a blank screen wondering if it's broken. The fix is rarely more words. It's naming the actual thing that happened and the actual next step, instead of a generic placeholder a developer typed in five seconds and never revisited.
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