We write for many reasons – to keep track of our possessions, to plan shopping trips, to reflect on our lives, to aid our memory, to share the words to songs, poems or plays, or perhaps to engage in the art of literature.
We may do this in the written forms of any language we choose. For over seven hundred years Scots speakers have written in Scots.
In this guide we explore many of the topics adult Scots speakers encounter when coming to write Scots for the first time, particularly in the context of writing in an encyclopaedic tone. That is where your writing is to communicate information, rather than to engage in artistic expression.
If you are keen to get started, we have compiled the most essential guidance on these first few pages - but, if you are interested in developing your writing in Scots, we would recommend that you work your way through the entire guide.

Pairt o the Scots Warks project.