Writing · Free lesson
Game English: report text that gets cut off
A game menu looks fine until you switch languages. Part of a button label disappears beyond its edge. The UI teammate needs a reproducible observation, not just The Spanish is broken.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Say where the text is cut off: In build 0.8, with Spanish selected, the pause-menu label is cut off at the right edge of the button. Then state the expected display: The full label should be visible.
Report the visible symptom and the tested setting.
Is cut off describes text that is partly hidden or clipped. It does not automatically mean the translation is wrong. Use at the right edge to name the location, and with Spanish selected to name the interface language. Separate actual from expected: what you can see now versus what the intended display should show. Include the build and steps supplied by your test. Do not say all languages are affected if you tested only one, or prescribe shorter translation as if the cause were already known.
Compare the examples
In build 0.8, select Spanish and open the pause menu.
The final letters are cut off at the right edge of the button.
The full label should be visible inside the button.
Wrapping onto a second line is not the same as clipping. If all the words remain visible, describe the line break instead of claiming that letters are missing.
Build the meaning step by step
Give the test scope
Build 0.8, Spanish, pause menu.
Describe the exact symptom
The end of the label is cut off at the right edge.
State the intended display
The complete label should fit inside the button.
Try it now
Describe what is visible
Read all answers and explanations
The last letters disappear beyond the button edge. Which description fits?
The label is cut off at the edge.Cut off describes partial clipping; the other choices invent causes or broader scope.
You tested Spanish only. Which statement preserves that scope?
I observed the clipping with Spanish selected.With Spanish selected names the tested condition without claims about untested languages.
The label uses two lines, but every letter is visible. Which description fits?
The label wraps onto two lines.Wrapping means moving to another line; clipping hides part of the text.
Put it into practice
Write a useful UI report
Given: build 0.8, Spanish selected, pause menu. The label “Volver al menú principal” has its final letters hidden at the right edge of the button. The full label should be visible. Other languages have not been checked.
The Spanish is broken. Make every translation shorter.
See a model answer
In build 0.8, select Spanish and open the pause menu. The final letters of “Volver al menú principal” are cut off at the button’s right edge. The full label should be visible.
A useful report preserves what was observed without inventing a cause or the outcome of unperformed tests.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Does localized mean translated correctly?
No. Localized describes adaptation for a language or region. Whether the wording is accurate and whether it displays fully are separate things to check.
The localized label is accurate, but its final word is cut off.
What if I suspect the button is too narrow?
Label that as a possibility, separate from the observation. Let the teammate investigate the appropriate fix rather than presenting a guess as a confirmed cause.
The button may be too narrow, but I haven’t confirmed the cause.
Take it into your day
Name the tested setting, visible clipping and expected display.
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