Goal: Teach professionals to use reference checklists and guidelines to ensure their content is clear, consistent, and tailored to the needs of their audience.
Using reference checklists and guidelines helps make your content clear, consistent, and easy to understand. These tools provide a simple structure for reviewing materials and improving them based on what learners really need. Here’s how to use them effectively when rewriting or adapting content:
1. Define the Purpose
Start by asking: What do I want the reader to know or do? Make a short checklist of the main goals of your content, such as clarity, avoiding jargon, or keeping information accessible. Keeping these goals in front of you will guide all your edits.
2. Follow a Style Guide
A style guide ensures everything looks and sounds the same across all your materials. You don’t need to use complicated academic ones—your organization can develop a simple one, covering tone, grammar, formatting, and preferred terms. If possible, agree on a shared plain language guide for all trainers.
3. Check Readability
Use online readability tools (like Hemingway or Flesch-Kincaid) to help you spot complex words and long sentences. A good checklist here would include: short sentences, everyday words, and a reading level appropriate for your audience (e.g., 8th-grade level).
4. Match the Audience
Adapt the checklist based on your learners. If they have lower literacy or are new to a topic, your checklist should include things like “no technical terms,” “simple instructions,” and “one idea per paragraph.” For professionals, you might keep some terminology but focus on clarity.
5. Improve Layout and Visuals
Your checklist should include design tips: use headings, short paragraphs, bullet points, and visuals. Avoid dense blocks of text. Make sure all visuals support the text—no unnecessary charts or overly complex graphics.
6. Do a Final Check
Before you share the final version, go through your checklist one last time. Look for spelling errors, tone consistency, missing steps, or visual clarity. If possible, ask a colleague or a learner to test the material. Their feedback is invaluable.
Reflective Task:
Create your own plain language checklist for your next training document. Use it to review one of your existing materials.
By following a simple checklist and using shared guidelines, you make your work easier and your content better for everyone.