Writing for Easy Reading

1. Writing for Easy Reading Janet S. Kurzynske Associate Professor, University of Kentucky

2. TheSituation

3. National Adult Literacy Survey 1992 26,000 American adults • Skills assessed individually in 3 literacy domains – prose, document and quantitative • Levels of literacy 1 = 0 -225 no or minimum 2 = 226 – 275 3 = 276 -325 4 = 326 -375 5 = 376 – 500 can extract and use complex information

4. Prose Data

5. Document Data

6. Quantitative Data

7. The Overall Picture • About 21% - 23% adults have the lowest level of prose, quantitative, and document literacy skills • Additional 25% - 28% people have the next level (2) of literacy skills • About 50% adults have the lowest 2 levels of literacy • Only 18% - 21% of respondents have the two highest level in prose, quantitative and document literacy

8. Vulnerable Populations • Elderly – start to drop at age 50 • Minority • Immigrants • Limited resource • Mental/physical health conditions • Stressed • Lack of use will drop 3 – 5 grade levels

9. Public Assistance and Literacy • Welfare recipients with the same level of education as other adults tend to have significantly lower basic skills.

10. Barriers to Consumer Understanding • Terms • Illness and medicines • Stress and/or fear • Visual/hearing impairment • Negativity of materials • Level of literacy

11. What Is It Like?

12. What Is It Like? • Aoccding to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the word as a wlohe and the biran fguiers it out aynawy.

13. What Do Capable Readers Want? • Most people want informational reading to be quick and easy. • Communicate with consumers in plain language. Don’t make the materials hard to read.

14. Reading Process

15. Reading Process • Sight words • Decoding • Context clues • Background or prior knowledge

16. Sight Words • About 250 words are used 60% of the time • Reader is so familiar with word that he “just knows the word” • The more he reads, the greater the number of sight words

17. Reading By Sight • Aoccding to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is beuseac we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the word as a wlohe and the biran fguiers it out aynawy.

18. Decoding • Phonics – not all have been taught • Use words that follow phonics rules • Divide long word into familiar parts such as: cat – a – log • Avoid words like meringue • Avoid ightwords

19. Context Clues • The content before and after the unknown word helps the reader guess • Example: To keep milk cold, put it in the refrigerator as soon as you get home.

20. Background or Prior Knowledge • If the reader has no background in the topic or similar topic, it is very difficult him to understand the new information. • Help the reader by using comparisons with something that he is familiar with.

21. Readability Analysis

22. Readability • Use a readability analysis – mathematical formulas to determine “grade level.” • Most measure average number of syllables and words in a sentence. • Quick and concrete • Don’t measure familiarity with words

23. Computer Scales • Computer scales are not as accurate • Save a 300 word section to a new file • Remove headings, sentence fragments, and bullets • Remove abbreviations and other items with “periods” such as 1.

24. Readability Scales on the Web • Readability scales can be found: • http://www.cdc.gov/od/ads/fry.htm • http://www.mang.canterbury.ac.nz/courseinfo/AcademicWriting/Flesch.htm • http://www.med.utah.edu/pated/authors/readability.html

25. Content andWritingStyle

26. Content/Writing Style • Emphasize “how to” • State the purpose of piece • Highlight key points • Use words common to reader. Define new words first.

27. Content/Writing Style cont. • Write clear, specific, direct, short sentences. • Order ideas logically • Limit to 3 – 5 main points • Use concrete examples for hard concepts • Get the reader involved

28. Writing Style • Active voice – the subject does the action. • Present tense • Personal pronouns • Bulleted list 3-5 bullets • Short words – doctor vs physician or shots vs immunizations

29. Layout and Design

30. Layout and Design • White space is a design element • Limit amount of text • Use headings/subheadings • Use upper and lower case • Emphasize key points with boxes, bold, color, rule lines…

31. Layout cont. • 12 – 14 point serif typeface – serif helps the eye track • Color for interest and emphasis - sparingly • Contrast paper and ink color • Text 3 – 5 inches long – this is ideal for the eye to track • Keep margins stable on the page

32. Layout cont. • Keep format stable on the page • Left justify text, right ragged • Line breaks – widows, orphans, and does the line make sense • Reverse print - use sparingly • Humor use sparingly • Limit charts and graphs

33. Visuals

34. Visuals • Appealing, meaningful, culturally relevant • Use to help reader understand • Show action that you want reader to take • Adult vs childlike images – what does your audience prefer? • Free from clutter and distraction • Use captions for visuals • Visuals are clear as to positive vs negative behavior

35. Formal Evaluations

36. Formal Evaluation • Ask other professionals/paraprofessionals • Does the piece state a clear purpose? • Is the organization helpful to the reader? • Is the information accurate? • Is the piece geared towards intended audience? • Is the depth of information appropriate?

37. Formal Evaluation cont. • Does it summarize major ideas? • Is the information is presented without bias • Is the readability at 6th grade or lower? • Are the words are familiar to audience? • Does it define new/difficult terms first

38. Formal Evaluation cont. • Is the writing clear? • Is the sequencing logical? • Does it use a positive approach? • Are minority groups are represented accurately? • Font 12 – 14 serif

39. Formal Evaluation cont. • Are the visuals supportive? • Is the layout and design appealing and helps the reader follow the text? • Are instructional aids provided? • Are headings, subheadings and other clues used?

40. Field Testing

41. Field Testing • Most valuable step • Most likely skipped step • Individual interviews • Focus group

42. Field Testing • With members of target audience • Do they understand? • Is it culturally appropriate? • Would they pick up to read? • Would they take home?

43. Structure of Field Testing • Introductions • State the purpose • Give them time to read materials • Ask initial questions on content, writing style, layout/design, using information • Listening, probing more deeply

44. Field Testing Nitty-gritty • Number of interviews • Can you pay? • Samples should be close to “real thing” • Listen • Establish rapport • Flexible • Know culture, believes, language of testers

45. References • Write it Easy to Read – Creating Plain Language Health Materials With Impact June 1-4, 2003, 12th Annual Summer Health Literacy Institute • Developing Health Education Materials for Special Audiences: Low Literate Adults, ADA • National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)

46. References cont. • U.S. Department of Education • Child Trends • America’s Children: Key national indicators of well-being • National Institute for Literacy 2000