What is this?

This is a toolkit based on decades of research on how to communicate effectively in written documents. It is written to be easy and quick to read, following the same guidance it is presenting.

Who is this for?

This is for anyone working toward social good who wants to effectively communicate information with the public. Non-profit workers, academic communications specialists, public sector employees, activists--welcome to your toolkit!

This Toolkit is designed for languages and cultures that read from left to right. While this is not the only way to read, that is the framework from which most of the research described here is written. Ideal future versions of this project will work to be more inclusive of other reading styles in order to reach all people equitably.

What kind of content will this help me with?

This is geared toward written content presented on a screen. This is not meant to substitute as a guide for technical papers that already have their own guidelines. However--some guidance may still be beneficial for content outside the target type.

Why do I care?

People spend 10-20 seconds on the average page--but for pages that have something to offer them, they will stay much longer. People make a first impression of a page within milliseconds--so you don't have long to capture someone's attention. Due to the rise in internet reliance, people struggle to both read and retain information. If you are working toward social good, you presumably want to make sure the most people read and retain the information you share with them--and this toolkit can help guide you on how to get there.

How do I use the GRID Toolkit?

If you have a document in mind: you can start at the beginning and work your way through, or you can use the menu on the left to take you right to the resources you need.

If you are just visiting to take a look around: feel free to read straight through--no matter who you are or what your job, something in here is bound to be helpful.

💡 GRIDBit: GRIDBits are fun facts and bits of research located around the toolkit. When you see this symbol, something interesting is coming your way!

References

You can break down identifying your audience into three main questions:

• Who is using my resources?

• Why are they using my resources?

Tailor your writing to who will be reading it, and the situation they will be reading in. There may be things you want to communicate, but are they things that the reader needs to know, or even wants to know?

Be clear and concise

• Consider how each concept can be rewritten to be clearer. Shorter and more direct writing will be easier to understand and faster to read, increasing the likelihood it will be read at all.

• Limit text to three consecutive nouns.

• Look at the nouns in your sentence--can any be verbs instead?

• Can any of your verbs be made active?

• Consider reading a guidebook on concise writing in your language even if you are already fluent--for American standard English, try the Bedford Handbook or A Plain English Handbook.

Speak directly to your audience

Make the audience connect with your writing by focusing on writing to them with the use of "you."

Remove unnecessary words

The goal is not to be as short as possible--just as clear as possible. Remove words that do not add meaning, or replace them with more precise language.

Only use one word to represent one concept

This is not middle school English where you are penalized for repetition.

Do not define obvious words, phrases, or abbreviations

If you are writing a blog post on your website, people reading it probably know the acronym for your organization.

Conversely, define words, phrases, or abbreviations when you first use them, if they are necessary.

Write in an inverse pyramid pattern

Write the most important information first, and then move on to more specific details. This allows your readers to quickly determine if they need the rest of the information or not. It also makes it more likely they will read the most important information before stopping.

💡 GRIDBit: People only spend 10-20 seconds looking at a page. That is how long you have to convince them you have something to offer!

References

Include a table of contents or other guides

Tables of contents accelerate finding information and help readers know what they will find without frustration. This increases the likelihood they will stay to read your content if they find it interesting or useful, instead of leaving because it was unclear. If there are multiple levels to your organizational hierarchy for the document, consider not only how the information fits within the document, but also on the page.

For example: this page not only has the left sidebar, but also a page-based breakdown in the top right corner showing what is on this page.

References

Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Text for Readers. Karen A Schriver, 1997.

Structuring Documents According to Their Table of Contents. Hervé Déjean and Jean-Luc Meunier, Proceedings of the 2005 ACM Symposium on Document Engineering, 2005.

If you have to present information to different groups, address each of them separately.

References

Bedford Writing Handbook. Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, Integrated Media, 2014.

Add appropriate graphics

If what you are attempting to explain is complicated, add graphics: photos, drawings, tables, charts, graphs, or whatever makes the most sense. Add graphics when they add value to the work--not only to make it more visually attractive.

Colors make an impact

Do not mix red/pink and green, as the most common color blindness will be impacted. Yes--even if they are heavily contrasting shades. Imagine reading blue text with a blue background--it is a similar concept.

Links can be a great way to get readers to learn more about a topic, or to connect concepts to each other. However, links should not be used unless they add value.

Prevent link rot

Over time, things on the internet move, which can break links in your documents. There are ways to avoid this, including:

Evaluate your accessibility

There is tons of information on how to create accessible content. That is not what this guide is. However, here are some useful tools to help you evaluate the accessibility of your content:

Consider screen reader testing

For dynamic content (anything past a basic text page) you may consider testing using a screen reader with your content. That way, you will see any clear issues with it that you might be able to improve for your audience. There are not many good free options (it is a problem), so here is one.

Desktop and mobile are different

Test on multiple types of devices (like a phone, a computer, and a tablet). Always remember that content on a screen can vary widely based on screen size.

Fonts matter

• Serif fonts should be used for body text, and sans serif for headings. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a helpful one if you are trying to decide how to format.

Make introductory paragraphs bigger

Visibly larger introductory paragraphs are viewed by 95% of readers. Make the introductory paragraph in a larger font, or consider a bold typeface.

People do not read every word of writing

Numerous studies have been conducted that show how people scan information. It is most frequently in an “F” pattern--reading across the top, skimming the left of the page, and then across the page a bit further down, before dropping off. Sometimes people scan in a layer-cake pattern, focusing on titles, headings, and the starts of sentences.

💡 GRIDBit: Less than 16% of people read in a commitment pattern, reading each word.

Learn the Gutenberg Diagram

The Diagram is a way to understand a page visually, and design based on that understanding. It was developed in the 1950s by a typologist who broke down a page into four quadrants. People start at the top left, then move their sight to the bottom right, scanning the top right and bottom left as their eyes move down. The most attention will be in the top left (notice the similarities to the F pattern above), and the top right and bottom left will only be noticed if your design particularly emphasizes it. Most attention will still go to the top right than the bottom left of the page.

Using this knowledge: put your important information in line with the natural line of sight (in the top left and middle), and put your call to action in the bottom right.

💡 GRIDBit: Eighty percent of the time spent on a page is spent looking at the left, as compared to 20% of the right.

Put your call to action in the bottom right of the page

People are most likely to interact with a request for them to do something (click to the next page, etc.) if you place it in the bottom-right of the page.

For example, here, the link to the next page in the Toolkit can be found in the bottom right of the page.

Keep sentences, lines, and sections short

Shorter sections seem easier to read. The generally regarded ideal single-column line length is 66 characters. For multiple columns, 40-50 characters is better. People read more if your page has 110 words or less. Consider your audience, use case, and content format well when accounting for these parameters.

💡 GRIDBit: On average, people will read 28% of the text on your page. 20% is a more realistic estimate.

References

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Learn more about accessibility

Design does not need to be complicated, and you do not need to be a graphic designer to create a good document. This is not a substitute for a design course, but this is a great place to start your thinking about design past a wall of black Times New Roman text on a white page.

Accessible design is often an afterthought. Accessible design is not just good for people with blindness and colorblindness--it can help people with learning disabilities, and some practices (like alternative text) can make your content still consumable on poor web connections and less modern hardware.

Use design elements

This is not a design course. However, here are some free resources for creating documents in.

Consider learning visual design theory

Seek clarity, not complexity

We are often conditioned to think that information that is more complex is better--but it just makes your information harder to read. Nobel Prize Laureate and writer of Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw, once said: