Montgomery College. Writing for the Web. Created by Paula Carrasquillo, Web Editor

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1 Montgomery College Writing for the Web Created by Paula Carrasquillo, Web Editor

2 Plain Language at a Glance... 3 Plain Language and Web Content... 4 Task-Oriented Writing... 5 Practice Exercises... 8 Plain Language Checklist Web Checklist Supporting Research Free Online Training References "Omit needless words." Strunk, W. and White, E.B. (1919). The Elements of Style. 2

3 Plain Language at a Glance Plain language is: Grammatically correct language that includes complete sentence structure and accurate word usage. Clear writing that tells the reader exactly what the reader needs to know without unnecessary words or expressions. Plain language is not: Unprofessional writing. A method of "dumbing down" or "talking down" to the reader. Characteristics of plain language: Common, everyday words, except for necessary technical terms; We, you, and other personal pronouns; the active voice; logical organization; and Easy-to-read and understand design features, such as bullets and tables. Plain language means creating a document that is: Visually inviting Logically organized Understandable on the first reading How do you create a plain English content? Know your audience Know what you need to say Organize your material logically Avoid repetition Use these tools to write clearly: Active voice with strong verbs Short sentences Personal pronouns Concrete, familiar words No surplus words No legal jargon Tabular presentation of complex information Use a design and layout that increase comprehension 3

4 Plain Language and Web Content Plain language is even more important in writing for the web than it is for paper documents. Why? People scan when they read documents online. People need structure to help find the content they want so they can use it and appreciate the experience. Typical web users want information that helps them complete tasks. As web readers, we want to synthesize content, make decisions, and act. Understandable content is critical. Page Design and Layout Number of Characters Per Line Once you go beyond 65 characters in a line, readers have great difficulty reading at their normal speed. You may want to switch to another layout that makes your document easy to read. Justified Margins Justifying the right hand margin decreases readability because it causes the eye to stop at irregular spacing between words. Justifying means making the margins flush. This document has a justified left margin, and an unjustified, or ragged, right margin. Capitalized Sentences It s very difficult to read sentences in all capital letters because it s unnatural and the normal visual cues are missing. A short header is readable in all caps, but anything more strains the reader. Consider these other methods to highlight important information: boxing the information, changing type size or font, using italics, or a light screen. Descriptive Headers You increase readability by using headers that specifically describe the sections of your content. Your readers absorb information more quickly and easily and understand its relationship to other information if you use headers. The headers can then become the foundation for menus and/or anchor links placed at the top page communicating information more effectively to the reader. Dense Copy If dense copy fills a page, you increase the chances that your reader will become discouraged. Give your reader a visual and mental break by using shorter paragraphs and headers. White Space White space opens up a page of content making it easier to read. 4

5 Words/Phrases to Avoid Listed in the chart below are words to avoid and their substitutions that will strengthen your writing. Instead of using addressees assist, assistance commence implement in accordance with in order that in the amount of it is pertaining to subsequent utilize, utilization Use you aid, help begin, start carry out, start by, following, per for, so for if about, of, on later, next use Task-Oriented Writing Readers of web documents expect to be guided through documents and supported in their decisionmaking. To help them, we must write information so it supports the tasks people want to complete. Before we start to write, we must create a user-focused foundation by exploring who will be using a website, what they want to accomplish on the website, and the context in which they will be using the site. Keep the Home page for your department user-friendly and task-oriented. Enter lengthy department descriptions on the About Us page NOT on the Home page. (Examples follow.) 5

6 Task-Oriented Pages vs. Information Pages Example #1 Figure 1: Home page for Department Figure 2: About Us page for Department 6

7 Task-Oriented Pages vs. Information Pages Example #2 Figure 3: Home page for Department Figure 4: About Us page for Department 7

8 Practice Exercises Before and After Create wire frames and pass them around your office for quick feedback and recommendations for improvement. 8

9 Write an introduction to your Web site. 1. From the introduction, pull bulleted elements. 2. Which elements can be linkable? 3. Consider where to place a graphic or image to offset the content. 4. Where would you link to the Contact Us page of your site? 9

10 Using you and we to engage the user and to save words In the samples below, replace the words that refer to the agency and the user with pronouns. Make no other changes, except those needed for grammatical correctness. 1. The applicant will be the primary source of information regarding his circumstances for the purposes of determining eligibility and need. If the Secretary needs to secure information from other sources, the Secretary will ask the applicant to authorize the release of information. The Secretary will inform the applicant of the kinds of information needed and the source to be used. 2. To establish eligibility for selection to receive a grant, an applicant must show that: a. The applicant is an Indian; b. The present housing of the applicant is substandard and inadequate in terms of capacity to meet the physical needs of the family; c. The applicant has been denied, or is ineligible for, housing assistance from other sources. d. The economic resources of the applicant are inadequate or the applicant is ineligible to obtain housing from other sources. 10

11 Recognizing Passive Verbs Circle the passive verb in each of the lines below. (The subject is being acted upon.) a b c d 1. was written will write has written is writing 2. must deliver may deliver is delivering is delivered 3. has sent were sent will send are sending 4. should revoke will be revoking have revoked to be revoked 5. were mailing have been mailed having mailed will mail 6. may be requesting are requested have requested will request Changing Passive to Active Change the passive voice to active in the examples below. (The subject performs the action.) 1. The student must be notified by the committee of a proposed action. 2. Notice must be published in local newspapers and posted at utility offices. 3. Notices must be published and posted at least 30 days before the scheduled effective date of the operations manual. 11

12 Shortening Sentences Divide each of the samples below into smaller sentences. Don t rewrite them extensively put a period where you need to and make one or two minor word changes. 1. If you are a party to an appeal, and you want to supplement the record or any Statement of Facts and Issues at any time after the Department deems the record complete under through the time additional responsive pleadings are filed under 4.940, you must file any additional material together with a written request for permission to IBLA (or an Assistant Secretary who is deciding your appeal under 4.933) to supplement the record or any Statement of Facts and Issues. Note: To help you divide sentence number 2 into two sentences, begin your first sentence with the words You may (or something similar) and begin your second sentence with the words In this case, (or something similar). 2. If you submit a bond to the Regional Director executed on a form approved under paragraph (b) of this section that you have reproduced or generated by use of a computer and that document omits terms or conditions contained in the text of the form approved by the Director, the bond you submit will be deemed to contain those terms and conditions. 12

13 Avoiding Confusing and Wordy Language The samples in this exercise suffer from wordiness and awkward construction. See how many errors you can repair. 1. We will promptly review your proposal and provide you with a nonbinding determination of the guidance you request. 2. If we find that the evidence you submit is convincing, we may grant a reduction in the amount of supplemental bond required. 3. We will send to the applicant copies of any comments made by State or local governments on the applicant s request after the comment period has ended. 4. We periodically will publish a list of aggregation points and the associated market centers. We will monitor market activity and, if necessary, add to or modify the list of market centers and aggregation points and will publish such modifications. 5. A performance system will allow for the development of new and innovative training techniques and methodologies and allow companies added flexibility in tailoring their training to the specific job duties of their employees. 13

14 Making Lists Use lists to simplify the material below. 1. Failure to file an answer within the 30-day period may be treated as a consent to the award requested, unless the Department or other agency requests an extension of time for filing or files a statement of intent to negotiate under paragraph (b) of this section. 2. The applicant and the operator must provide a statement in the permit application as to whether it is a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other business entity and the taxpayer identification numbers. 3. If you determine the value of your oil under this subpart, you must retain all data relevant to the determination of royalty value. You must be able to show how you calculated the value you reported, including all adjustments for location, quality, and transportation, and how you complied with the requirements of this subpart. 4. The Superintendent or Area Director will provide you a written notice specifying the action that we will take under this part and explaining the reason(s) for the action. The notice will be delivered to you by certified mail or in person. The notice will include your appeal rights under

15 Making Tables Put the material below into tables. 1. If the estimated value of the forest products offered does not exceed $50,000, the advertisement shall be made for not less than 15 days; if the estimated value exceeds $50,000 but not $250,000, for not less than 30 days; if the estimated value exceeds $250,000, for not less than 60 days. 2. If an action or decision on your request was made by an Agency Superintendent, you should appeal to the Area Director. If an action or decision on your request was made by an Area Director, you should appeal to the Commissioner. If an action or decision on your request was made by the Commissioner, the action or decision or action is final and you may not appeal. 15

16 Plain Language Checklist written for the average reader organized to serve the reader s needs uses question-and-answer format uses you and other pronouns uses active voice uses short sections and sentences written to one person, not a group uses the simplest tense possible uses must instead of shall to indicate a requirement places words carefully (exceptions are last, subjects and verbs are together) uses lists and tables avoids confusing words and constructions uses no more than two or three subordinate levels 16

17 Web Checklist When writing for the Web, remember that people skim and scan. They don't want to read much. They want to find the information they need quickly and read only the answers to their immediate questions. Questions often make great headings because users come to the Web with questions in mind. Break documents into separate topics. Use even shorter paragraphs and sentences than on paper. Use even more lists than on paper. Use even more headings with less under each heading. Keep the information on each page to no more than two levels. The Web has little room for indenting or showing levels of headings. Be concise. Less is more! Make liberal use of white space so pages are easy to scan. Write (especially page titles) using the same words your readers would use when doing a web search for the info. Don t assume your readers have knowledge of the subject or have read related pages on your site. Never use "click here" as a link. Eliminate unnecessary words. Write for the average reader Organized to serve the reader's needs Use "you" and other pronouns to speak to the reader Use active voice Use the simplest tense possible simple present is best uses base verbs, not nominalizations (hidden verbs) Use concrete, familiar words Use "must" to express requirements; avoids the ambiguous word "shall" Place words carefully (avoids large gaps between the subject, the verb and the object; puts exceptions last; places modifiers correctly) Use no more than two or three subordinate levels 17

18 Supporting Research Usability The National Cancer Institute recognized that principles of good design and usability apply to anyone who works with information. The Institute's site on Research Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines provides more than 50 of the top web design and usability guidelines based on emerging research related to web content. The entire document can be downloaded as a pdf. Scan Ability Seminal research published by Jakob Nielsen indicates reading from a computer screen is 25% slower than reading on paper. And another study by John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen found that 79% of test users always scanned any new page they came across, while only 16% read word-by-word. As web writers, we can enable better document scanning by providing clear links, headings, short phrases and sentences, and short paragraphs. In other words, plain language matters. Specific content can be found at Task-Oriented Writing Value in Web writing comes from fully understanding what people want to accomplish and then supporting them as fully as possible. Refer to "Citizens: Get it done online," for additional examples of user-focused and task-oriented labeling. Free Online Training The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers free online training to anyone interested in learning more about plain language techniques. Visit the NIH Plain Language Training site, (Select the Browse option.) References Plain Language Initiative Web site: (retrieved: December 2009) Usability Web site: (retrieved: September 30, 2009) University of Toronto Web site: (retrieved: September 30, 2009) Flinders University Web site: (retrieved: September 30, 2009) 18

Mega International Commercial bank (Canada)

Mega International Commercial bank (Canada) Policy and Procedures for Clear Language and Presentation Est. Sep. 12, 2013 I. Purposes: The Mega ICB (C) distributes a limited range of retail banking services,