Changes for page Readability checklist
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/12 00:12
From version 
2.1 
2.1
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/08/06 23:43
on 2019/08/06 23:43
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... ... @@ -1,237 +1,2 @@ 1 -= Readability checklist = 2 - 3 -= = 4 - 5 -== A. Clear language == 6 - 7 -=== 8 -Plain English === 9 - 10 -~1. [[Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones.>>https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/##1]] 11 - 12 -2. [[Jargon and buzzwords are unlikely to be clear language.>>https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/##2]] 13 - 14 -3. [[Write conversationally, in first person, using the active voice.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/?#3#]] 15 - 16 -4. [[Test your content with users.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/##4]] 17 - 18 - 19 -=== Simple sentences === 20 - 21 -5. [[Make your average sentence 15 words long.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Simple%20sentences/##1]] 22 - 23 -6. [[Avoid complex sentence structures.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Simple%20sentences/##2]] 24 - 25 - 26 -=== Specialist terms === 27 - 28 -7. [[Explain specialist terms: anybody can access your content.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Specialist%20terms/##1]] 29 - 30 -8. [[Create content that all users can understand, whatever their expertise or background.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Specialist%20terms/##2]] 31 - 32 -9. [[Help users understand specialist terms.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Specialist%20terms/##3]] 33 - 34 -10. [[Use plain English for highly literate audiences.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Specialist%20terms/##4]] 35 - 36 - 37 -=== Legal, medical, financial terms === 38 - 39 -~11. [[Use simple language for legal terms.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/##l1]] 40 - 41 -12. [[Explain the law in context.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/##l2]] 42 - 43 -13. [[Write medical information clearly.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/##m1]] 44 - 45 -14. [[Explain medical terms.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/##m2]] 46 - 47 -15. [[Use clear language for financial information.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/##mo1]] 48 - 49 -16. [[Explain financial terminology.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/##mo2]] 50 - 51 -17. [[Give examples of conceptual financial arrangements.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/##mo3]] 52 - 53 - 54 -=== Words to avoid === 55 - 56 -18. [[Never use vague words and jargon.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Words%20to%20avoid/##1]] 57 - 58 -19. [[Avoid metaphors.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Words%20to%20avoid/##2]] 59 - 60 -20. [[Do not use Latin.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Words%20to%20avoid/##3]] 61 - 62 - 63 -== B. Grammar points == 64 - 65 -=== 66 -Abbreviations and acronyms === 67 - 68 -21. [[Do not use points or spaces.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##1]] 69 - 70 -22. [[Write out "for example" and "that is" in full.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##2]] 71 - 72 -23. [[Test with users, find out how familiar they are with your abbreviation.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##3]] 73 - 74 -24. [[If an acronym is better understood than the full text, use that.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##4]] 75 - 76 -25. [[Use all capital letters for initialisms.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##5]] 77 - 78 -26. [[Start with a capital letter for acronyms.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##6]] 79 - 80 -27. [[Capitalise single letters in expressions.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##7]] 81 - 82 -28. [[Provide full text explanations.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##8]] 83 - 84 -29. [[Consider providing a full explanation each time.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations/##9]] 85 - 86 - 87 -=== Contractions === 88 - 89 -30. [[Avoid negative contractions.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations%20and%20acronyms/##1]] 90 - 91 -31. [[Simple positive contractions may be fine.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations%20and%20acronyms/##2]] 92 - 93 -32. [[Possessive nouns may be fine.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations%20and%20acronyms/##3]] 94 - 95 -33. [[Avoid conditional contractions.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Abbreviations%20and%20acronyms/##4]] 96 - 97 - 98 -=== Hyphens and dashes === 99 - 100 -34. [[Only use a hyphen if the word is confusing without it.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Hyphens%20and%20en%20dashes/##1]] 101 - 102 -35. [[Do not use hyphens for time and date ranges, instead use "to".>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Hyphens%20and%20en%20dashes/##2]] 103 - 104 -36. [[Make sure your hyphen usage is up to date.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Hyphens%20and%20en%20dashes/##3]] 105 - 106 -37. [[Be consistent with your hyphen choices.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Hyphens%20and%20en%20dashes/##4]] 107 - 108 -38. [[Avoid using dashes whenever possible.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Hyphens%20and%20en%20dashes/##5]] 109 - 110 -39. [[If you do use a dash, use an en-dash, not a hyphen or an em-dash.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Hyphens%20and%20en%20dashes/##6]] 111 - 112 - 113 -=== Capitals === 114 - 115 -40. [[Do not capitalise whole words or phrases.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Capitals/##1]] 116 - 117 -41. [[Use sentence case in headlines and subheads.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Capitals/##2]] 118 - 119 -42. [[Use sentence case for buttons.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Capitals/##3]] 120 - 121 -43. [[Proper nouns are an exception.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Capitals/##4]] 122 - 123 -44. [[Do not capitalise terms, unless they are proper nouns. >>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Capitals/##5]] 124 - 125 - 126 -=== Ampersands === 127 - 128 -45. [[Use "and" not the ampersand sign "&">>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Capital%20letters/##1]] 129 - 130 - 131 -=== Numbers === 132 - 133 -46. [[Use numerals instead of words for numbers.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##1]] 134 - 135 -47. [[Choose clear typography.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##2]] 136 - 137 -48. [[Be specific with data.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##3]] 138 - 139 -49. [[Use percentages.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##4]] 140 - 141 -50. [[Use "to" for number ranges, not a hyphen.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##5]] 142 - 143 -51. [[Use years and months not just months.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##6]] 144 - 145 -52. [[Use a space before KB and MB.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##7]] 146 - 147 -53. [[Spell out month in dates, write day as a numeral without "st", "nd" or "th".>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Punctuation%20and%20abbreviating/Numbers/##8]] 148 - 149 - 150 -== C. Audiences, devices, channels == 151 - 152 -=== 153 -Talking to your audience: we, you, our, your, my === 154 - 155 -54. [[Make it clear who "we" is and who "you" is.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Pronouns%3A%20we%2C%20you%2C%20our%2C%20your/##1]] 156 - 157 -55. [[Be consistent: do not switch things round.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Pronouns%3A%20we%2C%20you%2C%20our%2C%20your/##2]] 158 - 159 -56. [[Decide how you will treat third parties.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Pronouns%3A%20we%2C%20you%2C%20our%2C%20your/##3]] 160 - 161 - 162 -=== Writing about people === 163 - 164 -57. [[Use respectful terms for disability, mental health and dying.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Writing%20about%20people/##1]] 165 - 166 -58. [[Avoid referencing age unless it's absolutely relevant. >>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Writing%20about%20people/##2]] 167 - 168 -59. [[Avoid referencing gender unless it's absolutely relevant.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Writing%20about%20people/##3]] 169 - 170 -60. [[Avoid referencing medical, mental or cognitive condition unless it’s absolutely relevant.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Writing%20about%20people/##4]] 171 - 172 -61. [[Avoid referencing heritage and nationality unless it's absolutely relevant.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Writing%20about%20people/##5]] 173 - 174 -62. [[Use “inclusive” or “accessible” for things designed to provide an equal experience.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Writing%20about%20people/##6]] 175 - 176 - 177 -=== Mobiles and tablets === 178 - 179 -63. [[Design for mobile first not last.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Mobiles%20and%20devices/##1]] 180 - 181 -64. [[Always ask “How would this look on mobile?”.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Mobiles%20and%20devices/##2]] 182 - 183 -65. [[Put calls to action close to content they relate to.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Mobiles%20and%20devices/##3]] 184 - 185 -66. [[Test content with people using mobiles.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Mobiles%20and%20devices/##4]] 186 - 187 - 188 -=== Social media === 189 - 190 -67. [[Capitalise the first letter of each word in hashtags.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Social%20media/##1]] 191 - 192 -68. [[Use the image description functions.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Social%20media/##2]] 193 - 194 -69. [[If you add a GIF image, include a description of it in your tweet.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Social%20media/##3]] 195 - 196 -70. [[Caption videos and multimedia.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/People/Social%20media/##4]] 197 - 198 - 199 -== D. Content design specifics == 200 - 201 -=== 202 -Links === 203 - 204 -71. [[Make link text meaningful.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##1]] 205 - 206 -72. [[Avoid mid-sentence links.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##2]] 207 - 208 -73. [['Front-load' your link text.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##3]] 209 - 210 -74. [[Make call to action (CTA) links and button text specific.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##4]] 211 - 212 -75. [[Start CTA links and button text with a verb.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##5]] 213 - 214 -76. [[Make CTA links and button text 2 to 4 words.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##6]] 215 - 216 -77. [[Match the destination content.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##7]] 217 - 218 -78. [[Use sentence case.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Links/##8]] 219 - 220 - 221 -=== Headings, titles === 222 - 223 -79. [[Use specific, meaningful headings.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Page%20titles%20and%20headings/##1]] 224 - 225 -80. [[Front-load headings.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Page%20titles%20and%20headings/##3]] 226 - 227 -81. [[Structure your page with headings.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Page%20titles%20and%20headings/##4]] 228 - 229 -82. [[Use sentence case for headings and subheadings.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Page%20titles%20and%20headings/##2]] 230 - 231 -83. [[Label your headings.>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Page%20titles%20and%20headings/##5]] 232 - 233 - 234 -Refer also to these wiki pages: 235 - 236 -* [[Page design>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/Page%20layout/]] 237 -* [[How people read>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/User%20centred%20design/How%20people%20read/]] 1 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 2 +Please go to [[readabilityguidelines.co.uk/readability-checklist>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.co.uk/readability-checklist/]].