The Health Literacy Style Manual - Covering Kids & Families

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If lawyers mandate certain legal language, write the p rescribed text and then paraphrase it in plain language immediately afterward. While this strategy lengthens the text, it makes it easier for readers to understand it. If you’re re q u i red to include legal citations, such as when re f e rencing the laws governing the actions your agency has taken, place them where they won’t distract readers from the main message and interrupt the flow of the text. You could place them at the end of the paragraph, or (better yet) in the footer at the bottom of the page. I n t roduce the citation with a brief explanation, so re a d e r s know what it is. For example: This is the law: 42 C.F.R. Part 430 Colloquialisms and jargon Don’t use colloquialisms, idioms, slang, or jargon. They are often particular to a certain area, and readers who live e l s e w h e re may be confused. By their nature, they change the way words are conventionally used, and poor readers are less likely to understand them. W R I T I N G | 23
USE THE ACTIVE VOICE Write in the active voice, so that the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb. In the passive voice, the subject re c e i v e s the action, and it’s not always clear who’s performing it. Readers, particularly low literate readers, find it easier to follow the text when it’s clear who is taking the action, or “doing the doing.” The first sentence below is written in the passive vo i c e . Babies are born and women are covered. In the revised version, it’s clear that if the woman gets her health cove rage from a state program, the baby will too (through ye a r one) as long as they live together in the state. Before: Babies born to women who are covered by one of Minnesota’s health care programs are covered through the month of their f i r s t birthday as long as the baby continues to live with the mother and reside in Minnesota. After: If a pregnant woman gets health coverage from a Minnesota p r o g r a m , her baby will get coverage until the end of the month of the baby’s first birthday. The baby must live with the mother in Minnesota. 24 | THE HEALTH LITERAC Y STYLE MA NUAL
Page 1 and 2: The Health Literacy Style Manual Pr
Page 3 and 4: WR I T I N G 1 7 Write in plain lan
Page 5 and 6: C overing the cost Small-scale test
Page 7 and 8: and improving problem materials, an
Page 9 and 10: WHO ARE YOUR READERS? Nearly half o
Page 11 and 12: HOW CLIENTS “READ” HEALTH INFOR
Page 13 and 14: This is a “before and after” of
Page 15 and 16: help the rest of the team understan
Page 17 and 18: This example of a poster, like that
Page 19 and 20: CR E AT E A LO O K A N D F E E L Al
Page 21 and 22: u n f o r t u n a t e l y, explaini
Page 23 and 24: 16 | THE HEALTH LITERAC Y STYLE MA
Page 25 and 26: vocabularies. Using common, everyda
Page 27 and 28: The left column shows words that ar
Page 29: B u r e a u c ratic language and le
Page 33 and 34: Longer sentences are not necessaril
Page 35 and 36: Here is the revised notice. US E A
Page 37 and 38: You can improve the readability of
Page 39 and 40: This notice contains important info
Page 41 and 42: LINK NEW INFORMATION TO OLD Readers
Page 43 and 44: OF F E R H E L P TO R E A D E R S M
Page 45 and 46: CHOOSE A CLEAN DESIGN The first pag
Page 47 and 48: CHOOSING FONTS For readers with lim
Page 49 and 50: PRINT SIZE The point size of type (
Page 51 and 52: LAYOUT To lay out a page is to arra
Page 53 and 54: When the alignment is right-justifi
Page 55 and 56: CONTRAST Text is easiest to read wh
Page 57 and 58: • I t a l i c s . The contrast be
Page 59 and 60: The blue on this brochure (written
Page 61 and 62: H e a d i n g s Headings and subhea
Page 63 and 64: Be careful to write an introductory
Page 65 and 66: • Make them illustrative. Visual
Page 67 and 68: • D o n ’t print over a graphic
Page 69 and 70: This form (still in draft when we r
Page 71 and 72: The small print and difficult vocab
Page 73 and 74: Folding and mailing When you’re p
Page 75 and 76: application itself. Don’t begin t
Page 77 and 78: • Avoid using the word “optiona
Page 79 and 80: • Many readers have no context fo
Page 81 and 82:
PROBLEM CHARTS AND TABLES Forms and
Page 83 and 84:
This application doesn’t avoid cr
Page 85 and 86:
Income charts Income charts are par
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80 | THE HEALTH LITERAC Y STYLE MA
Page 89 and 90:
d i ff e rent point of view. But fo
Page 91 and 92:
a little more, and the re s e a rch
Page 93 and 94:
Small-scale testing is a significan
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p rompt the participant if she’s
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
TRA N S L AT I N G I S A S P E C I
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When your quality assurance person,
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Page 105:
For more information For more detai
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