Readability

Tips =Readability=

Even if you follow all the other guidelines for documents if your document is not //readable// by your audience then it is not //accessible//. Accessibility = the extent to which people can derive functionality from a product or the ease of convenience of the product.
 * Readability** means that your document is created appropriate for your audience.

General Guidelines

 * Make it interesting
 * Write for your target audience
 * Write cohesive paragraphs constructed around a single major idea
 * Avoid acronyms and abbreviations if possible; explain all acronyms and abbreviations
 * Check the spelling
 * Ensure that every word and paragraph is necessary
 * Assume that your readers are intelligent, but do not assume that they know the subject matter as well as you

Additional Considerations for Users with Reading Disorders and Cognitive Disabilities
> Adapted from [|Writing Clearly and Simply] www.webaim.org/techniques/writing/ (top)
 * Supplement the text with illustrations.
 * Reduce text to a bare minimum. Pages with a large amount of text can intimidate users with reading difficulties.
 * Be as literal as possible. Some people ... have a hard time distinguishing between the literal meaning of ideas and implied meaning. Sarcasm and parody can be especially confusing for some people.

[|(Webaim) Writing Clearly and Simply] (great additional resources too) www.webaim.org/techniques/writing/

[|Readability] – comprehensive tool to examine readability of any draft for any audience www.eastendliteracy.on.ca/clearlanguageanddesign/readingeffectivenesstool/

[|Readability Juicy Studios] juicystudio.com/services/readability.php If you don’t like the Literacy site on Readability you can use this one instead.

[|Wikipedia Readability Definitions] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Readability

[|Okapi:] Measuring Readability and developing reading probes for progress monitoring www.interventioncentral.org/htmdocs/tools/okapi/okapi.php - Copy and paste any text into the space and analyze your text by grade level. - Another bonus you can create a reading probe within 30 seconds. Link to a screencast video on using Okapi

[|Kathy Schrock Use of Fry]: school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/fry/fry.html

[|Flesch Kincaid Readability] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch-Kincaid_Readability_Test Quick

[|Tests Document Readability] & Improve it www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp

Create levels of Readability using a feature in Microsoft Word called Autosummarize. Link to a screencast video on Autosummarize

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