clear communication is universal — and it’s your job as a public health cdc/nceh/clearwriting/docs/clear-writing-guide-508.pdf.
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Your Guide to Clear Writing When you™re creating educational materials about public health, the most important thing you can do is to write clearly . This helps make sure readers can understand your main message Š and any related action steps you™re asking them to take. Keep in mind that clear writing is important for everyone Š not just audiences that are likely to have limited literacy skills. The fact is that even highly literate readers may struggle to understand complex information if they™re stressed or in a hurry. That™s why the need for clear communication is universal Š and it™s your job as a public health professional to make sure you do your part. This guide has resources to help you write clear public health materials at every stage of development Š from tips for thinking through your material™s strategy before you start worksheets to create clear, effective materials that everyone can understand and use. And for more tips and tools on clear writing, be sure to check out the rest of the resources on the NCEH/ATSDR Clear Writing Hub . 2
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Before You Write preparation will help you create a clear, effective product. Answer 4 Key Questions Before you begin writing, answer 4 important questions. You™re not ready to start drafting content until you™ve written down clear answers to all 4 of these questions: 1. Who is your target audience? 2. 3. What do you want your readers to do, think, or feel after they read your material? 4. What is your main message? What is the most important thing for your readers to remember? They may only remember 1 thing Š what do you want that to be? 1. 2. 3. Get parents to take their children to the health department for blood lead testing 4. learning and behavior problems. Children living near the study site need to get routine blood lead tests. Use Your Answers Be sure to use your answers from all 4 questions as you develop your material. Target Audience trying to reach, the more you can tailor your content to that audience. Remember to drill down 4
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Think through what you know about your audience™s health literacy skills. Then use that information to guide your word choice, sentence length, and other plain language considerations . According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, almost 9 in 10 people struggle to understand health information. So keep it short, simple, and clear: Write sentences that are 20 words or fewer. Limit paragraphs to 3 to 5 sentences. Cut out any words you don™t need. need to include in plain language. Clear: Be straightforward and direct Š clearly tell your audience what they need to know. Always write in the active voice. Keep the subject and verb close together in your sentences. If you don™t know anything about your audience™s health literacy skills, it™s best to assume they™re average to low. And remember that a person™s reading skills may drop 4 grade levels when they™re stressed or reading about a stressful topic. your communication objective to guide decisions about what information to include in your material Š and, more importantly, what to leave out. Remember, the more you write, the less they™ll read . Only include content that helps you reach your communication objective. Write a short, clear main message and highlight it. Aim for 1 to 3 short sentences. This helps your readers quickly and easily understand the most important information in your material. It also gives readers context for how to interpret the material. Place the main message at or near the top of your material. Make it stand out Š use bold text, color blocking, or a larger font. Note that this material has a clearly visible main message at the top. Here™s another example of an effective main message: ATSDR found that levels problems. 5
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Before You Write: Answer 4 Key Questions 1. Who is your target audience? in mind. Ł Example: Ł Example: Partners who can help us promote a National Health Observance 2. What do you know about your audience™s health literacy skills? Now take a few minutes to think through what you know about their health literacy skills. Do you have any point of reference for literacy and numeracy skills? Health-related concepts Ł Example: Ł Example: May be a little bit familiar with the topic Š this is the second health assessment in their community Ł Example: May struggle to understand how my data is relevant to them What do you want your audience to think, feel, or do after reading your material? This should be a single statement Š if you think your material has multiple communication objectives, Ł Example: Get parents to take their children for blood lead testing Ł Example: Get partners to share our content with their networks 6
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8 Tips for Clear & Effective Writing Most readers hate excess words and meandering sentences in any form of writing. Most readers Audiences respond well to logically organized, clearly written, and effectively designed information Š regardless of their literacy level or ability to understand complex information. The fact is that PhD-level scientists appreciate clear writing as much as someone who struggles with reading comprehension. . 1 Write for Your Reader their readers in mind. Follow these tips: Ł Ł If you have multiple audiences, consider writing multiple materials. Ł 2 Change Your Style Public health writing is all about your audience. It™s not about demonstrating your linguistic mastery. Don™t write to impress your readers Š write to reach them. Get right to the point and remove unnecessary content. And it™s okay to be conversational. Remember to: Ł Ł Ł Ł 8
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3 Spell Out the Main Message An effective material has a clear main message. Don™t put the burden on your reader to top of the material. Bold it and highlight it. Stay focused on it. And don™t include content that detracts from it. Check out these examples of clear main messages: Ł ŁThe soil has high levels of lead. This can cause health problems, especially for children. ATSDR recommends blood lead testing for children under age 6 who have come in contact with lead.4 Be Brief We™re bombarded with thousands of messages a day, and this has changed the way we read. Readers tend to skim or scan materials now. Include just the essential information. Remember, the more you write, the less they™ll read . Keep your materials short and to the point: ŁSentences Š no more than 20 wordsŁParagraphs Š no more than 5 sentences 5 Get Back to Basics writing with complicated grammatical patterns. Remember to: ŁWrite in active voice. ŁKeep the subject and verb close together. Ł Check out these examples of clear structure: About 500 homes were left without water as a result of the chemical spill. The chemical spill left about 500 homes without water. The training 95% approval ratings, was The training succeeded: 60 staff members attended and gave approval ratings of over 95%. 9
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6 Carefully Craft Your Title and Subtitle primer for what comes next. Carefully craft a title and subtitle using the following guidelines: Ł Title Š no more than 8 words to grab attention Ł Subtitle Š no than 1 line to offer more context Check out this example of an effective title and subtitle: National Safety Month Try this: title subtitle7 Use Meaningful Headlines every 1 to 3 paragraphs is a good rule of thumb. Check out these examples of meaningful headings: Introduction CDC Will Study Asthma Triggers in [City, State] Background Emergency Room Visits Increase for Asthma Attacks 8 Pay Attention to Design Design elements can help readers understand and remember your messages. Remember to: Ł something you don™t want readers to do. Ł Limit lists to no more than 7 bullets. And stay awa y from sub-bulleted lists. Ł that helps spark interest. Ł Make sure there™s plenty of white space. To access Your Guide to Clear Writing online, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/clearwriting/docs/clear-writing-guide-508.pdf 10
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Writing Models material. Writing models can help. Consider using one of the following models when you™re working on your next writing task, and use the samples for each model to guide you. Check out the Health Communication Playbook for more ideas and samples. Model 1: Storytelling This is one clear, effective way to structure success stories or to deliver a message by presenting it as part of an Ł offer more context. Ł Write 1 to 2 short paragraphs. Start with the most dramatic moment. Explain the problem that you encountered in narrative form. Ł Write 1 to 2 short paragraphs. Describe what you did. Ł Write 1 to 2 short paragraphs. Discuss how your intervention helped. Ł Limit sentences to no more than 20 words.Ł Limit paragraphs to no more than 5 sentences.Ł every 1 to 3 paragraphs. Ł Keep your materials short Š the more you write, the Storytelling Sample Disease Detectives in Ethiopia Title In Northern Ethiopia, villagers developed stomach pain and swelling. Some even had trouble breathing. In a single household, 3 or 4 people would get sick Š while others would not. In other families, everyone died from the sickness, but their neighbors did not. The symptoms were similar to liver disease. What was causing it? 11
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