Tips on making reading material easier Content and lay out
• identify and sequence the key points • group ideas under headings • ensure ample spacing around the text • include graphics to reinforce key ideas • use boxes & bold print to emphasise key points
Sentence structure
• avoid sentences with several clauses • use bullet points to mark off separate pieces of information • be direct and use ‘you’ where appropriate • use simple connectives to show links between ideas • e.g. ‘if’, ‘when’, ‘but’, ‘also’ rather than ‘similarly’ ‘furthermore’ • aim for an average sentence length of 15-20 words
Vocabulary
• avoid sentences with several clauses • keep the essential
technical or medical terms
• use everyday vocabulary to build simple sentence structures around those technical terms
• discuss unfamiliar vocabulary before you use the text • remember that ‘concrete’ terms are more easily learned than abstract nouns
For more information about simplifying reading materials click on this link to download a copy of the NIACE leaflet about readability.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27