Before you write

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Preface

Writing in simple, clear and concise language is not limited to practical writing tips. Above all else, you should focus on meeting the needs of readers and on your expected results. Use the tips that suit the readers’ needs the best. After all, the reader comes first.

Before you start writing accessibility plans, progress reports or feedback process descriptions, ask yourself a few questions. What is your idea of simple, clear and concise writing? Have you clearly identified what you want to say to your target audience? How do you want to organize your thoughts? Have you considered the layout and visual design? This section will help you answer these questions.

Simple, clear and concise language: misconceptions and realities

There are several misconceptions about simple, clear and concise language. Some may equate writing clearly, simply and concisely with writing in a boring way^{Footnote 1}. Others may think technical terms or specialized language are essential to expressing their message and fear having to sacrifice accuracy for simplicity.

However, writers sometimes underestimate the challenges that the public faces when reading texts. A number of disabilities can affect a person’s ability to perceive, understand or retain written information. Some disabilities have an impact on the reader’s ability to focus long enough to absorb information. Literacy levels and knowledge of official languages can also vary widely in the general population.

Some writers overestimate the time readers will spend trying to find what they need in a text. They may also assume their readers are just as familiar with a topic as they are.

Simple, clear and concise language is a way to communicate that is easy for people to read and understand. It is direct, succinct, and easy to follow. It focuses on meeting readers’ needs and uses:

• everyday language instead of technical terms
• short words, sentences and paragraphs
• simple sentence structures

Simple, clear and concise language helps reduce barriers in communication. It makes writing more accessible for everyone, including people with different types of disabilities and readers with different language and literacy levels.

Choose your words and content carefully when preparing your accessibility plans, feedback process descriptions, and progress reports. Use concrete words, with an engaging and readable style. The general public should be able to read and understand these documents. Do not assume that readers are already familiar with your organization’s work. Give them all the essential information, but do not distract them with unnecessary details. Break down complex ideas to make them easier to digest. Present your ideas in a straightforward and logical way.

Simple, clear and concise writing is not an exact science. There are many different ways of expressing ideas. You may not be able to apply the tips in this guidance all the time or all at once. Use your judgment. Adapt this advice to meet your organization’s goals and your readers’ needs.

Additional resources

• For more information on misconceptions about clear, simple and concise language
  • Government of Canada
    • Putting it plainly (Resources of the Language Portal of Canada, sections “What plain language isn’t” and “What plain language is”)
  • Other sources
    • Why are some people reluctant to use clear writing? (Government of Ontario)
• For information on this topic that applies to French
  • Government of Canada
    • Langue claire et simple : surmonter les obstacles à la littératie (in French only) (Translation Bureau, sections “La solution : la langue claire et simple” and “Les avantages de la langue claire et simple”)

Know your readers

Think about your target audience and your text’s purpose. Before you start writing, you should determine:

• who your readers are
• what their reading or literacy level is
• the barriers they may encounter when reading
• the information they will be looking for when reading your documents
• the issues they are most interested in and what language they use when discussing them
• whether they are familiar with your organization and its work (do not assume they have the same level of knowledge as you)

You can learn about your readers in various ways. For example, you could contact clients, disability organizations or people with lived experience directly to ask about their needs and interests. You can also follow their discussions on the Internet and social media.

This will help you tailor your vocabulary and writing style to your audience.

Additional resources

• To help you better understand your readers and their needs
  • Government of Canada
    • Clear communication: overview of the writing process and techniques (Resources of the Language Portal of Canada, section “Step 1: Analyse”)
    • Putting it plainly (Resources of the Language Portal of Canada, section “What plain language is”)
    • Putting it (even more) plainly (Resources of the Language Portal of Canada, section “Remember the reader”)
    • Guidance of consulting persons with disabilities
  • Other sources
    • How to write clearly (PDF format) (European Commission, section “Focus on the reader”)
  • Other sources
    • How to make information accessible for persons with learning disabilities (PDF format) (CHANGE, UK, section “Involving people with learning disabilities,” p. 11)
    • N’écrivez pas pour nous sans nous! Impliquer les personnes handicapées intellectuelles dans l’écriture de textes faciles à lire (PDF format) (in French only) (Unapei, France)
• For information on this topic that applies to French
  • Government of Canada
    • Adapter le texte aux destinataires (in French only) (Translation Bureau)

Plan your content

Think about the purpose of your accessibility plans, feedback process descriptions and progress reports. Ideally, you should be able to summarize their purpose in one sentence.

For example:

• our accessibility plan explains the steps we are taking to improve our organization’s accessibility
• our feedback process description explains the way we want people to send us feedback

Consider your accessibility plans, progress reports, and feedback process descriptions from your readers’ perspective. What do they want to find out? The Editing Unit in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation has established that, generally, readers are looking for answers to 7 basic questions:

• what? (What is this about? What is the message, essentially?)
• who? (Who is involved? For whom is this document written?)
• when? (Is there a schedule? Are there time limitations?)
• where? (Are there specific places or sites involved?)
• how? (What actions will take place? How will your organization take them?)
• why? (What are the objectives? What are the causes?)
• how much? (Are resources required? Time or money?)^{Footnote 2}

Keep the answers to these questions in mind as you write your document.

For example, instead of writing a broad and vague statement like this:

• we invested significant funds and took all necessary steps within the time limits set out in the Act to address accessibility issues for our users at our railway station

Try to be more specific and concrete, like this:

• since December 2023, we have invested $1,400,000 to install 2 new ramps, an elevator and a platform lift. Users with reduced mobility now have access to every level of our railway station

Organize your ideas

Create an outline for your accessibility plans, feedback process descriptions and progress reports. Mapping out your ideas ahead of time will help you stay on track.

Organize your ideas and present them in a logical way. Putting the most important information up front can help readers find and absorb it more easily.

Break your document into sections. Each section should address a different topic or audience. Give each section a short and clear heading. That will help readers browse for key words or information. Remember to include all the headings that the regulations require. (Read section 5 of the regulations for accessibility plans, and section 14 for progress reports.)

Additional resources

• For information of how to develop a plan
  • Government of Canada
    • Clear communication: overview of the writing process and techniques (Resources of the Language Portal of Canada, sections “Step 2: Plan” and “Step 3: Write”)
    • Text organization (Translation Bureau)
    • Plain language: Making your message intelligible (Translation Bureau, sections “Relevance” and “Structure”)
    • Write useful page titles and headings (Treasury Board Secretariat)
    • Clear and effective communication: Make your readers’ task easier (Resources of the Language Portal of Canada, section “Previewing”)
  • Other sources
    • How to write clearly (PDF format) (European Commission, sections “Think before you write” and “Get your document into shape”)

Design and visual presentation

The layout and design of your document are also important. Do not clutter your document with too much text. Remove unnecessary information so readers can find what they need quickly and easily.

Choices about font style, font size, diagrams, or background colours can help you highlight your message. Even white space can make some information stand out more by decluttering your pages.

However, remember that your document’s design and visual presentation may have a different impact on different target audiences.

For example:

• people using assistive devices such as screen readers or synthesized voice software will not have access to diagrams or images. Ensure that you provide descriptions in text format
• people with vision disabilities may find it difficult to read text on a coloured background, Use high contrast between text and background colours. Black text on a white background is best. However, you can use an online contrast analysis tool to check if your colours have a strong enough contrast
• people with learning disabilities may find it difficult to read certain font styles, such as italics. Avoid using italics for design purposes

Never rely on font style, font size, texture or colour to relay important information. For more information on this topic, see our guidance on creating accessible documents.

Additional resources

• For information on visual presentation
  • Government of Canada
    • Content structure and images and videos (Treasury Board Secretariat, sections of the Canada.ca Content Style Guide, a document which focuses on web content, but much of the information applies to other formats)
    • Plain language: Creating readable documents (Resources of the Language Portal of Canada, sections “Visual readability,” “Layout,” “White space”)
  • Other sources
    • Concrete examples for redesigning visual presentation to facilitate comprehension (PDF format) (Simplification Centre, UK)
• To adapt the design and visual presentation to the specific needs of certain readers
  • Government of Canada
    • Designing documents and web pages for users with cognitive disabilities (PDF format) (Shared Services Canada)
    • Designing documents and web pages for users on the autism spectrum (PDF format) (Shared Services Canada)
    • Designing documents and web pages for users who are deaf or hard of hearing (PDF format) (Shared Services Canada)
    • Designing documents and web pages for users with low vision (PDF format) (Shared Services Canada)
    • Designing documents and web pages for users of screen readers (PDF format) (Shared Services Canada)
    • Designing documents and web pages for users with physical or motor disabilities (PDF format) (Shared Services Canada)
  • Other sources
    • How to make information accessible for persons with learning disabilities (PDF format) (CHANGE, UK, sections “Practical advice,” pp. 12 to 17; “Preparing your document,” pp. 18 to 25; “Adding pictures,” pp. 32 to 35)
    • Règles européennes pour une information facile à lire et à comprendre par les personnes en situation de handicap intellectuel (PDF format) (in French only) (Unapei, France, sections “La mise en page et le format,” pp. 13 to 17; “À quoi devrait ressembler votre texte,” pp. 21 to 23; “Les images,” pp. 24 to 25)
    • Designing for accessibility (PDF format) (United Kingdom Government, UK)