CAN-ASC-3.1:2025 – Plain Language
16. Annex B: Shall, should, and may clauses (Informative)
Information
Table of contents
Technical committee members
- Catherine Rodgers (Chairperson), Director of Communications, People First of Canada
- Melissa Kargiannakis (Vice Chairperson), Founder and CEO, Skritswap
- Carol Wilson, Health Education Consultant, Carol A Wilson BSN RN
- Catherine Buckie, Independent Plain Language Consultant, iwritewell.ca
- Hilda Smith, Workshop Designer & Clear Language Consultant
- Karen McCall, Accessible Document Design Consultant and Trainer, Karlen Communications
- Lorne Mackenzie, Co-President, Consulting Services for Accessible Transportation Inc.
- Iva Cheung, Research coordinator, Providence Health Care; Adjunct professor, Simon Fraser University
- Julie Ruel, Researcher, Institut universitaire en déficience intellectuelle et en trouble du spectre de l’autisme
- Stacey Kowbel, Researcher, Vecova
- Rachel Mills, Senior Policy Analyst, Inclusion Canada
- Cynthia Jolly, Communications Manager, Canadian Transportation Agency
- Robin Kilroy, Manager, PCH Innovation Lab, Department of Canadian Heritage
- Youssef Megharfi, French Translator, Treasury Board Secretariat
- David Berman, Chief Accessibility Officer, David Berman Communications
- Eyra Abraham, Founder and CEO, Lisnen
- Laura Edlund, Writing, editing and communications
This informative Annex has been written in mandatory language to facilitate adoption by anyone wishing to do so.
The following tables present “shall,” “should,” and “may" clauses in the standard. For concision, these tables exclude the following:
- cross-references that are found in clauses;
- text that is preceded by the following statement: “The following are possible strategies:”; and
- examples.
As well, these tables do not include notes, which are informative and not normative.
16.1 Shall statements
In this standard, the word “shall” expresses a requirement or a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy to comply with the standard.
Clause title | Clause text | Clause # |
---|---|---|
Identifying the intended audience | To develop a communication in plain language, you shall do each of the following:
| 10.1 |
Learning about the intended audience | Throughout the development of your communication, you shall consult and engage with the intended audience about their information needs and any barriers they face except as identified in Clause 10.2 b). | 10.2 a) |
Learning about the intended audience | Where consultation and engagement is not possible, you shall do the following:
| 10.2 b) |
Learning about barriers | You shall learn about the barriers that members of your intended audience might face in finding, understanding, and using your communication. See Clause 7.3. | 10.3 a) |
Learning about barriers | After you have identified barriers, you shall consult with people from the intended audience to find the best ways to address those barriers. | 10.3 b) |
Learning about self-identity | You shall consult with people with lived experience, including advocacy groups, about terms they use when referring to themselves. | 10.4 |
Identifying the needs and considerations for the communication | You shall identify the following needs and considerations for the communication and develop your communication accordingly:
| 10.5 |
Formats for the intended audience | You shall choose formats needed or preferred by the intended audience and best suited to the communication. See Clause 7.1. | 10.6 |
Languages for the intended audience | You shall produce your communication in the language that your intended audience needs to understand it. See Clause 7.1 | 10.7 |
Communications in many languages | When developing a communication in many languages, you shall make sure that the communication is in plain language in each language. | 10.8 a) |
Delivery and cost of communications | You shall deliver communications following the draft standard CAN-ASC-5.2.1: Part 1. | 10.9 a) |
Contact and version information | To meet the intended audience’s needs, you shall state the following within the communication:
| 10.10 |
Continuing to learn about, from, and with audiences | You shall repeat the process of identifying your intended audience and learning about barriers they face and their needs and considerations when updating material. | 10.11 |
Testing | As you develop your communication and before you publish it, you shall test your communication with members of your intended audience. | 11.4 a) |
Testing | You shall choose testing methods based on what you want to learn about your communication. | 11.4 b) |
Testing | You shall recruit testers who reflect the diversity of your intended audience to user test your communication. | 11.4 c) |
Testing | You shall conduct testing in ways that respect your testers and that value their time and expertise using these strategies:
| 11.4 d) |
Testing | You shall test the communication in its final version and format unless doing so is impossible. | 11.4 e) |
Structure and audience | You shall develop the structure of a communication using these strategies:
| 12.1 |
Structure and format | For digital communications, you shall conform to CAN-ASC - EN 301 549:2024. | 12.3 a) |
Planning information and its parts | After you have identified what information your intended audience needs (see Clause 10.5), you shall plan the following:
| 12.4 a) |
Prioritizing information | You shall identify the priority of information for your communication, including:
| 12.5 |
Organizing the information | You shall organize the information in a structure that is as simple as the intended audience needs. | 12.6 a) |
Organizing the information | You shall position the information that is most important to the intended audience early in the communication and where it is easy to find. See Clause 12.5. | 12.6 b) |
Organizing the information | You shall use a structure that is logical for the intended audience. | 12.6 c) |
Title and headings | In a communication with many parts, you shall use titles and headings as follows:
| 12.7 |
Other elements of structure | In a long communication, you shall include a subject index to help the intended audience find information in the communication. A long communication is defined as a communication with 48 pages or more, or 16,000 words or more. | 12.8 b) |
Words | You shall choose clear and precise words that the intended audience already knows, understands, uses, and accepts, using these strategies:
| 13.1 a) |
Words | You shall use words that are unfamiliar to your intended audience, uncommon words, or specialized words only in these situations:
| 13.1 b) |
Words | You shall help your intended audience learn words that are unfamiliar to them, uncommon words, or specialized words. | 13.1 c) |
Words | To address emotional and distress-related barriers when choosing words, you shall use language that is acceptable to the intended audience when discussing sensitive topics or provide content warnings before difficult subjects. | 13.1 d) |
Words | You shall use the full names, proper nouns, and special phrases instead of abbreviations using these strategies:
| 13.1 i) |
Words | You shall use abbreviations, including acronyms and initialisms, only in these situations:
| 13.1 j) |
Words | You shall follow these strategies when using abbreviations:
| 13.1 k) |
Numbers | You shall express numbers in the form that makes them clear and understandable for the intended audience. | 13.2 a) |
Sentences | You shall construct clear and concise sentences. | 13.3 a) |
Punctuation and capitalization | You shall use punctuation marks that your intended audience understands and accepts, using these strategies:
| 13.4 a) |
Punctuation and capitalization | You shall not use punctuation marks or symbols to replace words except when they are used and understood by the intended audience. | 13.4 c) |
Titles and headings | When using titles and headings, you shall construct them using these strategies:
| 13.5 a) |
Titles and headings | To address language and comprehension barriers when using headings, you shall limit heading levels to at most three levels. | 13.5 b) |
Titles and headings | To address digital and interactive accessibility barriers in titles and headings, you shall conform with CAN-ASC - EN 301 549:2024. | 13.5 c) |
Paragraphs, sections, and lists | You shall construct clear and concise paragraphs or sections. | 13.6 a) |
Overall design | To make a communication digitally accessible, you shall conform with CAN-ASC - EN 301 549:2024. | 14.1 b) |
Format | You shall choose the format that best meets the needs and preferences of your intended audience. See Clauses 10.1,10.2, 10.3,10.4,10.5,10.6, and 10.7 on audience needs and 11.4 on testing. | 14.2 a) |
Format | You shall design your communication in a way that does each of the following:
| 14.2 b) |
Typography | You shall use enough space between lines of text so that your intended audience can easily distinguish between characters on different lines. | 14.4 a) |
Typography | You shall use enough space between paragraphs or sections so that your intended audience can easily distinguish between paragraphs and sections. | 14.4 b) |
Typography | You shall align similar elements of text consistently so that the intended audience can easily find, understand, and use your communication. | 14.4 c) |
Typography | You shall not align text to both the left and the right at the same time. | 14.4 d) |
Typography | You shall choose a typeface and font size that your intended audience can easily read from a comfortable distance within the context of the situation. | 14.4 f) |
Typography | You shall use enough space between letters so that the intended audience can easily distinguish individual letters. | 14.4 h) |
Typography | You shall use enough space between words so that the intended audience can easily distinguish individual words. | 14.4 i) |
Typography | You shall use simple visual cues to provide emphasis. | 14.4 j) |
Contrast and colour | You shall use contrast in visual communications to make organization, structure, and priority visible to your intended audience. | 14.5 a) |
Contrast and color | You shall use contrast to make headings clearly distinct from body text. | 14.5 b) |
Visuals | When using visuals, you shall use them to support the intended audience’s understanding of the information in your communication. | 14.6 a) |
Visuals | You shall use a type and style of visuals that is accepted by your intended audience and appropriate for the purpose. | 14.6 b) |
Visuals | For visuals in digital communications to be accessible, you shall build in accessibility features that conform with CAN-ASC - EN 301 549:2024. | 14.6 i) |
16.2 Should clauses
In this standard, the word “should” expresses a recommendation, or that which is advised but not required.
Clause title | Clause text | Clause # |
---|---|---|
Communications in many languages | When translating a communication into another language, you should work with translators who are familiar with plain language in the language they are translating into. | 10.8 b) |
Communications in many languages | When planning live or pre-recorded communications in sign and spoken languages, you should give interpreters enough time and resources to prepare. | 10.8 c) |
Desktop review | As you develop your communication and before you publish it, you should do a desktop review using tools like checklists and software. | 11.1 a) |
Desktop review | You should review your communication to make sure that it conforms with this standard’s clauses about structure, wording and expression, and design. See Clauses 12, 13, and 14. | 11.1 b) |
Desktop review | You should use accepted software tools to evaluate your communication for accessibility in structure, wording, and design. | 11.1 c) |
Subject matter expert review | As you develop your communication and before you publish it, you should work with a subject matter expert to review your communication to make sure that the information is accurate. | 11.2 |
Plain language expert review | As you develop your communication and before you publish it, you should work with a professional with plain language training or expertise to review the communication to identify and remove barriers to finding, understanding, and using the information in your communication. | 11.3 |
Testing | If you expect that you might have to publish a communication urgently with no time to consult with the intended audience, you should plan for these situations using these strategies:
| 11.4 f) |
Testing | You should test the communication in an environment and context where the intended audience will use it. | 11.4 g) |
Ongoing evaluation | You should continue to evaluate your communication regularly after publication. | 11.5 a) |
Ongoing evaluation | If it was impossible for you to test your communication with members of your intended audience before publication, you should user test your document after publication and publish a revised version if the testing uncovers problems. See Clause 11.4 f). | 11.5 b) |
Ongoing evaluation | You should explicitly invite feedback from your intended audience about your communication. See Clause 10.10. | 11.5 c) |
Ongoing evaluation | You should keep a record of feedback from your intended audience. | 11.5 d) |
Ongoing evaluation | After you publish your communication, you should measure relevant outcomes to evaluate the communication’s effectiveness at making its information easy for the intended audience to find, understand, and use. | 11.5 e) |
Structure and prior knowledge | You should use the intended audience’s prior knowledge to develop the communication as follows:
| 12.2 |
Structure and format | To address digital and interactive accessibility barriers in structure and format, you should do the following:
| 12.3 b) |
Structure and format | To address language and comprehension barriers in structure and format, you should do the following:
| 12.3 c) |
Planning information and its parts | If your communication has many audiences, you should do either of the following:
| 12.4 b) |
Other elements of structure | You should include an overview of the communication to help the intended audience find, understand, and use the information. | 12.8 a) |
Other elements of structure | You should use other strategies and include other elements in the structure to help the intended audience find, understand, and use the information. | 12.8 c) |
Other elements of structure | You should plan in the structure where to give your contact information, information about versions in other languages or formats, and version information. See Clause 10.10. | 12.8 d) |
Words | To address memory, attention, and processing barriers when choosing words, you should choose words of one to two syllables when possible. | 13.1 e) |
Words | To address language and comprehension barriers when choosing words, you should not use any figurative words or figures of speech. See Clause 13.1 a). | 13.1 f) |
Words | To address visual, hearing, and format barriers, you should present your information including examples in a way that a person can understand the information and context without having a particular visual or audio image in their memory. | 13.1 g) |
Words | [Specific to English] To address memory, attention, and processing barriers, you should use whole words. | 13.1 m) |
Words | You should not use words or abbreviations from another language, including Latin words and phrases, unless your intended audience knows and uses them. | 13.1 n) |
Words | You should not use jargon or slang unless the intended audience already knows and uses it or needs to learn it. | 13.1 o) |
Numbers | To address language and comprehension barriers when using numbers, you should do the following:
| 13.2 b) |
Sentences | You should construct most sentences in the active voice. | 13.3 b) |
Sentences | To address language and comprehension barriers when constructing sentences, you should help the intended audience understand each sentence. | 13.3 d) |
Punctuation and capitalization | You should reduce the use of these punctuation marks where possible:
| 13.4 b) |
Punctuation and capitalization | You should use capitalization only in the following ways:
| 13.4 d) |
Paragraphs, sections, and lists | To address memory, attention, and processing barriers when constructing paragraphs or sections, you should do the following:
| 13.6 b) |
Paragraphs, sections, and lists | To address information access and navigation barriers when constructing paragraphs or sections, you should use icons or visuals to help guide the intended audience. See Clause 14.6. | 13.6 c) |
Paragraphs, sections, and lists | You should present a series of two or more related ideas or words as a vertical list when it helps the intended audience to easily find and understand the information. See Clause 12.6 c). | 13.6 d) |
Paragraphs, sections, and lists | To address memory, attention, and processing barriers when using vertical lists, you should do the following:
| 13.6 e) |
Writing style and tone | You should write in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way using a conversational tone. | 13.7 a) |
Writing style and tone | You should use a positive tone and positive phrasing wherever possible following these strategies:
| 13.7 b) |
Writing style and tone | You should write inclusively to represent the diversity of all people in your communications, regardless of their identity, orientation, or social class. | 13.7 d) |
Overall design | You should consider working with a designer who is experienced in developing accessible communications and using the principles of plain language. | 14.1 a) |
Overall design | When a digital format allows the intended audience to make choices for themselves, you should set the default to conform with the following clauses:
| 14.1 c) |
Layout | You should create margins that are wide enough for the intended audience to easily read and use the information in your communication. | 14.3 a) |
Layout | You should create text columns that help your intended audience use your communication. | 14.3 b) |
Layout | You should create white space in your communication using these strategies:
| 14.3 c) |
Typography | You should not break words across lines with hyphens if doing so reduces the intended audience’s understanding of the communication. | 14.4 e) |
Typography | To address language and comprehension barriers with fonts, you should choose a typeface where mirror-image letters, like “p” and “q” or “b” and “d,” have distinct shapes. | 14.4 g) |
Contrast and colour | You should use colour as a way to compare, identify, and differentiate. | 14.5 c) |
Visuals | When using visuals to support the information in the text, you should relate the visuals to the text. | 14.6 d) |
Visuals | You should place visuals within your communication using these strategies:
| 14.6 e) |
Visuals | You should use a consistent approach with visuals throughout your communication using these strategies:
| 14.6 f) |
Visuals | You should emphasize important details in visuals using these strategies:
| 14.6 g) |
Visuals | You should use high-quality visuals using these strategies:
| 14.6 h) |
Tables | You should use tables only if the intended audience can easily find, understand, and use the information in this format. | 14.7 |
16.3 May clauses
In this standard, the word “may” expresses an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the standard.
Clause title | Clause text | Clause # |
---|---|---|
Learning about the intended audience | You may learn about the intended audience for the communication using these strategies:
| 10.2 c) |
Delivery and cost of communications | You may publish some alternate formats at the same time as when you publish the original documents. This would help you reduce the time and effort needed to meet some requests. | 10.9 b) |
Other elements of structure | You should include an overview of the communication to help the intended audience find, understand, and use the information | 12.8 a) |
Words | You may develop a word list and glossary of plain language equivalents for specialized words and phrases to make writing and editing more efficient and make communication consistent across your organization. | 13.1 h) |
Words | [Specific to English] You may use contractions when they are used and easily understood by your intended audience. | 13.1 l) |
Sentences | You may construct sentences in the passive voice only in these situations:
| 13.3 c) |
Writing style and tone | You may use a negative tone in these situations:
| 13.7 c) |
Visuals | You may use visuals that are unfamiliar to your intended audience, uncommon visuals, or specialized visuals only in these situations:
| 14.6 c) |