CAN-ASC 3.1 Plain Language: Public review draft - 5. Part 2: Make information relevant, easy to find, and organized

Table of contents for section 5

Section 4

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Section 6

5.1 Design the material for ease of use

5.1.1 The organization shall make the information findable

The organization shall use document design principles to make the information easy to find, considering priority, similarities and differences.

Note: Refer to the following:

  • ISO 24495-1 standard;
  • W3C's WCAG2ICT documentation;
  • W3C's COGA documentation and other sources for document design ideas.

5.1.1.1 Make information findable

The organization shall format and distribute the material so the audience is able to easily find and use the information.

Note: Consider line length in text, font size, and open space around text as they affect legibility.

5.1.1.2 Maintain logical sequence

The organization shall:

  1. group content elements into logical, topical parts, and
  2. consider the logical order and sequencing that the audience perceives for the topics.

Note: The audience often perceives the relationship of elements differently than is perceived by the organization. People have different perspectives on logical order.

5.1.1.3 Make information easy to follow

The organization shall structure the material to be easy to follow:

  1. using descriptive headings;
  2. making the structure obvious by using an outline, menu, or table of contents, and
  3. providing an index for material of over 10,000 words.

5.1.2 Assess material for consistency and adequacy

The organization shall ensure that:

  1. the message is consistent across all delivery formats;
  2. the length of the material is adequate and appropriate for the complexity of the information;
  3. all essential information is included in the communication, and
  4. complex information is accurately expressed, well structured, and organized for the intended audience.

Note: It is best to have longer material that is explained to and easily understood by the audience than to have too little information.

5.1.3 Make information accessible

In accordance with this standard, the organization shall prioritize information in a way that:

  1. summarizes key information at the beginning and at the end of the material;
  2. puts the main message near the beginning (clarifies the purpose of the communication);
  3. places cautions or warnings early in the material;
  4. makes the structural plan clear and prominent to the audience by using an outline, menu, or table of contents;
  5. includes an index for content over 100 pages;
  6. repetition help emphasize important information to remember:
    1. use repetition when the audience will only read, listen to, or view parts of the content;
    2. repeat instructions;
    3. repeat key points in longer content;
  7. places conditions and exceptions at the end of a sentence or paragraph.

5.1.4 Use colour to help organize

The organization should use colour in visual communications to make organization, structure, and priority visible. It should otherwise use contrast and colour to compare, identify, and differentiate.

The organization should avoid using colours as the sole way to communicate emphasis.

5.1.4.1 Consider both colour and contrast

  1. Opt for a plain, clear background to gain the most effect from using colour.
  2. All information should be legible without the need for colour.
  3. Reinforce colour meaning with a shape, image, or text.
  4. Make sure that colours are
    1. not the only way of differentiating important information, and
    2. easily distinguishable from each other.

5.2 Plan content for audience and purpose

5.2.1 Make the purpose clear

The organization shall clarify the purpose of the communication and tell the audience:

  1. the information that the audience wants or needs;
  2. why the content is necessary for the task or activity;
  3. how the organization intends the information to be used;
  4. what the organization expects or needs the audience to do with the information, and
  5. what the goal of the organization is for the communication.

Notes:

  1. Content is created for many purposes. It can be to inform, instruct, persuade, reassure, or issue a call to action. Identifying the audience of the content helps identify the purpose for the content. Using plain language increases the likelihood the intended audience is able to find, understand, and use the communication.
  2. Examples of clear purposes include persuading someone to change behaviour, explaining a process, instructing someone to apply for a benefit, making people aware of something, helping someone make an informed decision, or collecting information.

5.2.2 Focus the content on essentials

  1. The organization shall focus the communication on necessary and essential information with enough context to complete the task or activity.
  2. The organization shall use content that is appropriate:
    1. for the audience to understand the purpose of the material, and
    2. to address the beliefs and concerns identified by the audience, the details the audience needs to understand to satisfy the organization's goals, within the time and effort the audience has available.
  3. The organization shall structure material according to the needs, abilities, limitations, and requirements of the intended audience, to best serve the:
    1. needs and perspectives of the audience,
    2. expression of the information the organization wants to share, and
    3. formats in which the information will be shared: printed document, online document, video, audio file, prepared speech, and others.

5.2.3 Identify the organization and how it communicates

The organization shall give identifying and explanatory information:

  1. who creates, owns, and publishes the material;
  2. on which dates the material was created, published, revised, or updated;
  3. where and how the audience will find the information in different formats or languages, and
  4. the purpose or goal of providing the information.

5.2.3.1 Tell the audience how to contact the organization

The organization shall tell the audience, in the communication:

  1. how to access more information;
  2. how to contact the organization;
  3. how to get alternate formats, platform, or languages;
  4. how to give feedback, and
  5. how to inform the organization when the audience cannot access the material because of some barrier.

5.2.3.2 Give supplementary information

The organization shall inform the audience how to get more information:

  1. on accessible ways to contact the organization.
    Note: These could include telephone, telecommunications for deaf people (TTY/AST), video relay service (VRS), text, email, social media, and postal mail.
  2. Identify where the audience goes to get supplementary plain language information about the subject, including other documents, videos, web sites, or movies.
  3. Give the exact title of any supplementary information.

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