View the original, full toolkit on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website.
The Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective is a health literacy resource from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As shown below, this 11-part Toolkit provides a detailed and comprehensive set of tools to help you make written material in printed formats easier for people to read, understand, and use.
Toolkit Part 1: About this toolkit and how it can help you
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Toolkit Part 2: Using a reader-centered approach to develop and test written material
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Toolkit Part 3: Summary List of the “Toolkit Guidelines for Writing and Design”
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Toolkit Part 4: Guidelines for Writing
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- Chapter 1: Guidelines for content of your written material
- Chapter 2: Guidelines for organization (grouping, sequencing, and labeling the content)
- Chapter 3: Guidelines for writing style
- Chapter 4: Guidelines for engaging, motivating, and supporting your readers
Toolkit Part 5: Understanding and using the “Toolkit Guidelines for Graphic Design”
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- Chapter 1: Tips for learning about design and working with design professionals
- Chapter 2: Guidelines for overall design and page layout
- Chapter 3: Guidelines for fonts (typefaces), size of print, and contrast
- Chapter 4: Guidelines for headings, bulleted lists, and emphasizing blocks of text
- Chapter 5: Tips for use of color
- Chapter 6: Guidelines for use of photographs, illustrations, and clip art
- Chapter 7: Guidelines for tables, charts, and diagrams
- Chapter 8: Guidelines for forms and questionnaires
Toolkit Part 6: How to collect and use feedback from readers
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- Chapter 1: Introduction to feedback sessions
- Chapter 2: What is involved in doing a project to get feedback from readers?
- Chapter 3: Introducing the four methods for getting feedback from readers
- Chapter 4: Five steps for designing a reader feedback session
- Chapter 5: Creating a list of feedback issues to use in testing the material
- Chapter 6: Should you do individual interviews or focus groups?
- Chapter 7: Which feedback methods work best for which purposes?
- Chapter 8: Phrasing your questions to get the most useful feedback from readers
- Chapter 9: Tips for collecting particular types of feedback from readers
- Chapter 10: Creating a written guide for conducting feedback sessions (Unavailable)
- Chapter 11: Creating and using a session summary form (Unavailable)
- Chapter 12: Should you do audio or video recording of your sessions?
- Chapter 13: Choosing a location for your feedback sessions
- Chapter 14: How will you select and recruit participants?
- Chapter 15: Tips for recruiting people on site for immediate participation in a feedback interview
- Chapter 16: Tips for recruiting people by telephone to set appointments for feedback sessions
- Chapter 17: Conducting feedback interviews and taking notes
- Chapter 18: Tips for effective interviewing technique
- Chapter 19: Using feedback from readers to improve written material
Toolkit Part 7: Using readability formulas: A cautionary note
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Why be cautious about using readability formulas?
- Reason for caution 1: Readability formulas ignore most factors that contribute to ease of reading and comprehension.
- Reason for caution 2: Grade level scores tend to be unreliable.
- Reason for caution 3: Grade level scores are less precise than they sound and prone to misinterpretation.
- Reason for caution 4: Imposing a grade level requirement has the potential to do harm.
Recommendations for using readability formulas
- Recommendation 1: Do not use readability formulas to assess overall suitability.
- Recommendation 2: Pick your formula and method carefully.
- Recommendation 3: Interpret reading grade level scores broadly as indicating a general range of difficulty.
- Recommendation 4: Report grade level scores in ways that acknowledge their narrow scope and limitations.
Toolkit Part 8: Will your written material be on a website?
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Toolkit Part 9: Things to know if your written material is for older adults
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Toolkit Part 10: “Before and after” example: Using this Toolkit’s guidelines to revise a brochure
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Toolkit Part 11: Understanding and using the “Toolkit Guidelines for Culturally Appropriate Translation”
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