As educators, we are notorious for our jargon. The following tips and resources are designed to help school administrators make their communications more readable for the public.
For a complete step-by-step guide to communication planning, visit AEA 267's Communication Toolkit web site.
Consider turning to your local Area Education Agency's graphic artist for assistance with the design and layout of your publications. Professional looking publications tell the reader that the information it contains matters. Remember that your correspondence with the public is competing with literally thousands of other messages.
Publications should follow the 30-3-30 rule principle. Write for readers who have 30 seconds, three minutes or 30 minutes to spend on your publication. Thirty-second readers may skim the headlines of your publication and the first paragraph. Three-minute readers may focus on one or two articles, while thirty-minute readers are those who typically digest the entire publication. Write with something in mind for all three types of readers.
The average American reads at the ninth grade level but most are comfortable reading at one or two levels below their maximum.
To determine the reading level of your publication, take a 100-word sample and apply the following equation:
Articles should be written in the "inverted pyramid" format with key points in the first paragraph, followed by points of lesser importance. Remember that some of your readers are "three second" or "three minute" readers who will only spend time on the first paragraph.
Reading Level (Grade) = (Average No. of words in sentences + Percentage of words of three or more syllables) x 0.4
For example: A 100-word passage contains an average of 20 words per sentence and 10 words of three or more syllables. The sum of these two factors is 30 (20 + 10). Multiplying 30 by 0.4 gives a FOG Index of 12. (Readers of this material would have to be able to read and comprehend materials on the 12-grade level.)
Try to keep 70% of your words to five letters or fewer when writing for the public. Another way to keep writing "public friendly" is to try to keep the average sentence length to 17 words. Avoid educational jargon.
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