Packaging Information Less is Better
After writing your text, go back and identify every word or phrase that does not help you deliver your message or goal. Then delete it. You will find that you can lose as much as half of your text when you do this.
Short Paragraphs
Presenting text in six short paragraphs with white space between looks like reading then presenting two or three long paragraphs. Try to keep paragraphs down to three or four short sentences each.
Hanging Indents
Headings and subheadings should be flush to the left of the page margin. The content should be indented. The hanging headings make the document easier to scan.
Bold Important Words and Phrases
Select words and phrases that will be of special interest to the reader or that help you draw their attention to the information you want them to read. Bold these words to create eye magnets, so that the scanning reader will easily find them.
Bullet Lists
Any list of more than two items should be bulleted. A bulleted or numbered list is easier to read, study and learn. A list is a specific type of information and it should be distinguished from prose.
Use Font and Style Changes
Your document may include several types of information, such as: descriptions, instructions, captions or lists. These various types of information are read in different ways. It should be clear to the reader, at a glance, when information type has changed. One way to do this is by changing the text’s font, size, indentation, or style.
Many concepts can be more easily expressed and Use Appropriate understood as graphical images, such as graphs, tables, or diagrams. If a concept can be expressed as a graphic Media organizer, it usually communicates better that way. Figure 4.3: Format Rules (Warlick, 2009, p. 108)
Traditional Text
Packaged Text