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Creating Reader-Friendly Materials

Last Updated: December 20, 2007

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Learn about developing effective reader-friendly materials by engaging in the learning modules below.

What are Reader-Friendly Materials?

If you search the literature, you will see phrases such as “plain language,” “plain English,” “low literacy” to describe the techniques needed to develop written materials for those that don't read very well. “Easy-to-read” or “reader-friendly” are more current and relevant phrases because clear writing and communications help all readers.

Featured Skill Module
Comprehensive How do you know it when you see it?

Adapted from Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) from Doak, C. C., Doak, L.G. and Root, J.H. Teaching Patients with Low Literacy Skills, pages 49 - 60 and Maine AHEC Health Literacy Center Checklist for Easy to Read Materials.

Clear & Simple: Developing Effective Print Materials for Low-Literate Readers
National Cancer Institute. Includes five steps, references and resources.

Plain Language Resources
A list of resources for nutrition/health educators.

Cultural
Appropriateness
A Guide to Bias-Free Communications (pdf)

University of Wisconsin Madison. A reference for preparing official university publications.

Reader-Friendly Materials

Spanish/English Pictorial Recipes, Set No. 2, Set No. 3, and Set No. 4 are available for order. These camera-ready recipes (10 in English also translated into Spanish) are intended for a limited income, low literacy audience.

The price is $4.00/set. A 25-percent discount is available on orders of 100 copies or more of a single title.

To order copies of publication, send the complete title and series number, along with a check or money order payable to Oregon State University, to:

Publication Orders Extension & Experiment Station Communications Oregon State University 422 Kerr Administration Building Corvallis, OR 97331-2119

You can access the Educational Materials catalog and many publications online at http://eesc.orst.edu.

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