The Report

The reading effectiveness assessment covered four topics:

• organization
• tone
• language and sentence structure
• design or formatting

The substance of the report is reproduced on the following pages. The report confirms the effectiveness of the techniques and gives examples of how to transmit the message more effectively.

1) ORGANIZATION

• Ordering information from the reader’s point of view
  All readers scan for information that is relevant to them. It should be easy for any reader to quickly find out what is important in a document, and what he or she must do. Readers are less likely to become frustrated when information is presented in a way that is logical from their point of view.
  This was generally well done in the letters. For example, the letter entitled “Your CPP Disability Payments” told the reader right away that their review was completed and they were still eligible for payments. It then addressed the next subject of interest to the reader – when the suspended payments would start again. Next, the letter acknowledged that the client was working 12 hours a week, and provided reassurance that this would not affect benefits.
  By placing the information of direct interest to the reader first, the letter increased the chances that the client would keep reading. The next part of the letter focussed on an item of importance to Income Security Program – the need to be informed if there is any change in work status.
  Finally, the letter referred to supplementary information on other programs that the reader should know about, but did not need to act on at this time.
• Grouping instructions
  The letters contained a number of instructions on record keeping that seemed scattered. The message “IMPORTANT - KEEP THIS LETTER FOR YOUR RECORDS” appeared in the upper right. The same instruction was repeated in the closing paragraph, with different wording. A related instruction, “Please write your client identification number on all correspondence,” appeared at the end of the letter, after the signature, centred on the page in bold face.
  Instructions on a similar topic are more effective if they appear together, prominently, only once. Instructions that are repeated are liable to confuse the reader, especially if the language is inconsistent.
  In this case, the instructions would be most effective if they were grouped under the sub-heading: Please keep this letter.
• Using sub-headings or labels Sub-headings are a highly effective way to help readers scan documents and focus on key information. The sample letters to income disability clients made liberal use of sub-headings – in some there were three sub-headings in a one-page letter. This was not at all excessive. Sub-headings are a genuine help to the reader.
  Many studies have shown that the frequent use of sub-headings or “advance organizers” improves comprehension.^{Footnote 1} This is an effective tool for all readers, but particularly benefits poor readers.

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