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Purpose

This module outlines the benefits—to you and your readers—of using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to create Word documents that are more understandable, usable, and flexible. Many of these benefits can be achieved using Word’s built-in tools and features, such organizing content in outline view, formatting with styles, employing best practices for page elements like images and tables, and saving your final work in multiple formats.

Presenting Information in Multiple Ways

One of the hallmarks of UDL is its insistence on multiple forms of presentation—visual, oral, and textual. Providing information in a variety of modalities can help you reach a wider and more diverse audience. When this inclusive principle is applied to the preparation of Word documents, the need for supplementing visual elements, like images and tables, with text descriptions becomes clear.

Images

An image can convey information quickly and powerfully—assuming it can been seen and understood. However, some readers may not understand the context of the image; others may not be able to see the image due to visual impairment, personal viewing preferences (especially on the web), or technological limitations.

Whether the image is a photograph, a clip art illustration, or an Excel chart, make sure the information it contains is available textually as well as visually. This can be achieved by describing the image in the text of the document, by adding a picture caption, or by adding an alternative text description.

 For more information, see the tutorial Adding Alternate Text to Images in Microsoft Word.

Tables

Tables provide a clear and succinct format for presenting information. But like images, tables can pose a barrier to users who cannot see them. To ensure that tabular information is useful to all readers, do the following:

• Keep tables as simple as possible. Use the simplest construction that will adequately convey the data. Use two tables rather than one very complicated table, whenever possible.
• Design tables so that they make sense when linearized (i.e., when read strictly from left to right).
• Use logical naming conventions, and describe the function of the table clearly in its title.
• Make use of table headings.
• Describe the table’s significant aspects. For example, “Steve’s office hours are 10-11, Tuesday through Thursday,” rather than “The table shows Steve’s office hours.”

 For more information about table headings, along with tips and additional references, see the tutorial Specifying Table Headings in Word.

Organizing and Adding Style

Whether you’re working with text, a table, or an image, how you organize and present information determines the usability of your Microsoft Word document. Well-organized information is, quite simply, more usable. Documents that clearly convey their information in a logical fashion benefit more people. Information that is “chunked,” or delivered in small sections, is easier to remember.

Layout, spacing, color, font selection—all affect the degree to which information can be easily read and understood. We know this from age-old principles of graphic design and from modern studies of usability. Yet despite the importance of visual formatting, we mustn’t rely on it alone to convey important information. Why? Because not every reader will be able to see your document. Some will hear the content using text-to-speech software. Others may see a text-only version of the document on a the small screen of a hand-held device. Still others will print or photocopy your colorful text and graphics in black and white.

Visual formatting should therefore be combined with structural formatting. Word provides two powerful tools for organizing content and controlling its visual presentation: styles and outline view. Creating an accessible and usable Word document is largely the result of combining the complimentary aspects of these two tools.

Styles

Word’s styles apply structure to text, placing elements into categories such as headings (levels 1-9) and lists (bulleted and numbered). Styles also control the appearance of page elements.

Word comes with a large number of built-in styles. Although styles are preformatted in appearance, they are customizable in all respects, including font, size, paragraph indents, tabs, color, and more. The appearance of a style can be modified without changing its structural meaning. For example, the style “Heading 2” can be modified to appear in any size, font, and color without altering its meaning as a second-level page heading.

The benefits of using styles are many, including the following:

• Document navigation becomes easier for both reader and author alike. The document takes on a consistent appearance, with elements like headings standing out clearly. Navigation is also enhanced for the author when using outline view.
• Styles help you maintain consistent formatting throughout your entire document, and when saved in a “template,” they provide consistency across multiple documents. Templates can be customized to create a special look, such as memos and manuscripts, and can help you conform to publication and presentation standards.
• Design changes are dramatically faster, especially in large documents.
• When combined with Word’s built-in headings, styles allow you to automatically add a table of contents to your document, complete with dynamically updated page numbers.
• Styled documents allow for easier conversion to other formats, such as PDF and HTML. For example, if you have Adobe Acrobat installed, you can choose “Convert to Adobe PDF” to create an accessible, “tagged” PDF file. A PDF created in this manner contains navigational “bookmarks,” is logically organized, and retains alternate text descriptions added to images.

Outline View

Using Word’s outline view helps focus attention on the structure of a document by creating a hierarchical outline of headings and subheadings. Like a table of contents, outline view makes even the most complex document easier to follow.

But a simplified overview is just the beginning of what outline view has to offer. With just a few mouse clicks or keystrokes, you can reorganize an entire document in outline view. And because the various levels of headings are based on styles, their appearance can be altered to suit almost any look imaginable.

Outline view also provides an easy way to take notes. You can rough out the basic outline of a lecture or book chapter, then go back and add details under each heading.

Outline view can help you to:

• highlight main topics
• navigate more quickly
• move large sections quickly and efficiently

For a more complete discussion of outline view and styles, see the tutorial Preparing for Conversion to Accessible HTML and PDF.

Outline View and PowerPoint

Outline view and styles can also help you create a basic PowerPoint presentation. A Word document, styled only with headings, can quickly lay down the text for a presentation. Each paragraph formatted with the Heading 1 style becomes the title of a new slide, and each Heading 2 becomes a bulleted list item. Further heading levels become indented bullet items.

For more information, see the module Microsoft PowerPoint, Universally Designed.

General Tips to Improve Readability

Sometimes a simple change can make a large impact. Such is the case with the following “best practices,” which are easy to implement and can greatly improve the usability of your documents:

• Make sure the fonts you use are legible and not overly ornate. For body text especially, avoid fonts that look like handwriting, calligraphy, or fancy headlines.
• Use a font size that is large enough for easy reading.
• Pick a text color and background combination that offers high contrast.
• Define acronyms upon first usage, and avoid using slang, jargon, or ambiguous terms that limit universal understanding.
• Explain any background context that might be crucial to understanding.
• Hyperlinks to websites should clearly convey where they will send the user and, ideally, what the user will find there.

Saving Documents in Multiple Formats

As the popularity of electronic file distribution grows, so does the importance of saving documents in formats that everyone can access. By default, Word documents are saved in a proprietary format (.doc) that cannot be opened by other software. Fortunately, it’s easy to save Word documents in alternate formats. Some, like Adobe PDF, require additional software; others, like HTML and Rich Text Format (RTF) can be created by Word directly.

The RTF format is considered “universal” because it is so widely supported by software applications on all computer platforms.

The following tutorials offer additional information about preparing Microsoft Word documents for conversion to alternate formats:

• Saving in the Rich Text Format (RTF) from Microsoft Word
• Preparing for Conversion to Accessible HTML and PDF

For more general tips about PDF creation, see the module Adobe Acrobat PDF, Universally Designed.

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