Some people struggle with words, even when they are communicated clearly.
These inlcude those with reading difficulties as a result of medical issues (such as a stroke or brain injury), older people (who don’t take in information as quickly as they used to), and those with cognitive impairments which affect their ability to read and understand texts, not forgetting those for whom English isn’t their first language.
Each group has its own special needs when it comes to making language accessible and easy to understand, so I ensure that these requirements are always taken into account.
Ways of doing this include:
• using 'alt text’ descriptions for images and graphics and ensuring that text is laid out visually clearly and simply, using short, descriptive headings, clear typefaces and fonts
• ensuring there is plenty of white space to break up the text
• using lists where appropriate, to make simple points even clearer
• ensuring the English is as clear and concise as possible to convey the message.
Some experiences can be difficult to put into words without having gone through them first-hand, such as belonging to a specific race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and many more differentiating life experiences.
Even if a writer has carried out research, they can still make inadvertent errors which can result in misrepresentation or stereotyping.
This can alienate the very readers they are writing for – with possibly even worse consequences.
In my role as an experienced professional copyeditor and proofreader (or when I'm employed to rewrite content), I am ideally placed to spot where a piece of writing might be problematical in its theme or approach, and will inform the client immediately and make recommendations for a more sensitive rewrite (using the experience of someone with first-hand knowledge of the issue, as necessary).
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