5 Appearance and Formatting
Chapter contents
Use of headings
A clear and logical heading hierarchy includes main titles, headings, and subheadings.
- Write headings that are brief and state the main point. People and search engines skim headings to establish the relevance of the content.
- Do not skip heading levels in the hierarchy.
- Give each heading level in a section at least one other heading at the same level. This avoids the appearance of stranded ideas.
- Use numbered headings and numbered lists only when demonstrating a series of steps.
- Do not add underlines, italics, or boldface to headings.
- Do not end headings with a full stop.
- Use sentence case in headings, minimise all but the first letter of the first word, acronyms, and proper nouns.
- Minimise the use of acronyms where possible.
- Be consistent throughout your chapter and entire book.
Heading 1 for the chapter title
The chapter title will appear automatically at the top of the chapter. Do not repeat the chapter title before the first learning objectives or contents textbox.
Heading 2 for main headings
Use heading 2 for most headings within the chapter. Spacing before and after a heading is standard within Pressbooks.
Heading 3 for subheadings
Use heading 3 to introduce subheadings or for a more detailed break up of the content
Heading 4 for sub-subheadings (headings under subheadings if required)
Avoid the use of heading 5 and heading 6 if possible.
Textboxes for emphasis
Use standard and shaded textboxes for supporting content or to provide tips, examples or pullout-style facts within your text.
Lists
Use the preformatted bullet points that will format the indentation. Avoid multiple levels in your lists, and avoid using too many lists in your text.
Structure lists with a lead-in phrase or sentence to introduce the content. Use lists to[1]:
- help users skim content
- group related information
- help users understand the relationship between items.
Move any words repeated in the list items to the lead-in and use a full stop at the end of the last statement.
Tables
Use tables[2]:
- that are introduced in the text or clearly captioned beneath
- to display exact information and values that are too detailed for the text
- for more than two items
- with borders and shading to separate the information and help readability
- with clear column and row headings
- with a consistent alignment of text
- with adjusted width and height so that the text is clearly displayed
- that show only the information that the user needs.
The published appearance of the book is more narrow than the standard screen, so avoid the use of tables for displaying side-by-side information.
Paragraphs
Your paragraph structure can help your readers understand the concept.
Paragraph structure should follow the guidelines outlined in the Australian Government Style Guide[3]:
- Expand on the heading in the first paragraph – the first paragraph after the heading tells people if they are reading the content they expect, and is used by search engines to analyse content.
- Limit each paragraph to one idea – don’t introduce a new concept in the middle of the paragraph.
- Put paragraphs in a logical sequence.
- Introduce the main idea in the first sentence of the paragraph.
- Write paragraphs of 2-4 short sentences using less than 25 words.
- Use plain words, avoid double negatives and unnecessary words.
Links
Links help people navigate digital services or products. However, links can also reduce readability and increase cognitive load. For this reason, use them only when they support a user’s need.
Only use external links when the user needs to:
- complete their task on an external website
- access original copyrighted information that is provided by an external source i.e. government policy.
Follow some simple hyperlink conventions[4]:
- Link to sources instead of duplicating them
- Link directly to the specific page, or content within the page where possible instead of the homepage
- Link to .html content by default
- When linking to other file types, include the document title, file type, and size in the link name
- Write link text that is clear, with keywords at the start of the link that define the call to action
- Avoid links that ask the user to “click here” or “more information“
- Place links at the end of sentences to improve readability
- Open links in the same browser or window to prevent disorientation
- Link to content within the same page to support navigation
Horizontal lines
Use horizontal lines to visually break up content in the text. Use a line before every new <h2> heading.
Colours
If you use colour to emphasise keywords within your text, customise the colour of the font to Western Red.
R: 153
G: 0
B: 51
Hex: #990033
Appearance and formatting checklist
Headings
- Follow a hierarchy for heading sizes. All content headings use <h2>, subheadings use <h3> and so on.
- The chapter title has not been repeated at the start of the chapter
- All blank spaces before and after headings have been removed
- All headings are relevant, brief and clear
- All headings have at least 1-2 sentences of text after them before another heading
- No headings have used bold, italics or underline
- All headings are in sentence case with no full stops at the end
- No headings use <h5> or <h6>
Lists
- All lists use preformatted bullet points
- All lists have a consistent indentation
- Lists have been to help users skim content, group related information and improve the user’s understanding
- Lead-in phrases have been used to introduce the content, particularly after headings
- Lists with lead-in phrases have a full stop after the last item
- Numbered lists have only been used to demonstrate the steps or to rank items in order
- Multilevel lists have been avoided where possible
Tables
- Tables improve the understanding and do not distract from the content
- Tables are introduced in the text and clearly labelled
- Tables are only used for two or more items or for information that is too complicated to display in the text
- Tables use borders and shading to separate content
- Tables have consistent text, text alignment, width and height
Paragraphs
Your paragraph structure can help your readers understand the concept and Paragraph structure should follow the guidelines outlined in the Australian Government Style Guide.
- The overall paragraph structure is clear and logical with consistent spacing, headings and font
- The first paragraph expands on the heading
- The first sentence of each paragraph introduces the main idea
- Each paragraph introduces only one concept
- Paragraphs are made up of 2-4 sentences, each of less than 25 words
- Paragraphs use plain language and avoid the use of double negatives and unnecessary words
Links
- External links are only used when the user needs to complete a task on another website or access original information elsewhere
- All links add value to the text
- All links connect directly to the content instead of the homepage or search results
- All links to non-html content have the document title, file type and size in the link name
- Link names are prefereably at the end of a sentence with clear text and appropriate keywords included
- “Click here” and “more information” links have been avoided
- All links open in the same window or browser
- Internal links to content within the same page or document have been included
- Australian Government Style Manual, Lists, Australian Government Style Manual, n.d. ↵
- Australian Government Style Manual, Tables, Australian Government Style Manual, n.d. ↵
- Australian Government Style Manual, Paragraphs, Australian Government Style Manual, n.d. ↵
- Australian Government Style Manual, Links, Australian Government Style Manual, n.d. ↵
