Learning path · I'm checking something I wrote before I share it

Checking your own material for access, assumptions, and tone

You wrote something and want to check it yourself in three passes before it goes out: whether people can read and reach it, whether it assumes knowledge or norms people may not share, and whether it invites rather than warns.

By the end, you will have a three-part check of your material: what you found and changed for access and plain language, for assumed knowledge and representation, and for tone, along with what remains and when you will look again. You can run this check on your own writing routinely, and you know when to ask a colleague to review a draft instead.

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Your path

Six steps to work through in order

Get a first readPaste your text into Ask and choose Review my draft. You will receive findings in the same three passes, with the limits of the review stated.Ask: review my draft
Consider community contextIf relevantIf your material is for or names particular Minnesota communities, read the relevant brief for naming, language, and access.Explore Minnesota Communities
Choose practical resourcesUse the plain-language and language access checklists, and the two short courses on accessible content and inclusive communication.Plain language and accessible documents · Language access checklist · Accessible content and digital learning · Inclusive communication
Run the three passesRecord what you found and changed in each pass. Do not paste confidential material. Use the downloaded checklist to write your answers in a tool you normally use. This page does not save them.
Review your checkConfirm each pass names specific changes, you noted what you assumed, you know who else should look, and you have a date to send or revisit it.
Ask a colleague to review it (optional)A second reader catches what the writer cannot. If you would like someone to review your draft, the draft review path gives them a structure, and the right office can help with language access or accessibility questions.Reviewing a draft for equity, access, and plain language · Find the right person

Make the work meaningful

What a useful result looks like

Still needs work:

A reading-level number with nothing changed
"Everyone knows what we mean"
A warning rewritten in friendlier words that still threatens

Ready to use:

Specific sentences you shortened, terms you defined, and images you described
One assumption you made explicit
A sentence that now tells people how to succeed instead of what happens if they fail

Privacy: Do not paste confidential or predecisional material. This page does not save your answers or progress. Notes saved through an earlier version may still be in this browser's site data; this page does not show or delete them.

Published checklist

Three-pass check of your material

Browse and download only. This published checklist is not a form. Staff notes are not saved here.

Browse and download only. This checklist is published from the knowledge base. Staff notes are not filled in or saved on this page.

What you wrote, and who it is forIn the published checklist
The notice, message, page, or material, and its audience.
Pass one: access and plain languageIn the published checklist
Sentence length and reading level. Acronyms defined the first time they appear. Headings that use real heading styles. Alternative text for images. Color contrast. Links that say where they go. Note what you found and what you changed.
Pass two: what you assumed people already knowIn the published checklist
Deadlines, formats, places, and processes stated in full. Dates that avoid major religious observances or offer an alternative. Languages people may need. Examples that show a range of people without stereotypes. Note what you made explicit.
Pass three: toneIn the published checklist
Invitational rather than punitive. Person-first or identity-first language as the community prefers. Acknowledges that we are still learning. Strengths and goals rather than deficits. Note the sentences you rewrote.
Changes you madeIn the published checklist
One line each. Specific and short.
Who else should look at this, and whyIn the published checklist
Language access, accessibility, communications, or the owner of the process you describe.
Who owns each remaining changeIn the published checklist
One line for each change that is not yet done, including who does it.
When you will send it or check it againIn the published checklist

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These optional practice paths are for reading and downloading. This page does not save your answers or progress. Notes saved through an earlier version may still be in this browser's site data; someone using this computer could see them. This page does not show or delete those older notes. Nothing you read or download here is sent to your supervisor or used to evaluate you.

Participation and course completion in this program do not count toward DHS-required training credits unless management, a director, or DHS leadership expressly approves an exception.

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Checking your own material for access, assumptions, and tone

Six steps to work through in order

Get a first readPaste your text into Ask and choose Review my draft. You will receive findings in the same three passes, with the limits of the review stated.Ask: review my draft

Consider community contextIf relevantIf your material is for or names particular Minnesota communities, read the relevant brief for naming, language, and access.Explore Minnesota Communities

Choose practical resourcesUse the plain-language and language access checklists, and the two short courses on accessible content and inclusive communication.Plain language and accessible documents · Language access checklist · Accessible content and digital learning · Inclusive communication

Run the three passesRecord what you found and changed in each pass. Do not paste confidential material. Use the downloaded checklist to write your answers in a tool you normally use. This page does not save them.

Review your checkConfirm each pass names specific changes, you noted what you assumed, you know who else should look, and you have a date to send or revisit it.

Ask a colleague to review it (optional)A second reader catches what the writer cannot. If you would like someone to review your draft, the draft review path gives them a structure, and the right office can help with language access or accessibility questions.Reviewing a draft for equity, access, and plain language · Find the right person

What a useful result looks like

Still needs work:

A reading-level number with nothing changed

"Everyone knows what we mean"

A warning rewritten in friendlier words that still threatens