Quick Help: Using visuals and media effectively

Quick Help: Using visuals and media effectively

  • Choose visual and media elements that will make your text more effective for your audience. If they don’t help you accomplish your purpose, look for better options.

  • Consider design principles for placement of visual and media files within a text, and aim to make your media files accessible to as many readers as possible.

  • Tell the audience explicitly what a visual demonstrates, especially if it presents complex information. Do not assume readers will “read” the visual the way you do; your commentary on it is important.

  • Follow established conventions for documenting visual and media sources. Ask permission for use if someone else controls the rights.

  • Get responses to your visuals and media in an early draft. If readers can’t follow them or are distracted by them, revise accordingly.

  • If you alter or edit visuals, audio, or video to include them in your writing, be sure to do so ethically.