STEPS TOWARD COMPLIANCE WITH CFPB GUIDELINES6

UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE’S NEEDS

• Who are the consumers who will read what you write?

• What do they need to know?• What do they need to do?

1

CATEGORIZE YOUR INFORMATION BY TYPE AND PURPOSE

• Separate different types of information

• Separate “need to know” from “nice to know” information

2

ORGANIZE THE INFORMATION FROM THE CONSUMER’S PERSPECTIVE

• Is it sequenced in the order that consumers need?

• Are new concepts explained for novices– and can experts skip them?

• Are important cautions and warnings prominent, and not obscured or buried?

3

CHECK FOR CONSISTENCY4

• Are you using terms, acronyms and abbreviations consistently?

• Have you formatted each type of information consistently?

HELP CONSUMERS FIND THE INFORMATION THEY NEED

• Make titles and labels descriptive and distinct

• Make information available when and where it’s needed

• Use access aids– TOCs, indexes

5

LOOK FOR REUSABLE INFORMATION

• Use small units of information that can be easily repurposed

• Think of these units as “building blocks” you can use to assemble multiple documents

6