Planning the Typographical Structure of Instructional Text

This article considers planning the typographical structure of instructional text from a personal viewpoint, supported by current research. It emphasizes the importance of various decisions, such as choosing an appropriate page size and spacing text in a consistent manner. Attention is also drawn (a) to issues concerning the choice of typefaces and typesizes and (b) to how, for some areas of decision-making, there is no research to guide practitioners. Finally, the article considers positioning illustrative materials in text and how the typographic grid is a useful tool in this respect.