Overview

Create a Table of Contents so that readers can move directly to the fact sheet they want to read in your collection. Include the title and the name of the group member who wrote it.

How You Do It

  1. Review the Annotated Fact Sheet Table of Contents to see an example.
  2. As a group, decide how you will organize your fact sheets. Here are some possible organizational structures:
    • Alphabetical by Topic
      Easy for quick reference if users know what they’re looking for.
    • By Thematic Category
      Group related topics (e.g., Document Design, Accessibility, Plain Language).
    • From Broad to Specific
      Start with foundational concepts (e.g., What is Usability?), then move to more specific principles (e.g., Consistency, Contrast, Repetition).
    • Priority or Impact Ranking
      Organize from most to least critical based on user impact or importance in professional practice.
  3. As a group, complete and assemble all of the fact sheets in a single word processor document, using the order you’ve chosen.
  4. Review your group draft (and revise, if necessary) to make sure the fact sheet for the following:
    • Fact sheet titles are specific and accurate.
    • Fact sheet titles use parallel structures.
    • Fact sheet titles are all the same heading level (e.g., Heading 1) for consistency (so they follow the repetition principle, the R in CRAP).
  5. Scroll through the assembled collection to the location for your Table of Contents (after the Title Page and before the first fact sheet).
  6. Add the heading for your Table of Contents:
    1. Add the phrase Table of Contents as the heading at the top of the page and center the line.
    2. Format the word so that it is clearly the heading for the page. It should be the largest heading on the page. You can use the built-in headings in your word processor.
    3. Skip a blank line.
  7. Either type your table of contents, following the example in the Annotated Fact Sheet Table of Contents, OR use the tools built into your word processor to generate a Table of Contents.
  8. Edit the Table of Contents to add the authors’ names to each entry. Here’s an example: Color Contrast by Bette Garson.
  9. Review your Table of Contents, checking that it includes the title for every fact sheet in your collection. If anything is missing, make the necessary changes.