Read an Article Activity

Define the intended learning results before drafting the article. Use them to determine its scope, sequence and emphasis, and map each major section, explanation, example, illustration and learning prompt to the knowledge or performance learners are expected to develop.12

Include the content and evidence needed to support those outcomes, and remove material that has no clear explanatory, evidential, contextual or motivational purpose. For exploratory or interpretive reading, organise the article around a guiding question or enquiry purpose rather than forcing a single predetermined conclusion. Do not treat the mere presence of a learning-outcomes statement as evidence that the article itself is aligned.3

Use a concise title that identifies the article’s topic or purpose and remains meaningful when shown outside the article, such as in a course outline, search result or list of learning activities. Where appropriate, connect the topic to a problem, question, decision, outcome or real-world situation that matters to the intended learners.45

The title may create curiosity, but it should provide enough information for learners to judge the article’s relevance. Avoid generic labels, unfamiliar jargon, exaggerated promises and clickbait that conceals the actual subject. Ensure that the title accurately represents the article’s content and intended learning results.6

Open with a concise paragraph that explains what the article is about, why it is relevant to the intended learners and how it relates to the current learning context. Signal the central question, problem or argument, and mention any prior knowledge needed to understand the article. This orientation can activate relevant knowledge and provide a framework for interpreting what follows.7

When the same article is reused across different courses or activities, tailor the lead paragraph to emphasise its particular purpose and value in each context. Use language and examples appropriate to the learners. Do not merely repeat the title, list the learning results or summarise the entire article; give learners enough context and reason to begin reading without removing the need to engage with the article itself.5

Use 5–10 minutes as a design target for a focused article within an online learning activity. There is no universally established optimal duration for reading learning content, but this range is consistent with durations commonly used in published microlearning studies.8

Estimate the initial duration using approximately 200 words per minute for proficient readers reading in their native language. For learners reading in a non-native language, reduce the planning rate by approximately 25–50%, to about 100–150 words per minute, depending on their proficiency and the complexity and familiarity of the content. Where possible, verify the estimate with representative learners rather than relying on word count alone.910

Treat the total reading activity time as the learner’s total time for engaging with the article, not only the time required to read its words. Allow time for understanding unfamiliar concepts, interpreting examples and illustrations, reflecting on the content and briefly revisiting important passages.

Divide longer or multi-topic articles into meaningful sections or chapters with concise, descriptive headings. Align section boundaries with conceptual transitions and the article’s argument rather than arbitrary lengths, and use a logical heading hierarchy without skipping levels. Clear text structure helps learners understand how ideas relate, locate relevant information and revisit specific explanations.1112

Add an in-page table of contents when the article contains several independently useful sections or requires substantial scrolling. Use the same descriptive headings in the contents list and link each entry directly to its section. Keep the list concise and avoid adding it to short articles where it would introduce more complexity than navigation value.13

Use illustrations when they explain relationships, structure, sequence, comparison, evidence or context that learners need to understand. Choose diagrams, charts, screenshots, photographs or other visuals according to their instructional purpose, and keep them accurate, legible and aligned with the surrounding text and intended learning outcomes.14

Place each illustration close to the passage it supports. Use a concise caption and refer to the illustration explicitly in the text so learners know what to notice. Remove decorative or irrelevant details that compete with the explanation.15

Identify terms, abbreviations and concepts that may be unfamiliar to the intended learners. Explain each essential term in plain language when it is first introduced, using an example where this helps learners understand how the term is applied. Introducing the names and defining characteristics of key concepts before they are used in a complex explanation can reduce unnecessary processing demands.16

Make glossary terms visually distinguishable without relying on colour alone, and link their first meaningful occurrence to the corresponding glossary entry. Use the same term and definition consistently throughout the article and related learning materials. The glossary should provide additional reference support, not replace the contextual explanation needed to understand the current passage.1718

Conclude the article with a concise summary of its central ideas, findings, implications or recommended actions. Ensure that every takeaway is supported by the article, aligned with its intended learning outcomes and specific enough to help learners review what matters most.19

Keep the summary brief and do not introduce new information or reproduce the article section by section. Where appropriate, ask learners to recall, select or formulate the main points before revealing the provided takeaways, so the summary supports active processing rather than becoming a substitute for reading.

Cite quotations, data, adapted ideas and claims that depend on external evidence at the passage they support. Make it clear which statements come from a source and which are the author’s interpretation, and distinguish primary evidence from reviews, commentary or secondary reporting where this affects how the information should be understood.20

Provide a consistently formatted reference list with enough information to identify and retrieve each source, including its author or organisation, title, publication date and publication or publisher. Use descriptive source titles rather than bare URLs or generic link text, and include a DOI or another persistent identifier where available. Verify that every citation corresponds to the intended source and that every listed reference is used in the article.2122

Provide supplementary materials only when they extend, deepen, exemplify, update or support the application of the article’s content. Keep all information required to understand the article and achieve its intended learning outcomes within the article itself; learners should not need to follow optional links to access essential explanations or evidence.15

Place optional resources in a clearly labelled Supplementary materials or Further reading section, or beside the passage they directly support. For each resource, use a descriptive title and briefly explain what it contains and why it may be useful. Clearly distinguish optional resources from required activities, limit the selection to relevant and trustworthy materials, and avoid using Read more as the link text without a descriptive resource name.21

Provide a small set of focused questions immediately after the article or as a clearly linked follow-up activity. Use recall questions to help learners retrieve central ideas, reflective questions to connect the content with their prior knowledge or experience, and decision-making questions to apply it to a relevant choice, judgement or scenario.2324

Align each question with the article’s intended learning outcomes and ask learners to explain their reasoning rather than select an answer without reflection. Keep prompts specific and relevant instead of relying on generic questions such as “What did you think?”. For questions with a correct or defensible answer, provide timely feedback and an opportunity to revisit the relevant part of the article.25

Provide a text alternative that communicates the purpose and essential information of every informative image, chart, diagram, animation or other non-text element. Adapt the alternative to the media’s function and context rather than describing every visible detail, and avoid repeating information already available in the surrounding text.26

Provide a longer description or equivalent data representation when complex media cannot be explained adequately in a short alternative. Mark purely decorative media so assistive technologies can ignore it. For audio and video, provide the appropriate synchronized or descriptive alternatives, such as captions, transcripts and audio descriptions.2728

Provide localized versions where language or regional context could limit understanding or relevance. Translate the complete article, including its title, lead paragraph, headings, illustrations, captions, questions, takeaways, glossary terms and other supporting content.29

Adapt terminology, examples, units, cultural references and visual content where necessary—not only the words. Have translations reviewed by proficient human reviewers, label each language and locale clearly, and keep all localized versions synchronized when the source article changes.30