Writing the text

The main text should be a minimum of 100 and no more than 150 words. It generally takes at least 100 words to share sufficient information about a topic; people tend to stop reading at about 150 words. Here are some general guidelines to consider when writing your marker text:

• The body of the text should appear as one paragraph.
• To keep the word count reasonable – and, consequently, the cost of producing the marker – use numeric characters for dates, centuries, ages, population figures and so on.
• Avoid the use of difficult or highly technical language. Consider that children aged 8 years and up and ESL readers should be able to understand the text.
• Try to avoid run-on sentences and an excessive use of adjectives.
• The font being used should be clear and easy to read, with combined uppercase and lowercase letters. Do not use all caps in the body of the text. The title should appear in a larger font than the body of the text. Note: The use of all uppercase letters is fine for the title.
• Make sure that the text will be able to be read by someone standing eight feet (2.4 metres) away from the marker.
• Occasionally, simple maps or diagrams are added to markers to help illustrate the text better.
• Feel free to present your text in an additional language to English or French. Two languages can appear on a post-mounted plaque, with a separate language appearing on each side.