Write a resource page

Important!

Does your resource belong to a collection that already exists? Where in the collection does it fit, and are there already some template guidelines you can follow?

Resources never stand alone. If the collection doesn’t exist for your resource yet, think about what else is needed to make a collection work (ideally around 5-15 resources).

Basic structure

Each collection of resources has a slightly different structure, depending on the topic. However, many resources include the following basic structures:

• Introduction and anchor menu (what can the reader expect)
• Headings (signposting content and linked to anchor menu)
• Paragraphs, lists and tables (short descriptions of activities or processes)
• Instructional screenshots and videos (illustrating activities or processes)
• Emphasis blocks (highlighting tips or other points to note)
• Links to related information (blogs, resources or external websites)

Whilst each individual resource is unique, using a consistent approach and style across a Collection makes it easier for a reader to follow and engage with the content. Browse through the headings below, or put the anchor menu to work by skipping to the section you’re interested

Title

Note that, while collection titles are present tense continuous, resource page titles should be present tense – keep them short and active, but with enough context to their collection for them to make sense as a standalone page. For example:

COLLECTION	RESOURCE
Using Zoom for teaching	Use Zoom for teaching
Planning your Canvas course	Plan your Canvas course

Introduction and anchor menu

The introduction should be short (1-2 paragraphs) and give the reader a quick sense for what they will find in the resource.

The pre-formatted ‘Introduction’ block you use to create this doesn’t allow for bullet point lists or other special formatting. You can edit the content on the right side after you insert the block.

The anchor menu comes next, which helps the reader quickly see the examples included in the resource and navigate to the parts they’re interested in. If you already know your headings and main content, it’s quicker and easier to add the menu and anchored headings first, before editing the detail.

Useful tip

Found yourself with a really long anchor menu? Consider whether the topic needs all the headings – or whether the topic needs to be split into two separate resources instead.

Headings

Headings, together with the anchor menu, help the reader understand and navigate key points in the resource, especially if it’s long or covers a complex topic.

Your main headings usually use the ‘Anchored h2 heading’ block, which makes it easy to link back to the anchor menu and creates a ‘H2’ heading size. Check how to use these in the ‘Menus, anchors and headings’ resource.

If you need sub-headings within a section, choose the ‘Headings’ block and ‘H3’ size.

You can see the difference in font size between H2 and H3 headings below. The author uses the H3 headings to share a number of examples under the ‘Assessment overview’ heading:

Important!

Check your headings are not formatted in bold, especially if you have copied and pasted a resource from another document.

Paragraphs, lists and tables

Paragraphs in a resource should be short and to the point, using clear language to explain activities or processes. If you find a paragraph getting too long, consider splitting it or creating a list instead. Here are some great uses of lists:

• Things to check before, after or during a process
• Examples of things
• Different options for a process or activity
• Steps in a process (numbered list)

Tables can be a useful way of clustering information in a more complex list, too. Try not to include too many columns, as formatting doesn’t always translate well to smaller screens and it may be too much detail for the reader to absorb as they browse the resource. It’s good practice to use Headings for rows/columns in tables.

A note about bold and italics

Resources use headings, lists, emphasis blocks and images to communicate key points. Formatting text using bold or italics is not necessary and tends to add visual clutter to the page rather than helping!

Instructional screen shots and videos

Screen shots and video help to illustrate processes and activities so that the reader can more easily visualise and engage with the resource content. Many resources include screenshots of learning content or short videos illustrating a concept in more detail.

If you’ve never inserted images or video into a resource before, you can work through the basics in this ‘instructional screen shots and videos‘ resource.

Emphasis blocks

Emphasis blocks are a useful way of drawing attention to specific details, important points or additional information relating to your resource. There are several types of emphasis blocks to choose from, most of which have a set icon and title, and editable text underneath. Block choices include:

• Useful tip
• Important!
• Find out more…
• Case study
• Custom header

Emphasis blocks are most effective when the contents are brief, so that the reader can scan the important point and continue reading.

Links to related information

Links should be written into text where possible (example 1), rather than pasted as a full URL (example 2):

1. Read more about emphasis blocks
2. Read more about emphasis blocks: https://lx.uts.edu.au/collections/style-guide/resources/using-emphasis-blocks/

If you link to external sources (e.g. a help page from Canvas, or a YouTube video), click ‘Open in new tab’. When you insert a link to an internal source (e.g. a UTS resource, collection or blog), you can leave as it is below.

If you edit a link within an emphasis block, it looks slightly different:

Final checks

As well as the usual spelling and grammar checks, use the list below to make sure the resource works as it should. Don’t forget to ask a colleague to proofread it for you when it’s done!

• Anchor menu HTML added to heading and menu
• Minimal visual ‘clutter’ – short paragraphs, no bold or italics
• Alt text on screen shots; video embeds working correctly
• Resource has been allocated to a Collection (settings)
• Topic and any relevant Technologies added (RH menu)
• Collection flow/order – choose where in the Collection to add your resource (RH menu – Post Attributes, select number)
• External links open in new tab