Access structures

The access structure of a text comprises all those things that are put there to help readers navigate and read strategically.

Each device in the access structure fills a need that cannot be met in another way:

• Contents pages, menus and headings give an overview of the text
• Glossaries (in side notes, panels or pop-ups) provide definitions of terms
• Search bars or, in a paper document, the index allows you to find specific content
• Running heads, tabs or breadcrumb trails help you keep track of where you are
• In an educational text, a list of objectives helps you read purposefully
• Abstracts and summaries give more detailed overviews of the arguments than simple headings
• There might be a concept map to show the structure of a subject area (not the same a site map, which shows the structure of the text).

The access structure perspective means that headings should be useful for someone who has not yet read the text – so avoid using terms that only someone who has read up to that point would understand.

Robert Waller (1979) Typographic access structures for instructional text, in P. A. Kolers, M. E. Wrolstad and H. Bouma (Eds.), Processing of Visible Language. New York: Plenum.

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