Lesson 2.5 · D2 Output Evaluation & Validation · 5 min
Edit and adapt outputs for the intended audience
Reshape accurate output so the reader can use it, without losing what must stay exact.
What the exam tests
Choosing the adaptation that serves a specific reader: executives, customers, front-line staff, governors, community members.
Key ideas
- Executives and boards
- Lead with the decision needed, the impact and the risks on one page; move technical detail to an appendix.
- Customers and the public
- Plain language, the reader's reading level, short sentences, key dates and actions in a clear list.
- Front-line and non-specialist staff
- What changes for them and what to do, in their vocabulary.
- Keep required content intact
- Figures, dates, regulatory wording and must-include items survive every rewrite. Say so explicitly when you ask for an edit.
- Accessibility
- Consider translations, reading levels and formats for people who took part in research or receive the service.
Worked example
A technical outage analysis must go to the executive committee.
Weaker
Send the full analysis so they can see the evidence.
Stronger
Rewrite as a one-page brief: impact, root cause in one sentence, decision needed, cost; technical detail in an appendix.
Why: Executives need to decide, not to audit the engineering.
Common traps
- Removing all numbers to make it “simple”.
- Adding jargon to make it look rigorous.
- Converting to bullets without changing what is emphasised.
Remember
Same facts, reshaped for the reader's decision and vocabulary.