Guide to Producing Successful Communications Products: Supplement to the Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center R&D Communication Reference Guide

Check

Does the product have the correct Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) signature (also known as logo)? Find authorized logos – including U.S. Department of Transportation, when appropriate – here: http://intra.fhwa.dot.gov/had/graphicslibrary.htm.⁸

Does the product omit all Contractor logos?

Does the content meet the following editorial standards:

• Plain Language guidelines, including deploying the lowest possible quotient of passive voice.
• There are no typos.
• Synonyms are deployed whenever possible and appropriate in place of frequently-used words (terms like "support" and "develop") to make the content more interesting to read.
• Graphics follow data visualization techniques whenever possible to best communicate valuable information.
• Report is visually compelling in a way that will attract a user and clearly communicate the content.
• Tables and bulleted content use parallel sentence construction.
• There is no unacceptable content, such as advocacy language or endorsement of private businesses or products.

Does the overall formatting of reports meet the following Office of Operations (HOP) guidelines criteria?

• Acronyms are spelled out:
  

  1) In Table of Contents.
  2) In titles and headings.
  3) The first time they appear in the product.
  4) At the beginning of chapters and/or major sections.

• Chapters begin on the right-hand page (i.e., an odd-numbered page.)
• Blank pages are counted in the page number sequence and do not have print (such as number, graphics, or the statement "This page intentionally left blank.") Right-hand margins are unjustified because type with ragged margin is easier to read.
• Heading and text preferred font size and style is Times New Roman 12 point, unless the HOP Project Manager has conferred with HOP Information Specialist and the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator to use an alternative font.
• Images have credits to outside sources if appropriate. Example: "Source: Springfield Department of Transportation"

Do the figures adhere to the following protocol?  (Figures include graphs, photos, formulas, equations, charts, etc.)

• Acronyms are spelled out the first time.
• Figures are numbered in a single sequence from the beginning of the volume through the appendices.
• Figures have unique captions centered at the bottom.
• The figures follow formats for writing, punctuating, capitalizing, and centering figure captions:
  • Figure 1. Graph. [Insert caption for graph.]
  • Figure 2. Photo. [Insert caption for photo.]
  • Figure 3. Formula. [Insert caption for formula.]
  • Figure 4. Chart. [Insert caption for chart.]
  • Figure 5. Equation. [Insert caption for equation.]
• There are no special symbols, math, or scientific fonts for equations. (Instead, insert an equation as a figure (.jpg format) and number the equation as a figure, instead of at the right-hand side as in older report formats.)

Does the back cover include the following (which should be centered):

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Office of Operations Web Site
https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov

Month and Year of the Publication
Publication Number

The USDOT/FHWA Signature
(Note: The signature is not necessary on the back cover unless it is not placed on the front cover.)