Clients sometimes ask whether traditional web-writing guidelines apply to specialized, highly educated audiences. We conducted a usability study to answer this question. We asked experts (e.g., medical professionals, scientists, and engineers) to research topics related to their work and give feedback. If you write for other types of specialized audiences who need technical content, you will likely find that these guidelines apply for them as well.

Our study found that, like general web readers, highly educated professionals want content that is digestible, concise, and scannable — that is, formatted according to the rules of writing for the web. The major difference in preference, however, lies in the substance of the content (topics covered and the level of detail) and the importance of credibility.

If you write copy for highly educated or specialized users, follow these recommendations to satisfy their needs and convey credibility.

Provide Facts, Avoid Interpretation
When it comes to work, professionals are on a fact-finding mission. Most of the tasks performed by experts on websites involve research: looking up information, comparing information, discovering new findings, and verifying data.

Two types of information particularly attract their attention:

New information that they haven’t considered or heard of
Contradictory information that is contrary to their existing knowledge or beliefs
In both situations, professionals approach the information cautiously, scrutinizing how the author draws conclusions and seeking relevant content with fervor. They look for facts and are wary of articles that draw outlandish conclusions, without sufficient data to back it up, as illustrated by the following quotes from our study participants:

“Wild statements do not lead one to credibility. You look at careful statements referencing facts…Now there is more online publishing with fewer reviews. Some articles are reviewed after they’re published with comments. It’s a nice new way to doing things, but I’m not comfortable with that.” — Environmental Scientist

“No one study is meaningful. You can look at a study and make a conclusion that is totally wrong. Medical people don’t want information that is on the web that has been interpreted by a journalist…no article stands alone.” — Doctor of Nursing Practice

foxfeed.com
MichaelJFox.org: A clinical researcher in our study balked at this article because it made a bold claim, but lacked detail to explain the findings. She said, “The drug isn’t named. It doesn’t say anything about gene therapy.”
Keep the tone of your content factual, and free from unnecessary fluff and vague assertions. Lead with data and facts. Researchers can see through hype. Overstating outcomes diminishes credibility. Invest in writing in-depth articles, not shallow blog posts.

Provide proof for your statements. Presenting all of the details on a web page can be tricky. Too many facts and findings make content harder to read and comprehend. But too few details make it feel shallow. The secret to presenting comprehensive information without overwhelming readers is to layer it so people can get the gist quickly and then delve into details if necessary.

There are two basic ways to layer content:

State the summary at the top. Then provide more detailed information down the page progressively.
Include hyperlinks that take readers to supporting details on deeper-level pages. Experts are particularly likely to click on hyperlinks to increase their understanding of a topic.
Citations and Supporting Evidence Are Critical
Citations make your writing persuasive, especially for academics and people who need technical detail. They bolster credibility by providing supporting evidence for your assertions. Citations are an indicator of the author’s professionalism and knowledge of the field in which they write.

Domain experts often scan bylines and citations for name recognition. If the content is written by a well-respected person or entity, readers are more likely to trust the information.

“I check to see if I recognize a name or know the sources — if they are known to be credible.” — Environmental scientist

References also facilitate exploration by allowing readers to trace the sources of information:

“References are important in science so you’re aware of previous related work or ancillary information…I look through the references to see what work has been done between this study and previous studies.” — Environmental scientist

To establish authority and trust, provide references to any ideas or information taken from a source. And don’t just say where the information originated — whenever possible, give readers an easy way to follow the trail of evidence by providing a link to the original article, research, book, or journal.

sciencedaily.com
ScienceDaily.com: The references and citations on this website bolstered its credibility.
Accenture Consulting
Accenture.com: An information systems manager was initially intrigued by the stats presented in the PDF document, but lamented the lack of links to references. “It would be nice to have a link to the source of that data…You have to be part of their world to get into that data somehow.”
Experts Care About Recency
Professionals rely on publishing dates to determine relevance. Much of what experts research online is time sensitive, especially in fields like science and technology, where change occurs rapidly. Foundational concepts can live awhile without needing updates, but time-sensitive topics must be current to have value.

An IT specialist in our study left a site that contained outdated content and no easy way to filter by current information.

“The dates when these comments were written are not as current […]. Some things have staying power, but other things may be lost if they’re not current within six months or a year…I’ll hit the back button and go to results to find something that is more targeted to what I’m after.” — IT specialist

MakeUseOf.com
MakeUseOf.com claims to be a guide for modern technology. However, an IT specialist was wary of its content because it was outdated.
Accenture Consulting
Accenture.com: An information-systems officer’s excitement was squashed when he couldn’t find the publication date for this article.
Show dates for time-sensitive information (e.g., news articles, statistics and numerical reports, articles focused on new findings, current trends, and specific holidays or seasons). Articles that don’t show publications dates don’t pass muster and often get bypassed.

Show dates even for evergreen content that continues to be relevant long past its publication date. Domain experts can decipher between time-sensitive developments and long-lasting concepts and older dates.

Shared Vocabularies Change the Rules for Plain Language
Experts in many fields share a specific and well-defined common vocabulary, in which each member of the field has been trained.

When writing for general audiences, authors must constantly ask themselves, “Will my audience understand this?” However, when your audience is composed of experts in one field, you can break some of the word-usage and classification rules that usually apply to general audiences. You may find this is true as well if you write for people who are hobbyists (birdwatching, crossfit, knitting, etc.) who share a specific lexicon that would be incomprehensible to outsiders.

For example, we almost always advise against using A to Z indexes, because users don’t often know the exact name of the topic they want. But when medical professionals in our study participants looked for information about a specific chemotherapy drug, alphabetical browsing was an effective organization scheme.

Chemocare.com's A to Z list
chemocare.com: A nurse practitioner with a doctorate in Nursing Practice could easily browse through this A–Z list of chemotherapy drugs to find more information about a specific drug.
ChemoCare.com's article on a specific cancer treatment
chemocare.com: One of our medical professional participants described Chemocare.com as a favorite website. For example, she could search for a drug’s trade name (Jevtana) or its generic name (cabazitaxel). In addition to the easy navigation, Chemocare had straightforward, fluff-free content and made good use of text formatting.
As another consequence of a formally defined, shared vocabulary, you do not need to explain basic terminology or concepts for experts. In fact, doing so may work against you. If a term is so common that any member of the field should know it, users who see it explained at the beginning of a piece of content may conclude that the content is not meant for them. Remember that expert users will always try to determine whether any given piece of content is written for their level or for the general public.

Woods Hole Oceanographic page on Ocean and Climate Change Institute
whoi.edu: An oceanographic researcher with a Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography was trying to find updates on the research projects of some of his colleagues. When he saw the subtitle Understanding the Role of the Ocean in Global Climate, he realized that the section described the difference between climate changes and weather changes. “This is for the general public, I don’t need that,” he said. This passage suffers from an identity crisis — it’s unclear who the content creators were targeting. They explain the basic concept of climate change, but then fail to explain more advanced concepts like climate forcing and heat sinks.
There are some caveats to this finding, however:

If you write for new members of the field or people completing their education, they may not be familiar with all basic concepts and terminology.
In every field, there are some terms and concepts at the core of the field (like ‘climate change’ for oceanography) and some that are lesser known or less frequently used. Like other people, experts will have difficulty remembering the exact definitions of terms they don’t use frequently.
Some experts enjoy looking up information about tangential fields in which they do not have direct expertise. In those situations, they may need more explanation. For example, when an oceanographic researcher was reading an article about acidification in the ocean, he mentioned, “It’s nice to have someone summarize this, because I’m not a chemist.”
Some terms have multiple possible meanings, even in well-defined fields like medicine.
An article on a disorder, DRPLA
ghr.nlm.nih.gov: Using plain language is almost always a good idea when writing on the web, but they can be ambiguous for experts. One symptom of the brain disorder dentatorubral-pallidoluysian atrophy is described as “involuntary muscle jerking or twitching (myoclonus).” A clinical-research coordinator with a graduate degree in biological science commented, “I think this is actually a really good page, mainly because they do include both technical terminology as well as lay terminology. ‘Muscle jerking and twitching,’ they call this, ‘myoclonus.’ [Without this term] I might’ve thought they were referring to something like dyskinesia, because that’s also defined as involuntary movement. So it’s good that they actually do put specific names on here.”
Defining your audience before you begin writing content is crucial for deciding when you should explain terms or concepts and when you should not. Additionally, remember that progressive disclosure is helpful in unclear situations where some of your users will want a definition and some won’t. Consider adding links or tooltips with quick definitions, so they’re hidden yet available for those who need them.

Grammar and Spelling Count
Whatever your audience, it’s a good idea to pay attention to your grammar and spelling. However, when your target users are highly educated, they may be more likely to catch mistakes in your writing, and they may be more critical.

While researching computer hardware upgrades, an IT manager with a master’s degree commented on his frustration with poor grammar.

“Not everybody writes at the same level… Typos, grammatical errors. People don’t always take the time to proofread. […] Here, they’ve left out the definite article. […] It’s a tiny little thing I’ll fixate on as I go through these things. If I have to pay attention to how I write, I expect it in others.”

Poorly written content will damage the credibility of your site and of your organization. If you want experts to take you seriously, take the time to proofread every piece of content before it goes live.

What Experts Have in Common with General Audiences
Aside from the differences highlighted here, highly educated and specialized users still exhibit some behaviors and preferences seen in general web users.

Experts don’t read text linearly or completely. Like other users, they scan text and read only what is interesting or relevant to them. Even while conducting research and reading scientific papers, experts would jump around in the content to find the sections of interest.
Experts don’t like fluffy content. They may have larger vocabularies and faster reading speeds than average users, but they don’t have time to waste. Articles with long or high-level introductions with little meaningful information signal a general target audience.
Experts aren’t necessarily tech savvy. Unless you’re targeting experts in the technology fields, don’t assume these smart people are automatically advanced web users. For example, we saw a Ph.D. get stuck in a PDF document.

Experts appreciate shortcuts in content. They use summaries and subheadings to help them find the information they want and decide when to read more closely.