Build a Glossary Around the Reader’s Next Decision

A glossary is easier to use when it follows the reader’s work—not the alphabet.

Try arranging key terms in the order someone first needs them to make a decision. For each term, add three things: a plain-language meaning, the task it affects, and one example in context. Keep any formal definition intact where precision matters; the plain-language version is a doorway, not a replacement.

Then ask a newcomer: Which term made you pause before you could choose what to do next? That answer can show where the explanation needs help—not where the reader failed.

The aim isn’t to define every word. It’s to make the next step easier to understand.