Legal, medical and financial terms
Following this helps:
- people in a hurry – simply written content is quicker to scan
- people who are stressed – if you're anxious it's difficult to understand complex text
- people who are multi-tasking – when distracted complex text is harder to comprehend
- people with low literacy – will not know meanings of complex vocabulary and terms
- cognitive impairments – easy to understand words involve less cognitive load
- visual impairments – short, simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field
- motor impairments – it takes less physical effort to navigate shorter content
Guidance
The legal, financial and medical professions are known for complex terminology. This is not necessary and confuses people.
Health: People need to understand doctors' letters and consultant reports easily. They need to be able to comprehend online information about health.
Finances: Many people do not understand financial terms. This causes problems. Complex terminology describing conceptual arrangements is not helpful.
Law: Judges created a set of tools to decide what legal writers intended: Statutory Interpretation. But analyses can contradict each other. Plain English makes meaning clearer from the start.
1. Use simple language for legal terms.
2. Explain the law in context.
3. Write medical information clearly.
5. Use clear language for financial information.
6. Explain financial terminology.
7. Give examples of conceptual financial arrangements.
1. Use simple language for legal terms.
If information on your website is unclear your organisation could be taken to court and lose, even if content is approved by your legal department.
2. Explain the law in context.
When you refer to a law, or part of it, explain what that law is at the point of user need. Do not only refer to it in a reference section or appendix.
Example:
Positioned at the top of a form, not hidden away in references section:
"We collect personal information on this form under section 26 the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, because it concerns our programs and activities (c), and it is necessary for planning and evaluating our programs and activities(e)."
Example:
[Subheading]
"Direct sales contract — exemptions from application of the Act
[Body copy]
5 (1) This section describes direct sellers that are, and circumstances in which direct sellers are, exempt from the application of sections 19 to 22 (required contents, direct sales contracts, direct sales contract — cancellation, credit agreement respecting direct sales contract) of the Act."
3. Write medical information clearly.
Users of the information might be in shock or anxious, which reduces cognition.
4. Explain medical terms.
Medical terms are unlikely to be understood by your readers. It's similar to assuming they would know a word in a foreign language. Follow the word or phrase with a plain English explanation.
5. Use clear language for financial information.
Dealing with financial issues can be stressful, which means your audience will have less cognitive capability available. Write information so that it is easy for them to understand.
6. Explain financial terminology.
Avoid using financial jargon. Acronyms and pseudonyms may make sense internally, but people using your services may not understand them.
7. Give examples of conceptual financial arrangements.
A tracker or shared ownership mortgage is easier to understand if you give examples.
This is important for credit arrangements where there is an initial interest rate that may change.
Usability evidence
'Department of Health Stakeholder Report: 2012', research by Ipsos MORI, 2012
'Connecting with audiences. An evidence-based language sourcebook for the Department of Health', DoH and Linguistic Landscapes, 2010, revised 2014
'Writing content for everyone', blog post by, Roz Strachan, Government Digital Service, 2016
'Joseph Kimble—No, the law does not (normally) require legalese' Editing Goes Global, 2015. Professor Joseph Kimble discusses the "psuedo-precision of legalese".
Plain language: the underlying research, Karen Schriver slide presentation, pages 29 to 35.
'The public speaks: an empirical study of legal communication', Christopher Trudeau, study includes solicitor case studies, 2017
'Legislative language and judicial politics: The effects of changing parliamentary language on UK immigration disputes', Matthew Williams, 2017. Locked
'How Parliament’s failure to clearly articulate immigration policy forces judges to take control', Matthew Williams 'Legislative language and judicial politics' 2017 summarised in London School of Economics blog post
Richmond vs HRA Richmond pharmaceutical company took the Health Regulatory Authority to court because the website was confusing. A high court judge decided the site was 'unlawful' and ruled against the government. The site was cleared through a legal department. This set a precedent in the UK. You can still be sued even with all the legal language there, if the information is not clear.
Plain English Campaign believes legalese is unnecessary and does not do what it was intended to. "The argument that clarity should be sacrificed for a document to be comprehensive does not stand up."
Guide to medical information from Plain English Campaign.
Guidance on writing letters to outpatients from Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.
'Clarity is king – the evidence that reveals the desperate need to re-think the way we write' GDS blog, Mark Morris, 2014
'Connecting with audiences: An evidence-based language sourcebook for the Department of Health' Linguistic Landscapes, July 2010
NHS content style guide beta, January 2019
A to Z of financial terms (PDF 87KB) from Plain English Campaign.
Plain English guide to financial term (PDF 686KB) from National Adult Literacy Agency, Ireland, January 2009.