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Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:49
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edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/15 20:21
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To version Icon 2.3 Icon
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/04/24 14:01
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Title
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1 -Plain language for health, finances and law
1 +Legal, medical and financial terms
Content
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6 6  * **people in a hurry** – simply written content is quicker to scan
7 7  * **people who are stressed** – if you're anxious it's difficult to understand complex text
8 8  * **people who are multi-tasking** – when distracted complex text is harder to comprehend
9 +* **people with low literacy** – will not know meanings of complex vocabulary and terms
9 9  * **cognitive impairments** – easy to understand words involve less cognitive load
10 10  * **visual impairments** – short, simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field
11 11  * **motor impairments** – it takes less physical effort to navigate shorter content
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88 88  
89 89  === {{id name="#m2"/}} 4. Explain medical terms. ===
90 90  
91 -Medical terms are likely not to be understood by your readers. It is likely assuming they would know a word in a foreign language. Follow the word or phrase with a plain English explanation.
92 +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.
92 92  
93 93  
94 94  === {{id name="#mo1"/}}5. Use clear language for financial information. ===
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112 112  
113 113  === {{id name="#UEL"/}}Usability evidence ===
114 114  
116 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H" %)
117 +[['Department of Health Stakeholder Report: 2012'>>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-stakeholder-report-2012]], research by Ipsos MORI, 2012
118 +
115 115  (% class="wikigeneratedid" %)
116 -==== Legal ====
120 +[['Connecting with audiences. An evidence-based language sourcebook for the Department of Health'>>http://www.linguisticlandscapes.co.uk/pdf/DH%20Language%20Guidelines%20230710%20FINAL_for%20website_240114.pdf]], DoH and Linguistic Landscapes, 2010, revised 2014
117 117  
122 +[['Writing content for everyone>>path:/xwiki/bin/get/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/?sheet=CKEditor.ResourceDispatcher&outputSyntax=plain&language=en&type=doc&reference=https%3A%2F%2Fgds.blog.gov.uk%2F2016%2F02%2F23%2Fwriting-content-for-everyone%2F]]', blog post by, Roz Strachan, Government Digital Service, 2016
123 +
118 118  [['Joseph Kimble—No, the law does not (normally) require legalese'>>url:http://www.ivacheung.com/2015/07/joseph-kimble-no-the-law-does-not-normally-require-legalese-editing-goes-global-2015/]] Editing Goes Global, 2015. Professor Joseph Kimble discusses the "psuedo-precision of legalese".
119 119  
120 120  [[Plain language: the underlying research>>url:https://www.victorialawfoundation.org.au/sites/default/files/resources/Schriver_Karen%20Clarity2012.pdf]], Karen Schriver slide presentation, pages 29 to 35.
121 121  
122 -[[The public speaks: an empirical study of legal communication>>url:http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=christopher_trudeau]], study by Christopher Trudeau (@proftrudeau on Twitter) containing case studies from solicitors about using legal language.
128 +[['The public speaks: an empirical study of legal communication'>>https://works.bepress.com/christopher_trudeau/4/]], Christopher Trudeau, study includes solicitor case studies, 2017
123 123  
124 -[[Richmond vs HRA>>url:http://www.alltrials.net/news/judgment-in-richmond-v-hra-judicial-review/]] A pharmaceutical company called Richmond took the Health Regulatory Authority to court because the website was confusing. A high court judge deemed the site 'unlawful' and ruled against the government. The site was cleared through a legal department. This set a precedent in the UK. You could still be sued even with all the legal language is there, if the information is not clear.
130 +[['Legislative language and judicial politics: The effects of changing parliamentary language on UK immigration disputes'>>https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1369148117705272]], Matthew Williams, 2017. Locked
125 125  
126 -[[Plain English Campaign>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/campaigning/past-campaigns/legal/drafting-in-plain-english.html]] 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."
132 +[['How Parliament’s failure to clearly articulate immigration policy forces judges to take control'>>https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/parliamentary-language-and-immigration/]], Matthew Williams 'Legislative language and judicial politics' 2017 summarised in London School of Economics blog post
127 127  
128 -====
129 -Medical ====
134 +[[Richmond vs HRA>>url:http://www.alltrials.net/news/judgment-in-richmond-v-hra-judicial-review/]] 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.
130 130  
136 +[[Plain English Campaign>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/campaigning/past-campaigns/legal/drafting-in-plain-english.html]] 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."
137 +
131 131  [[Guide to medical information>>http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/medicalguide.pdf]] from Plain English Campaign.
132 132  
133 133  [[Guidance on writing letters to outpatients>>http://www.aomrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Please_write_to_me_Guidance_010918.pdf]] from Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.
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136 136  
137 137  [['Connecting with audiences: An evidence-based language sourcebook for the Department of Health'>>http://www.linguisticlandscapes.co.uk/pdf/DH%20Language%20Guidelines%20230710%20FINAL_for%20website_240114.pdf]] Linguistic Landscapes, July 2010
138 138  
139 -[[NHS content style guide beta>>https://beta.nhs.uk/service-manual/content/how-we-write]], January 2019 
140 -
146 +[[NHS content style guide beta>>https://beta.nhs.uk/service-manual/content/how-we-write]], January 2019
141 141  
142 -==== Finance ====
143 -
144 144  [[A to Z of financial terms (PDF 87KB)>>http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/files/financialguide.pdf]] from Plain English Campaign.
145 145  
146 146  [[Plain English guide to financial term (PDF 686KB)>>https://www.nala.ie/resources/plain-english-guide-financial-terms]] from National Adult Literacy Agency, Ireland, January 2009.
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151 151  See also:
152 152  
153 153  * [[Plain English>>doc:Plain English.Plain English, simple sentences.WebHome]]
154 -* [[Simple sentences>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Simple%20sentences/]]
155 -* [[Specialist terms>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#st]]
156 -* [[Words to avoid>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Words%20to%20avoid/]]
158 +* [[Simple sentences>>doc:Plain English.Simple sentences.WebHome]]
159 +* [[Specialist terms>>doc:Plain English.Specialist terms.WebHome]]
160 +* [[Words to avoid>>doc:Plain English.Words to avoid.WebHome]]
157 157  )))
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[0]
Author
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1 +Anonymous
Comment
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1 +4. Explain medical terms.
2 +Medical terms are unlikely to be understood by your readers. It similar to assuming
3 +
4 +
5 +Should be : it is similar
Date
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1 +2019-04-01 22:40:18.0
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[1]
Author
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1 +xwiki:XWiki.LizzieBruce
Comment
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1 +Thanks! Feel free to contact me for a wiki edit log in if you spot anything else. lizzie@contentdesign.london
Date
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1 +2019-04-24 11:37:24.0