Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 
2.16 
2.16
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 13:11
on 2019/03/07 13:11
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To version 2.14
2.14
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 11:55
on 2019/03/07 11:55
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Summary
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... ... @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ 3 3 4 4 * **people in a hurry** – simply written content is easier to scan and absorb instantly 5 5 * **cognitive impairments** – easy to understand words and sentences need less cognition 6 -* **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visualfield6 +* **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller field of focus 7 7 * **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly 8 8 9 9 ... ... @@ -12,10 +12,12 @@ 12 12 13 13 [[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 14 14 15 -[[S implesentences>> ||anchor="ssl"]]15 +[[Sentence length>> ||anchor="ssl"]] 16 16 17 - [[Specialistterms>>Specialistterms||anchor="st"]]17 +Sentence structure 18 18 19 +Specialist terms 20 + 19 19 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 20 20 Words to avoid 21 21 ... ... @@ -75,137 +75,14 @@ 75 75 [[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 76 76 77 77 78 -== {{id name="ssl"/}}S implesentences==80 +== {{id name="ssl"/}}Short sentence length == 79 79 80 80 81 -=== 1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 82 82 83 - Themaximumsentencelength we wouldrecommend forasycomprehension is 25 words.84 +== Simple sentence structure == 84 84 85 -You can split longer sentences up into 2 or 3 or restructure the content with bullet points to make meaning clearer for users. 86 86 87 - 88 -== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. == 89 - 90 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 91 - 92 - 93 -Complexity depends on: 94 - 95 -* number of clauses in a sentence, the more clauses the more complex it is 96 -* distribution of associated words across the sentence – how easily can the brain 'parse a phrase': recognise, connect and comprehend words that together convey meaning 97 - 98 - 99 ->Example:"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 100 ->"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 101 - 102 - 103 -== Usability evidence for simple sentences == 104 - 105 -"People with some learning disabilities read letter for letter – they do not bounce around like other users. They also cannot fully understand a sentence if it’s too long. People with moderate learning disabilities can understand sentences of 5 to 8 words without difficulty. By using common words we can help all users understand sentences of around 25 words." GOV.UK 106 - 107 -The Oxford Guide to Plain English recommends 15–20 words per sentence. It also says: "…if you regularly exceed 40 words, you’ll certainly weary and deter your readers." 108 - 109 -Jyoti Sanyal, author of 'Indlish' said: "Based on several studies, press associations in the USA have laid down a readability table. Their survey shows readers find sentences of 8 words or less very easy to read; 11 words, easy; 14 words fairly easy; 17 words standard; 21 words fairly difficult; 25 words difficult and 29 words or more, very difficult." 110 - 111 -Author Ann Wylie said: "When the average sentence length in a piece was fewer than 8 words long, readers understood 100% of the story. At 14 words, they could comprehend more than 90% of the information. But move up to 43-word sentences and comprehension dropped below 10 percent." 112 - 113 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 114 - 115 -[['Sentence length: why 25 words is our limit'>>url:https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/04/sentence-length-why-25-words-is-our-limit/]], Inside GOV.UK, UK Government blog, 2014 116 - 117 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 118 - 119 -[['The role of word difficulty and sentence length in text comprehension'>>url:https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a114935.pdf]], T. M. Duffy and P. K. U'Ren, 1982 120 - 121 -[['The Influence of Semantics and Syntax on What Readers Remember'>>url:https://www.hcde.washington.edu/files/people/docs/Isakson_Spyridakis_Sem_Syn.pdf]], C. S. Isakson and J. H. Spyridakis, 1999 122 - 123 -[['How the brain attunes to sentence processing: Relating behavior, structure, and function'>>url:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4819595/]], A. Fengler, L. Meyer, A. D. Friederici, National Center for Biotechnology Information 124 - 125 -[['Functional Analysis of Clause Complex in the Language of News Websites Texts: A Comparative Study of Two Articles'>>url:http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0616/ijsrp-p5445.pdf]], F. M. S. Eid, International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 6, Issue 6, June 2016 126 - 127 -[[Reading Level>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Understanding SC 3.1.5, WCAG, 2008 128 - 129 -[['Readability Assessment of Internet-Based Consumer Health Information'>>url:http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/53/10/1310/tab-pdf]], T. M. Walsh and T. A. Volsko in Respiratory Care October 2008, 53 (10) 1310-1315 130 - 131 -[['The research basis of plain language techniques: Implications for establishing standards'>>url:https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Karen_Schriver/publication/285927928_The_research_basis_of_plain_language_techniques_Implications_for_establishing_standards/links/5664c50208ae192bbf90aa85/The-research-basis-of-plain-language-techniques-Implications-for-establishing-standards.pdf]], Karen Schriver, PhD, Dr. A. L. Cheek, M. Mercer, Center for Plain Language, November 20, 2008, Mexico City 132 - 133 -[['Readability Levels of Health-Based Websites: From Content to Comprehension'>>url:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ851863.pdf]], M. Schutten, A. McFarland, PhD, International Electronic Journal of Health Education, 2009, 12:99-107 134 - 135 -[['Writing smaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]], Clarity Journal no. 63, 2010 136 - 137 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 138 - 139 -[['Shorter Lines Facilitate Reading in Those Who Struggle'>>url:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071161]], Matthew H. Schneps , Jenny M. Thomson, Gerhard Sonnert, Marc Pomplun, Chen Chen, Amanda Heffner-Wong, 2013 140 - 141 -[['Towards a better measure of readability: Explanation of empirical performance results'>>url:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00437956.1989.11435805]], Leslie A. Olsen & Rod Johnson, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015 142 - 143 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 144 - 145 -[[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 146 - 147 -[['Understanding Plain English summaries. A comparison of two approaches to improve the quality of Plain English summaries in research reports.'>>url:https://researchinvolvement.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40900-017-0064-0]] 2017 148 - 149 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 150 - 151 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 152 - 153 - 154 -== {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms: explain them == 155 - 156 156 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 157 -Make specialist content comprehensible by non-experts. 158 - 159 - 160 -=== 1. Remember that anybody can access your content. === 161 - 162 -Assuming who your audience is, and that they'll understand the technical terms you use, are common misconceptions. 163 - 164 - 165 -=== 2. Create content that all users can understand, whatever their expertise or background. === 166 - 167 -When you present a concept explain its parts and processes in detail. 168 - 169 -If you need to include a technical term consider explaining it. Make sure the surrounding language in plain language. 170 - 171 - 172 -=== 3. Help users understand specialist terms. === 173 - 174 -You could: 175 - 176 -* link to an existing definition – this could be an external site 177 -* add a explanatory definition after using the term 178 - 179 - 180 ->Example: 181 -> 182 ->"It is a Palladian style stone building, and contains a number of splendid paintings and much fine wood-carving." – original sentence. 183 -> 184 ->"It is a [[Palladian style>>url:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/style-guide-palladianism/]] stone building, and contains a number of splendid paintings and much fine wood-carving." – with link to a definition. 185 -> "It is a Palladian style stone building and contains a number of splendid paintings and much fine wood-carving. Palladian style architecture features include columns, symmetry and decorative arches." – with explanatory definition. 186 - 187 - 188 -== Usability evidence for explaining specialist terms == 189 - 190 -[['Writing Digital Copy for Domain Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-domain-experts/]], Nielson Norman Group, 2017 191 - 192 -[['Writing Digital Copy for Specialists vs. General Audiences'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/videos/writing-digital-copy-specialists/?lm=how-users-read-on-the-web&pt=article]], Nielson Norman Group, undated 193 - 194 -[['Plain Language For Everyone, Even Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/videos/plain-language-for-experts/?lm=how-users-read-on-the-web&pt=article]] Nielson Norman Group, undated 195 - 196 -[['TechWhirl Fast 5: Understanding Plain Language and Simplified Technical English'>>url:https://techwhirl.com/techwhirl-fast-5-understanding-plain-language-simplified-technical-english/]], Connie Giordano, TechWhirl, 2017 197 - 198 -[['Advantages and disadvantages with Simplified Technical English'>>url:https://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:16816/FULLTEXT01]], Msc thesis paper, Karin Disborg, 2007 199 - 200 -[['Technical Writing Need Not Be Abstruse—Use Plain Language for Maximum Impact'>>url:https://digital.gov/2015/10/23/technical-writing-need-not-be-abstruse-use-plain-language-for-maximum-impact/#]], Colleen Blessing, 2015 201 - 202 -[['The Facets of the General Public as Audience'>>url:https://www.dropbox.com/s/2u2cybl7c57u0tr/AudienceIssues.pdf?dl=0]] Cheryl Stephens and Mariah Stufflebeam, 2017 203 - 204 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 205 -We generated the [[before sentence about an architecture term>>url:http://sentence.yourdictionary.com/palladian]] from yourdictionary.com and applied our recommendations. 206 - 207 - 208 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 209 209 Here's some sector specific guidance: 210 210 211 211 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %)