Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 2.18
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 13:22
on 2019/03/07 13:22
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To version 2.25
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 16:59
on 2019/03/08 16:59
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... ... @@ -2,26 +2,33 @@ 2 2 This helps: 3 3 4 4 * **people in a hurry** – simply written content is easier to scan and absorb instantly 5 -* **cognitive impairments** – easy to understand words and sentences need less cognition 5 +* **people who are stressed** – if you're anxious you find it harder to comprehend things 6 +* **people who are multi-tasking** – if you're holding a baby or a running business your attention's divided 7 +* **cognitive impairments** – easy to understand words and sentences carry less cognitive load 6 6 * **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field 7 7 * **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly 10 + 8 8 12 +== == 9 9 10 10 == Guidelines == 11 11 12 12 [[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 13 13 14 -[[Simple sentences 18 +[[Simple sentences>>||anchor="ssl"]] 15 15 16 -[[Specialist terms>> Specialist terms||anchor="st"]]20 +[[Specialist terms>>||anchor="st"]] 17 17 18 -[[ Medicine, moneyand law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]22 +[[Law, medicine, money>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]] 19 19 20 20 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 21 21 [[Words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]] 22 22 27 + 23 23 ---- 24 24 30 +== == 31 + 25 25 == {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 26 26 27 27 Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. ... ... @@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ 58 58 What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 59 59 60 60 61 -== Usability evidence forplain English ==68 +== Usability evidence: plain English == 62 62 63 63 [[Guideline 3.1 Readable: Make text content readable and understandable.>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, 2008. 64 64 ... ... @@ -76,19 +76,21 @@ 76 76 77 77 [[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 78 78 86 + 79 79 ---- 80 80 89 +== == 90 + 81 81 == {{id name="ssl"/}}Simple sentences == 82 82 83 - 84 84 === 1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 85 85 86 -The maximum sentence length wewouldrecommend foreasycomprehension is 25 words.95 +The maximum sentence length for a good level of comprehension is 25 words. Split long sentences up into 2 or 3, or use bullet points. 87 87 88 - Youcan splitlonger sentencesupinto 2 or 3 or restructure the contentwithbullet pointsto make meaningclearer forusers.97 +Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree 15 word sentences are fine but above 40 words is hard to understand. 89 89 90 90 91 -== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. == 100 +=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 92 92 93 93 They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 94 94 ... ... @@ -103,16 +103,14 @@ 103 103 >"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 104 104 105 105 106 -== Usability evidence forsimple sentences ==115 +== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 107 107 108 - "People with some learning disabilities read letterforletter – theydonot bounce around like other users. They also cannot fully understanda sentence if it’s toolong. People with moderate learningdisabilities canunderstand sentences of 5 to 8 words without difficulty. By using common wordswe canhelp all users understand sentences of around 25 words." GOV.UK117 +Oxford Guide to plain English 109 109 110 - The Oxford Guideto PlainEnglish recommends 15–20 words per sentence. Italso says: "…if you regularlyexceed40 words, you’ll certainly weary and deter your readers."119 +Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 111 111 112 - Jyoti Sanyal, authorof 'Indlish' said: "Based on several studies, press associations in the USAhave laid downa readability table. Their survey shows readers findsentences of 8 words or less veryeasy 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."121 +Author Ann Wylie 113 113 114 -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." 115 - 116 116 [[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 117 117 118 118 [['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 ... ... @@ -153,15 +153,18 @@ 153 153 154 154 [[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 155 155 163 + 156 156 ---- 157 157 158 -== {{idname="st"/}}Specialist terms: explain them==166 +== == 159 159 168 +== {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms == 169 + 160 160 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 161 161 Make specialist content comprehensible by non-experts. 162 162 163 163 164 -=== 1. Rememberthat anybody can access your content. ===174 +=== 1. Explain specialist terms: anybody can access your content. === 165 165 166 166 Assuming who your audience is, and that they'll understand the technical terms you use, are common misconceptions. 167 167 ... ... @@ -183,13 +183,14 @@ 183 183 184 184 >Example: 185 185 > 186 ->"It is a Palladian style stone building, and contains a number of splendid paintings and much fine wood-carving." – original sentence. 196 +>"It is a Palladian style stone building, and contains a number of splendid paintings and much fine wood-carving." – original sentence (source [[yourdictionary.com>>url:http://sentence.yourdictionary.com/palladian]]). 187 187 > 188 188 >"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. 199 +> 189 189 > "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. 190 190 191 191 192 -== Usability evidence for explainingspecialist terms ==203 +== Usability evidence: specialist terms == 193 193 194 194 [['Writing Digital Copy for Domain Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-domain-experts/]], Nielson Norman Group, 2017 195 195 ... ... @@ -204,11 +204,10 @@ 204 204 [['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 205 205 206 206 [['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 218 + 207 207 208 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 209 -We generated the [[before sentence about an architecture term>>url:http://sentence.yourdictionary.com/palladian]] from yourdictionary.com and applied our recommendations. 220 +---- 210 210 211 - 212 212 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 213 213 Here's some sector specific guidance for [[medicine, money and law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]. 214 214