Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 
2.18 
2.18
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 13:22
on 2019/03/07 13:22
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To version 2.33
2.33
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 22:02
on 2019/03/08 22:02
Change comment:
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Summary
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 - Clearlanguage1 +Simple sentences - Parent
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 - Main.WebHome1 +Plain English.WebHome - Content
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... ... @@ -1,94 +1,33 @@ 1 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 2 -This helps: 1 +(% class="box" %) 2 +((( 3 +Following this helps: 3 3 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 6 -* **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field 7 -* **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly 5 +* **people in a hurry** – simply written content is easier to scan and absorb instantly 6 +* **people who are stressed** – if you're anxious you find it harder to comprehend things 7 +* **people who are multi-tasking** – if you're holding a baby or a running business your attention's divided 8 +* **cognitive impairments** – easy to understand words and sentences carry less cognitive load 9 +* **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field 10 +* **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly 11 +))) 8 8 13 +== 14 +Guidelines == 9 9 10 - ==Guidelines==16 +* [[Simple sentences>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#ssl]] 11 11 12 -[[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 13 - 14 -[[Simple sentences >> ||anchor="ssl"]] 15 - 16 -[[Specialist terms>>Specialist terms||anchor="st"]] 17 - 18 -[[Medicine, money and law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]] 19 - 20 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 21 -[[Words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]] 22 - 23 23 ---- 24 24 25 -== {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 20 +== 21 +Simple sentences == 26 26 27 -Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. 28 - 29 -WCAG states that "using the clearest and simplest language appropriate is highly desirable." 30 - 31 -The United Nations recommends plain language for communications. 32 - 33 - 34 -=== 1. Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones. === 35 - 36 -Use ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’, and ‘about’ instead of ‘approximately’. 37 - 38 -Write for the reading comprehension of a 9 year old. This helps you reach the most users and makes your content easy to scan. 39 - 40 - 41 -=== 2. Jargon and buzzwords are unlikely to be clear language. === 42 - 43 -Often, these words are too general and vague and can lead to misinterpretation or empty, meaningless text. Avoid them. Instead, think about what the term actually means and describe that. Be open and specific. 44 - 45 - 46 -Example: 47 -"Let's touch base in 10 and do some blue sky thinking." This uses jargon. 48 -"Let's meet in 10 minutes to think of some ideas." Conveys same meaning using clear language. 49 - 50 - 51 -=== 3. Write conversationally. === 52 - 53 -Picture your audience and write as if you were talking directly to them, with the authority of someone who can help and inform. 54 - 55 - 56 -=== 4. Test your content with users === 57 - 58 -What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 59 - 60 - 61 -== Usability evidence for plain English == 62 - 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 - 65 -[['Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities'>>url:http://templatelab.com/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/]], page 4 Article 2, Definitions, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2018. 66 - 67 -[['Plain Language Is for Everyone, Even Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/plain-language-experts/]], H. Loranger, Nielsen Norman Group, 2017 68 - 69 -[['The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study of Legal Communication'>>url:https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1843415]], C. R. Trudeau in 14 Scribes J. Leg. Writing 121 2012 70 - 71 -[['Strengthening plain language'>>url:http://www.iplfederation.org/]], International Plain Language Federation. Undated. 72 - 73 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://www.clearest.co.uk/plain-language-commission-style-guide]], Plain Language Commission, 2011 74 - 75 -[['The principles of readability'>>url:http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/readability02.pdf]], Impact Information, William H. DuBay, 2004 76 - 77 -[[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 78 - 79 ----- 80 - 81 -== {{id name="ssl"/}}Simple sentences == 82 - 83 - 84 84 === 1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 85 85 86 -The maximum sentence length wewouldrecommend foreasycomprehension is 25 words.25 +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.27 +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. == 30 +=== 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 ==45 +== 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.UK47 +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."49 +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."51 +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 ... ... @@ -153,64 +153,12 @@ 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 93 + 156 156 ---- 157 157 158 - == {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms:explain them ==96 +See also: 159 159 160 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 161 -Make specialist content comprehensible by non-experts. 162 - 163 - 164 -=== 1. Remember that anybody can access your content. === 165 - 166 -Assuming who your audience is, and that they'll understand the technical terms you use, are common misconceptions. 167 - 168 - 169 -=== 2. Create content that all users can understand, whatever their expertise or background. === 170 - 171 -When you present a concept explain its parts and processes in detail. 172 - 173 -If you need to include a technical term consider explaining it. Make sure the surrounding language in plain language. 174 - 175 - 176 -=== 3. Help users understand specialist terms. === 177 - 178 -You could: 179 - 180 -* link to an existing definition – this could be an external site 181 -* add a explanatory definition after using the term 182 - 183 - 184 ->Example: 185 -> 186 ->"It is a Palladian style stone building, and contains a number of splendid paintings and much fine wood-carving." – original sentence. 187 -> 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. 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 - 191 - 192 -== Usability evidence for explaining specialist terms == 193 - 194 -[['Writing Digital Copy for Domain Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-domain-experts/]], Nielson Norman Group, 2017 195 - 196 -[['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 197 - 198 -[['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 199 - 200 -[['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 201 - 202 -[['Advantages and disadvantages with Simplified Technical English'>>url:https://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:16816/FULLTEXT01]], Msc thesis paper, Karin Disborg, 2007 203 - 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 - 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 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. 210 - 211 - 212 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 213 -Here's some sector specific guidance for [[medicine, money and law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]. 214 - 215 - 216 -And here's our list of jargon [[words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]]! 98 +* Plain English 99 +* [[Specialist terms>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#st]] 100 +* [[Law, medicine, money>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/]] 101 +* [[Words to avoid>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Words%20to%20avoid/]]