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Changes for page Simple sentences

Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version Icon 2.19 Icon
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 13:25
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To version Icon 2.22 Icon
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 14:17
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7 7  * **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly
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11 +== ==
12 +
10 10  == Guidelines ==
11 11  
12 12  [[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]]
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23 23  
24 24  ----
25 25  
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30 +== ==
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26 26  == {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English ==
27 27  
28 28  Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges.
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80 80  
81 81  ----
82 82  
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90 +== ==
91 +
83 83  == {{id name="ssl"/}}Simple sentences ==
84 84  
85 -
86 86  === 1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. ===
87 87  
88 -The maximum sentence length we would recommend for easy comprehension is 25 words.
96 +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.
89 89  
90 -You can split longer sentences up into 2 or 3 or restructure the content with bullet points to make meaning clearer for users.
98 +Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree 15 word sentences are fine but above 40 words is hard to understand.
91 91  
92 92  
93 93  === 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. ===
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107 107  
108 108  == Usability evidence for simple sentences ==
109 109  
110 -"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
118 +Oxford Guide to plain English
111 111  
112 -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."
120 +Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish'
113 113  
114 -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."
122 +Author Ann Wylie
115 115  
116 -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."
117 -
118 118  [[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website
119 119  
120 120  [['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
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158 158  
159 159  ----
160 160  
161 -== {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms: explain them ==
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168 +== ==
162 162  
170 +== {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms ==
171 +
163 163  (% class="wikigeneratedid" %)
164 164  Make specialist content comprehensible by non-experts.
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166 166  
167 -=== 1. Remember that anybody can access your content. ===
176 +=== 1. Explain specialist terms: anybody can access your content. ===
168 168  
169 169  Assuming who your audience is, and that they'll understand the technical terms you use, are common misconceptions.
170 170  
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208 208  
209 209  [['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
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212 -We generated the [[before sentence about an architecture term>>url:http://sentence.yourdictionary.com/palladian]] from yourdictionary.com and applied our recommendations.
222 +We generated the [[original sentence about a specialist architecture term>>url:http://sentence.yourdictionary.com/palladian]] from yourdictionary.com.
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