Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 
2.23 
2.23
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 17:55
on 2019/03/07 17:55
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To version 2.4
2.4
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 11:06
on 2019/03/07 11:06
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... ... @@ -1,34 +1,5 @@ 1 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 2 -This helps: 1 +== Plain English == 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 8 - 9 - 10 -== == 11 - 12 -== Guidelines == 13 - 14 -[[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 15 - 16 -[[Simple sentences>>||anchor="ssl"]] 17 - 18 -[[Specialist terms>>||anchor="st"]] 19 - 20 -[[Medicine, money and law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]] 21 - 22 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 23 -[[Words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]] 24 - 25 - 26 ----- 27 - 28 -== == 29 - 30 -== {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 31 - 32 32 Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. 33 33 34 34 WCAG states that "using the clearest and simplest language appropriate is highly desirable." ... ... @@ -62,163 +62,15 @@ 62 62 63 63 What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 64 64 36 +== Short sentence length == 65 65 66 -== Usability evidence: plain English == 67 67 68 -[[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. 69 69 70 - [['Conventionon the Rights of Persons with Disabilities'>>url:http://templatelab.com/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/]],page 4 Article 2, Definitions, TheUnited Nations Conventionon the Rightsof Persons with Disabilities,2018.40 +== Simple sentence structure == 71 71 72 -[['Plain Language Is for Everyone, Even Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/plain-language-experts/]], H. Loranger, Nielsen Norman Group, 2017 73 73 74 -[['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 75 75 76 - [['Strengthening plain language'>>url:http://www.iplfederation.org/]], International Plain Language Federation. Undated.44 +{{children/}} 77 77 78 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://www.clearest.co.uk/plain-language-commission-style-guide]], Plain Language Commission, 2011 79 79 80 -[['The principles of readability'>>url:http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/readability02.pdf]], Impact Information, William H. DuBay, 2004 81 - 82 -[[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 83 - 84 - 85 ----- 86 - 87 -== == 88 - 89 -== {{id name="ssl"/}}Simple sentences == 90 - 91 -=== 1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 92 - 93 -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. 94 - 95 -Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree 15 word sentences are fine but above 40 words is hard to understand. 96 - 97 - 98 -=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 99 - 100 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 101 101 102 - 103 -Complexity depends on: 104 - 105 -* number of clauses in a sentence, the more clauses the more complex it is 106 -* distribution of associated words across the sentence – how easily can the brain 'parse a phrase': recognise, connect and comprehend words that together convey meaning 107 - 108 - 109 ->Example:"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 110 ->"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 111 - 112 - 113 -== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 114 - 115 -Oxford Guide to plain English 116 - 117 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 118 - 119 -Author Ann Wylie 120 - 121 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 122 - 123 -[['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 124 - 125 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 126 - 127 -[['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 128 - 129 -[['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 130 - 131 -[['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 132 - 133 -[['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 134 - 135 -[[Reading Level>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Understanding SC 3.1.5, WCAG, 2008 136 - 137 -[['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 138 - 139 -[['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 140 - 141 -[['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, 12:99-107 142 - 143 -[['Writing smaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]], Clarity Journal no. 63, 2010 144 - 145 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 146 - 147 -[['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 148 - 149 -[['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 150 - 151 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 152 - 153 -[[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 154 - 155 -[['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 156 - 157 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 158 - 159 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 160 - 161 - 162 ----- 163 - 164 -== == 165 - 166 -== {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms == 167 - 168 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 169 -Make specialist content comprehensible by non-experts. 170 - 171 - 172 -=== 1. Explain specialist terms: anybody can access your content. === 173 - 174 -Assuming who your audience is, and that they'll understand the technical terms you use, are common misconceptions. 175 - 176 - 177 -=== 2. Create content that all users can understand, whatever their expertise or background. === 178 - 179 -When you present a concept explain its parts and processes in detail. 180 - 181 -If you need to include a technical term consider explaining it. Make sure the surrounding language in plain language. 182 - 183 - 184 -=== 3. Help users understand specialist terms. === 185 - 186 -You could: 187 - 188 -* link to an existing definition – this could be an external site 189 -* add a explanatory definition after using the term 190 - 191 - 192 ->Example: 193 -> 194 ->"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]]). 195 -> 196 ->"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. 197 -> 198 -> "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. 199 - 200 - 201 -== Usability evidence: specialist terms == 202 - 203 -[['Writing Digital Copy for Domain Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-domain-experts/]], Nielson Norman Group, 2017 204 - 205 -[['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 206 - 207 -[['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 208 - 209 -[['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 210 - 211 -[['Advantages and disadvantages with Simplified Technical English'>>url:https://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:16816/FULLTEXT01]], Msc thesis paper, Karin Disborg, 2007 212 - 213 -[['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 214 - 215 -[['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 216 - 217 - 218 ----- 219 - 220 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 221 -Here's some sector specific guidance for [[medicine, money and law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]. 222 - 223 - 224 -And here's our list of jargon [[words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]]!