Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 
2.24 
2.24
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 18:05
on 2019/03/07 18:05
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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
Change comment:
There is no comment for this version
Summary
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... ... @@ -2,33 +2,26 @@ 2 2 This helps: 3 3 4 4 * **people in a hurry** – simply written content is easier to scan and absorb instantly 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 8 -* **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field 5 +* **cognitive impairments** – easy to understand words and sentences need less cognition 6 +* **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller field of focus 9 9 * **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly 10 - 11 11 12 -== == 13 13 10 + 14 14 == Guidelines == 15 15 16 16 [[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 17 17 18 -[[S implesentences>>||anchor="ssl"]]15 +[[Sentence length>> ||anchor="ssl"]] 19 19 20 - [[Specialistterms>>||anchor="st"]]17 +Sentence structure 21 21 22 - [[Medicine, moneyandlaw>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]19 +Specialist terms 23 23 24 24 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 25 - [[Words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]]22 +Words to avoid 26 26 27 27 28 ----- 29 - 30 -== == 31 - 32 32 == {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 33 33 34 34 Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. ... ... @@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ 65 65 What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 66 66 67 67 68 -== Usability evidence :plain English ==61 +== Usability evidence for plain English == 69 69 70 70 [[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. 71 71 ... ... @@ -84,143 +84,27 @@ 84 84 [[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 85 85 86 86 87 - ----80 +== {{id name="ssl"/}}Short sentence length == 88 88 89 -== == 90 90 91 -== {{id name="ssl"/}}Simple sentences == 92 92 93 -== =1. Makeyour averagesentence15wordslong.===84 +== Simple sentence structure == 94 94 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. 96 96 97 -Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree 15 word sentences are fine but above 40 words is hard to understand. 87 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 88 +Here's some sector specific guidance: 98 98 90 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 91 +Legal 99 99 100 -=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 93 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 94 +Medical 101 101 102 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 103 - 104 - 105 -Complexity depends on: 106 - 107 -* number of clauses in a sentence, the more clauses the more complex it is 108 -* distribution of associated words across the sentence – how easily can the brain 'parse a phrase': recognise, connect and comprehend words that together convey meaning 109 - 110 - 111 ->Example:"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 112 ->"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 113 - 114 - 115 -== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 116 - 117 -Oxford Guide to plain English 118 - 119 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 120 - 121 -Author Ann Wylie 122 - 123 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 124 - 125 -[['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 126 - 127 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 128 - 129 -[['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 130 - 131 -[['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 132 - 133 -[['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 134 - 135 -[['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 136 - 137 -[[Reading Level>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Understanding SC 3.1.5, WCAG, 2008 138 - 139 -[['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 140 - 141 -[['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 142 - 143 -[['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, 12:99-107 144 - 145 -[['Writing smaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]], Clarity Journal no. 63, 2010 146 - 147 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 148 - 149 -[['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 150 - 151 -[['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 152 - 153 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 154 - 155 -[[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 156 - 157 -[['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 158 - 159 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 160 - 161 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 162 - 163 - 164 ----- 165 - 166 -== == 167 - 168 -== {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms == 169 - 170 170 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 171 - Make specialist contentcomprehensibleby non-experts.97 +Financial 172 172 173 173 174 - === 1. Explain specialist terms: anybody can access yourcontent. ===100 +{{children/}} 175 175 176 -Assuming who your audience is, and that they'll understand the technical terms you use, are common misconceptions. 177 177 178 - 179 -=== 2. Create content that all users can understand, whatever their expertise or background. === 180 - 181 -When you present a concept explain its parts and processes in detail. 182 - 183 -If you need to include a technical term consider explaining it. Make sure the surrounding language in plain language. 184 - 185 - 186 -=== 3. Help users understand specialist terms. === 187 - 188 -You could: 189 - 190 -* link to an existing definition – this could be an external site 191 -* add a explanatory definition after using the term 192 192 193 - 194 ->Example: 195 -> 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]]). 197 -> 198 ->"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 -> 200 -> "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. 201 - 202 - 203 -== Usability evidence: specialist terms == 204 - 205 -[['Writing Digital Copy for Domain Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-domain-experts/]], Nielson Norman Group, 2017 206 - 207 -[['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 208 - 209 -[['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 210 - 211 -[['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 212 - 213 -[['Advantages and disadvantages with Simplified Technical English'>>url:https://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:16816/FULLTEXT01]], Msc thesis paper, Karin Disborg, 2007 214 - 215 -[['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 216 - 217 -[['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 - 219 - 220 ----- 221 - 222 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 223 -Here's some sector specific guidance for [[medicine, money and law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]. 224 - 225 - 226 -And here's our list of jargon [[words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]]!