Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 
2.26 
2.26
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 20:44
on 2019/03/08 20:44
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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
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Summary
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 - Languageuse1 +Clear language - Content
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... ... @@ -1,47 +1,27 @@ 1 -(% class="box" %) 2 -((( 3 -Writing about people: being inclusive 4 -))) 1 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 2 +This helps: 5 5 6 - (%class="box"%)7 - (((8 - Audiencelabels:I,you, we, they9 - )))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 field of focus 7 +* **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly 10 10 11 -(% class="box" %) 12 -((( 13 -Plain English, simple sentences, specialist terms 14 -))) 15 15 16 -(% class="box" %) 17 -((( 18 -Specialist terms 19 -))) 20 20 21 -(% class="box" %) 22 -((( 23 -Law, medicine and money 24 -))) 11 +== Guidelines == 25 25 26 -(% class="box" %) 27 -((( 28 -Words to avoid 29 -))) 13 +[[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 30 30 31 -[[S implesentences>>||anchor="ssl"]]15 +[[Sentence length>> ||anchor="ssl"]] 32 32 33 - [[Specialistterms>>||anchor="st"]]17 +Sentence structure 34 34 35 - [[Law, medicine, money>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]19 +Specialist terms 36 36 37 37 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 38 - [[Words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]]22 +Words to avoid 39 39 40 40 41 ----- 42 - 43 -== == 44 - 45 45 == {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 46 46 47 47 Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. ... ... @@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ 78 78 What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 79 79 80 80 81 -== Usability evidence :plain English ==61 +== Usability evidence for plain English == 82 82 83 83 [[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. 84 84 ... ... @@ -97,143 +97,27 @@ 97 97 [[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 98 98 99 99 100 - ----80 +== {{id name="ssl"/}}Short sentence length == 101 101 102 -== == 103 103 104 -== {{id name="ssl"/}}Simple sentences == 105 105 106 -== =1. Makeyour averagesentence15wordslong.===84 +== Simple sentence structure == 107 107 108 -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. 109 109 110 -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: 111 111 90 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 91 +Legal 112 112 113 -=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 93 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 94 +Medical 114 114 115 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 116 - 117 - 118 -Complexity depends on: 119 - 120 -* number of clauses in a sentence, the more clauses the more complex it is 121 -* distribution of associated words across the sentence – how easily can the brain 'parse a phrase': recognise, connect and comprehend words that together convey meaning 122 - 123 - 124 ->Example:"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 125 ->"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 126 - 127 - 128 -== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 129 - 130 -Oxford Guide to plain English 131 - 132 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 133 - 134 -Author Ann Wylie 135 - 136 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 137 - 138 -[['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 139 - 140 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 141 - 142 -[['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 143 - 144 -[['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 145 - 146 -[['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 147 - 148 -[['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 149 - 150 -[[Reading Level>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Understanding SC 3.1.5, WCAG, 2008 151 - 152 -[['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 153 - 154 -[['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 155 - 156 -[['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, 12:99-107 157 - 158 -[['Writing smaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]], Clarity Journal no. 63, 2010 159 - 160 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 161 - 162 -[['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 163 - 164 -[['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 165 - 166 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 167 - 168 -[[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 169 - 170 -[['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 171 - 172 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 173 - 174 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 175 - 176 - 177 ----- 178 - 179 -== == 180 - 181 -== {{id name="st"/}}Specialist terms == 182 - 183 183 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 184 - Make specialist contentcomprehensibleby non-experts.97 +Financial 185 185 186 186 187 - === 1. Explain specialist terms: anybody can access yourcontent. ===100 +{{children/}} 188 188 189 -Assuming who your audience is, and that they'll understand the technical terms you use, are common misconceptions. 190 190 191 - 192 -=== 2. Create content that all users can understand, whatever their expertise or background. === 193 - 194 -When you present a concept explain its parts and processes in detail. 195 - 196 -If you need to include a technical term consider explaining it. Make sure the surrounding language in plain language. 197 - 198 - 199 -=== 3. Help users understand specialist terms. === 200 - 201 -You could: 202 - 203 -* link to an existing definition – this could be an external site 204 -* add a explanatory definition after using the term 205 205 206 - 207 ->Example: 208 -> 209 ->"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]]). 210 -> 211 ->"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. 212 -> 213 -> "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. 214 - 215 - 216 -== Usability evidence: specialist terms == 217 - 218 -[['Writing Digital Copy for Domain Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/writing-domain-experts/]], Nielson Norman Group, 2017 219 - 220 -[['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 221 - 222 -[['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 223 - 224 -[['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 225 - 226 -[['Advantages and disadvantages with Simplified Technical English'>>url:https://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:16816/FULLTEXT01]], Msc thesis paper, Karin Disborg, 2007 227 - 228 -[['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 229 - 230 -[['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 231 - 232 - 233 ----- 234 - 235 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 236 -Here's some sector specific guidance for [[medicine, money and law>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]]. 237 - 238 - 239 -And here's our list of jargon [[words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]]!