Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 
2.29 
2.29
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 20:49
on 2019/03/08 20:49
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To version 2.10
2.10
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 11:51
on 2019/03/07 11:51
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Summary
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 - Languageuse1 +Clear language - Content
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... ... @@ -1,46 +1,29 @@ 1 -(% class="box" %) 2 -((( 3 -Writing about people: being inclusive 4 -))) 1 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 2 +Clear language 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, specialist terms >>doc:.Plain English, simple sentences.WebHome]] == 14 -))) 15 15 16 -(% class="box" %) 17 -((( 18 -Simple sentences 19 -))) 10 +== Guidelines == 20 20 21 -(% class="box" %) 22 -((( 23 -Law, medicine and money 24 -))) 12 +[[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 25 25 26 -(% class="box" %) 27 -((( 28 -Words to avoid 29 -))) 14 +[[Sentence length>>Sentence length||anchor="ssl"]] 30 30 31 - [[Simplesentences>>||anchor="ssl"]]16 +Sentence structure 32 32 33 - [[Specialist terms>>||anchor="st"]]18 +Specialist terms 34 34 35 -[[Law, medicine, money>>doc:.Medical.WebHome]] 36 - 37 37 (% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 38 - [[Words to avoid>>doc:.Words to avoid.WebHome]]21 +Words to avoid 39 39 40 40 41 ----- 24 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 25 +Our guidelines come out of conversations held on Slack about clear language usability evidence. Clear language helps in all areas. It opens it up to the widest possible audience. 42 42 43 -== == 44 44 45 45 == {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 46 46 ... ... @@ -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 ==64 +== 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 - ----83 +== {{id name="ssl"/}}Short sentence length == 101 101 102 -== == 103 103 104 -== {{id name="ssl"/}}Simple sentences == 105 105 106 -== =1. Makeyour averagesentence15wordslong.===87 +== 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. 90 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 91 +Here's some sector specific guidance: 111 111 93 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 94 +Legal 112 112 113 -=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 96 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 97 +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.100 +Financial 185 185 186 186 187 - === 1. Explain specialist terms: anybody can access yourcontent. ===103 +{{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]]!