Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 2.33
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 22:02
on 2019/03/08 22:02
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To version 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 - Simplesentences1 +Clear language - Parent
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 - PlainEnglish.WebHome1 +Main.WebHome - Content
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... ... @@ -1,101 +1,106 @@ 1 -(% class="box" %) 2 -((( 3 -Following this helps: 1 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 2 +Clear language helps: 4 4 5 -* **people in a hurry** – simply written content is easier to scan and absorb instantly 6 -* **people who are stressed** – if you're anxious you find it harder to comprehend things 7 -* **people who are multi-tasking** – if you're holding a baby or a running business your attention's divided 8 -* **cognitive impairments** – easy to understand words and sentences carry less cognitive load 9 -* **visual impairments** – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field 10 -* **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly 11 -))) 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 12 12 13 -== 14 -Guidelines == 15 15 16 - *[[Simple sentences>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#ssl]]10 +== Guidelines == 17 17 18 - ----12 +[[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 19 19 20 -== 21 -Simple sentences == 14 +[[Sentence length>>Sentence length||anchor="ssl"]] 22 22 23 - === 1. Makeyour average sentence15wordslong. ===16 +Sentence structure 24 24 25 - Themaximum sentence length foragoodlevel of comprehension is25 words. Splitlong sentencesup into 2 or3, or use bullet points.18 +Specialist terms 26 26 27 -Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree 15 word sentences are fine but above 40 words is hard to understand. 20 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 21 +Words to avoid 28 28 29 29 30 -=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 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. 31 31 32 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 27 + 28 +== {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 29 + 30 +Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. 31 + 32 +WCAG states that "using the clearest and simplest language appropriate is highly desirable." 33 + 34 +The United Nations recommends plain language for communications. 33 33 34 34 35 -Co mplexitydepends on:37 +=== 1. Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones. === 36 36 37 -* number of clauses in a sentence, the more clauses the more complex it is 38 -* distribution of associated words across the sentence – how easily can the brain 'parse a phrase': recognise, connect and comprehend words that together convey meaning 39 +Use ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’, and ‘about’ instead of ‘approximately’. 40 + 41 +Write for the reading comprehension of a 9 year old. This helps you reach the most users and makes your content easy to scan. 39 39 40 40 41 ->Example:"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 42 ->"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 44 +=== 2. Jargon and buzzwords are unlikely to be clear language. === 43 43 46 +Often, these words are too general and vague and can lead to misinterpretation or empty, meaningless text. Avoid them. Instead, think about what the term actually means and describe that. Be open and specific. 44 44 45 -== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 46 46 47 -Oxford Guide to plain English 49 +Example: 50 +"Let's touch base in 10 and do some blue sky thinking." This uses jargon. 51 +"Let's meet in 10 minutes to think of some ideas." Conveys same meaning using clear language. 48 48 49 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 50 50 51 - AuthorAnnWylie54 +=== 3. Write conversationally. === 52 52 53 - [[WritingforGOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]],UKGovernmentwebsite56 +Picture your audience and write as if you were talking directly to them, with the authority of someone who can help and inform. 54 54 55 -[['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 56 56 57 - [['Contentdesign'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]],Sarah Richards,201759 +=== 4. Test your content with users === 58 58 59 - [['The role of word difficultyandsentencelengthintextcomprehension'>>url:https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a114935.pdf]], T. M. DuffyandP.K.U'Ren,198261 +What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 60 60 61 -[['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 62 62 63 - [['Howthe brain attunes to sentence processing: Relatingbehavior, structure,andfunction'>>url:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4819595/]],A. Fengler, L. Meyer, A. D. Friederici, National Center for BiotechnologyInformation64 +== Usability evidence for plain English == 64 64 65 -[[ 'Functional Analysis of ClauseComplexintheLanguageof NewsWebsites Texts:A ComparativeStudyof Two Articles'>>url:http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0616/ijsrp-p5445.pdf]],F.M. S. Eid, InternationalJournal of Scientificand Research Publications,Volume6,Issue 6, June201666 +[[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. 66 66 67 -[[ ReadingLevel>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]],UnderstandingSC3.1.5,WCAG, 200868 +[['Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities'>>url:http://templatelab.com/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/]], page 4 Article 2, Definitions, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2018. 68 68 69 -[[' ReadabilityAssessmentofInternet-Based ConsumerHealth Information'>>url:http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/53/10/1310/tab-pdf]],T.M. Walsh andT. A. Volsko inRespiratory CareOctober 2008, 53 (10) 1310-131570 +[['Plain Language Is for Everyone, Even Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/plain-language-experts/]], H. Loranger, Nielsen Norman Group, 2017 70 70 71 -[['The researchbasis of plainlanguagetechniques:Implicationsforestablishingstandards'>>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 PlainLanguage,November20,2008, Mexico City72 +[['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 72 72 73 -[[' Readability Levels of Health-Based Websites: From Contentto Comprehension'>>url:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ851863.pdf]],M. Schutten, A. McFarland, PhD,InternationalElectronicJournal of HealthEducation,2009, 12:99-10774 +[['Strengthening plain language'>>url:http://www.iplfederation.org/]], International Plain Language Federation. Undated. 74 74 75 -[[ 'Writingsmaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]],ClarityJournalno. 63, 201076 +[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://www.clearest.co.uk/plain-language-commission-style-guide]], Plain Language Commission, 2011 76 76 77 -[[ PlainLanguageCommission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 201278 +[['The principles of readability'>>url:http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/readability02.pdf]], Impact Information, William H. DuBay, 2004 78 78 79 -[[ 'Shorter LinesFacilitate Readingin ThoseWho 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, AmandaHeffner-Wong,201380 +[[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 80 80 81 -[['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 82 82 83 - [['Whatisplainlanguage?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]],PlainLanguage AssociationInternational, 201583 +== {{id name="ssl"/}}Short sentence length == 84 84 85 -[[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 86 86 87 -[['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 88 88 89 - [['Howto useYoastSEO: Thereadabilityanalysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] EdwinToonen, Yoast, 201887 +== Simple sentence structure == 90 90 91 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 92 92 90 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 91 +Here's some sector specific guidance: 93 93 94 ----- 93 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 94 +Legal 95 95 96 -See also: 96 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 97 +Medical 97 97 98 -* Plain English 99 -* [[Specialist terms>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#st]] 100 -* [[Law, medicine, money>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/]] 101 -* [[Words to avoid>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Words%20to%20avoid/]] 99 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 100 +Financial 101 + 102 + 103 +{{children/}} 104 + 105 + 106 +