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 2.5
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 11:09
on 2019/03/07 11:09
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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 +1,66 @@ 1 -(% class="box" %) 2 -((( 3 -Following this helps: 1 +== Plain English == 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 -))) 3 +Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. 12 12 13 -== 14 -Guidelines == 5 +WCAG states that "using the clearest and simplest language appropriate is highly desirable." 15 15 16 -* [[Simple sentences>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#ssl]] 7 +The United Nations recommends plain language for communications. 8 + 17 17 18 - ----10 +=== 1. Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones. === 19 19 20 -== 21 -Simple sentences == 12 +Use ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’, and ‘about’ instead of ‘approximately’. 22 22 23 -=== 1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 24 - 25 -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. 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. 28 - 29 - 30 -=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 31 - 32 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 14 +Write for the reading comprehension of a 9 year old. This helps you reach the most users and makes your content easy to scan. 33 33 34 34 35 - Complexitydependson:17 +=== 2. Jargon and buzzwords are unlikely to be clear language. === 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 - 19 +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. 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 43 43 22 +Example: 23 +"Let's touch base in 10 and do some blue sky thinking." This uses jargon. 24 +"Let's meet in 10 minutes to think of some ideas." Conveys same meaning using clear language. 44 44 45 -== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 46 46 47 - OxfordGuidetoplainEnglish27 +=== 3. Write conversationally. === 48 48 49 - JyotiSanyal'Indlish'29 +Picture your audience and write as if you were talking directly to them, with the authority of someone who can help and inform. 50 50 51 -Author Ann Wylie 52 52 53 - [[Writingfor GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]],UK Government website32 +=== 4. Test your content with users === 54 54 55 - [['Sentencelength: why 25 wordsisour limit'>>url:https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/04/sentence-length-why-25-words-is-our-limit/]],InsideGOV.UK, UK Governmentblog, 201434 +What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 56 56 57 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 58 58 59 - [['Therole of word difficultyand sentence lengthin text comprehension'>>url:https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a114935.pdf]],T. M. Duffy and P. K. U'Ren, 198237 +== Usability evidence == 60 60 61 -[[ 'The InfluenceofSemanticsandSyntax onWhatReadersRemember'>>url:https://www.hcde.washington.edu/files/people/docs/Isakson_Spyridakis_Sem_Syn.pdf]],C.S. IsaksonandJ. H. Spyridakis,199939 +[[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. 62 62 63 -[[' Howthebrain attunestosentence processing:Relating behavior,structure,and function'>>url:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4819595/]],A. Fengler,L.Meyer,A.D. Friederici, NationalCenter forBiotechnologyInformation41 +[['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. 64 64 65 -[[' FunctionalAnalysis of Clause Complex intheLanguageof NewsWebsites Texts: A ComparativeStudyfTwoArticles'>>url:http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0616/ijsrp-p5445.pdf]],F.M. S. Eid, International Journalof ScientificandResearch Publications, Volume 6,Issue 6, June201643 +[['Plain Language Is for Everyone, Even Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/plain-language-experts/]], H. Loranger, Nielsen Norman Group, 2017 66 66 67 -[[ ReadingLevel>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]],UnderstandingSC3.1.5,WCAG,200845 +[['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 68 68 69 -[[' Readability Assessmentof Internet-Based ConsumerHealth Information'>>url:http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/53/10/1310/tab-pdf]], T. M. WalshandT. A. Volsko inRespiratoryCare October 2008, 53 (10) 1310-131547 +[['Strengthening plain language'>>url:http://www.iplfederation.org/]], International Plain Language Federation. Undated. 70 70 71 -[[ 'The research basis of plainlanguagetechniques: Implicationsfor establishingstandards'>>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 City49 +[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://www.clearest.co.uk/plain-language-commission-style-guide]], Plain Language Commission, 2011 72 72 73 -[[' Readability Levels ofHealth-BasedWebsites: From Content to Comprehension'>>url:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ851863.pdf]],M. Schutten,A. McFarland, PhD,InternationalElectronic JournalofHealthEducation, 2009, 12:99-10751 +[['The principles of readability'>>url:http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/readability02.pdf]], Impact Information, William H. DuBay, 2004 74 74 75 -[[ 'Writingsmaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]],ClarityJournalno. 63,201053 +[[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 76 76 77 - [[PlainLanguage Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]],201255 +== Short sentence length == 78 78 79 -[['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 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 - [['Whatisplain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]],Plain Language Association International,201559 +== Simple sentence structure == 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 - [['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 201863 +{{children/}} 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 93 - 94 ----- 95 - 96 -See also: 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/]] 66 +