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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... ... @@ -1,101 +1,1 @@ 1 -(% class="box" %) 2 -((( 3 -Following this helps: 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 -))) 12 - 13 -== 14 -Guidelines == 15 - 16 -* [[Simple sentences>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#ssl]] 17 - 18 ----- 19 - 20 -== 21 -Simple sentences == 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. 33 - 34 - 35 -Complexity depends on: 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 - 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 - 44 - 45 -== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 46 - 47 -Oxford Guide to plain English 48 - 49 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 50 - 51 -Author Ann Wylie 52 - 53 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 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 - 57 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 58 - 59 -[['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 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 - 63 -[['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 64 - 65 -[['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 66 - 67 -[[Reading Level>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Understanding SC 3.1.5, WCAG, 2008 68 - 69 -[['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 70 - 71 -[['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 72 - 73 -[['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 74 - 75 -[['Writing smaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]], Clarity Journal no. 63, 2010 76 - 77 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 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 - 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 - 83 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 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 - 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 - 89 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 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 - 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/]] 1 +Please go to [[readabilityguidelines.co.uk/clear-language/simple-sentences>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.co.uk/clear-language/simple-sentences/]].
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... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@ 1 +Chris in Oslo again - Comment
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... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@ 1 +I'm trying to think about how I would write guidelines in a way that would mitigate what I wrote above. My experience has been that people remember the number much better than the precise thing you were trying to convey with the number (which is why we have truthy-but-wrong memes like "you only use 10% of your brain.) I guess I'm missing something above that says "Make sentences as short as possible by introducing one idea at a time" or similar? - Date
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... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@ 1 +2019-05-03 15:53:50.0