Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 
2.34 
2.34
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 22:54
on 2019/03/08 22:54
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To version 1.5
1.5
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/06 18:13
on 2019/03/06 18:13
Change comment:
Update document after refactoring.
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 - Simplesentences1 +Words - Parent
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 - PlainEnglish.WebHome1 +Main.WebHome - Content
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... ... @@ -1,115 +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 - 17 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H1.MakeyouraveragesentenceA015wordslong." %) 18 -[[1. Make your average sentence 15 words long.>>1. Make your average sentence 15 words long.||anchor="#1"]] 19 - 20 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H2.A0Avoidcomplexsentencestructures." %) 21 -[[2. Avoid complex sentence structures.>>2. Avoid complex sentence structures.||anchor="#2"]] 22 - 23 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 24 -[[Usability evidence>>Usability evidence||anchor="#UESS"]] 25 - 26 - 27 ----- 28 - 29 -== == 30 - 31 -=== {{id name="#1"/}}1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 32 - 33 -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. 34 - 35 -Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree 15 word sentences are fine but above 40 words is hard to understand. 36 - 37 - 38 -=== {{id name="#2"/}}2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 39 - 40 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 41 - 42 - 43 -Complexity depends on: 44 - 45 -* number of clauses in a sentence, the more clauses the more complex it is 46 -* distribution of associated words across the sentence – how easily can the brain 'parse a phrase': recognise, connect and comprehend words that together convey meaning 47 - 48 - 49 -Example: 50 -\\(% class="mark" %)"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 51 -"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 52 - 53 - 54 ----- 55 - 56 -== {{id name="#UESS"/}}Usability evidence: simple sentences == 57 - 58 -Oxford Guide to plain English 59 - 60 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 61 - 62 -Author Ann Wylie 63 - 64 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 65 - 66 -[['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 67 - 68 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 69 - 70 -[['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 71 - 72 -[['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 73 - 74 -[['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 75 - 76 -[['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 77 - 78 -[[Reading Level>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Understanding SC 3.1.5, WCAG, 2008 79 - 80 -[['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 81 - 82 -[['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 83 - 84 -[['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 85 - 86 -[['Writing smaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]], Clarity Journal no. 63, 2010 87 - 88 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 89 - 90 -[['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 91 - 92 -[['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 93 - 94 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 95 - 96 -[[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 97 - 98 -[['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 99 - 100 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 101 - 102 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 103 - 104 - 105 ----- 106 - 107 -(% class="box" %) 108 -((( 109 -See also: 110 - 111 -* [[Plain English>>doc:Plain English.Plain English, simple sentences.WebHome]] 112 -* [[Specialist terms>>doc:Plain English.Specialist terms.WebHome]] 113 -* [[Law, medicine, money>>doc:Plain English.Medical.WebHome]] 114 -* [[Words to avoid>>doc:Plain English.Words to avoid.WebHome]] 115 -))) 1 +{{children/}}