Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version 2.34
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 22:54
on 2019/03/08 22:54
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To version 2.8
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/07 11:49
on 2019/03/07 11:49
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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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... ... @@ -1,115 +1,106 @@ 1 -(% class="box" %) 2 -((( 3 -Following this helps: 1 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 2 +Clear language is helpful for: 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 10 +Read the guidelines on: 16 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"]] 12 +[[Plain English>>Plain English||anchor="pe"]] 19 19 20 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H2.A0Avoidcomplexsentencestructures." %) 21 -[[2. Avoid complex sentence structures.>>2. Avoid complex sentence structures.||anchor="#2"]] 14 +[[Sentence length>>Sentence length||anchor="ssl"]] 22 22 23 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 24 -[[Usability evidence>>Usability evidence||anchor="#UESS"]] 25 - 16 +Sentence structure 26 26 27 - ----18 +Specialist terms 28 28 29 -== == 20 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 21 +Words to avoid 30 30 31 -=== {{id name="#1"/}}1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 32 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. 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. 34 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 36 28 +== {{id name="pe"/}}Plain English == 37 37 38 - ==={{id name="#2"/}}2. Avoidcomplexsentence structures.===30 +Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges. 39 39 40 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 32 +WCAG states that "using the clearest and simplest language appropriate is highly desirable." 33 + 34 +The United Nations recommends plain language for communications. 41 41 42 42 43 -Co mplexitydepends on:37 +=== 1. Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones. === 44 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 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. 47 47 48 48 44 +=== 2. Jargon and buzzwords are unlikely to be clear language. === 45 + 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. 47 + 48 + 49 49 Example: 50 - \\(%class="mark" %)"Theredfoxjumpedoverthegate."– easiertounderstand51 -" Thefox,whichwasred,overthegatejumped."–hardertounderstand50 +"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. 52 52 53 53 54 - ----54 +=== 3. Write conversationally. === 55 55 56 - == {{idname="#UESS"/}}Usability evidence:simple sentences==56 +Picture your audience and write as if you were talking directly to them, with the authority of someone who can help and inform. 57 57 58 -Oxford Guide to plain English 59 59 60 - JyotiSanyal'Indlish'59 +=== 4. Test your content with users === 61 61 62 - AuthorAnnWylie61 +What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else. 63 63 64 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 65 65 66 - [['Sentencelength: why 25 wordss ourlimit'>>url:https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/04/sentence-length-why-25-words-is-our-limit/]], InsideGOV.UK, UK Government blog,201464 +== Usability evidence for plain English == 67 67 68 -[[ 'Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]],SarahRichards, 201766 +[[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. 69 69 70 -[[' The rolefworddifficultyandsentencelength intext comprehension'>>url:https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a114935.pdf]],T.M.DuffyandP.K.U'Ren, 198268 +[['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. 71 71 72 -[[' The Influenceof SemanticsandSyntaxonWhat ReadersRemember'>>url:https://www.hcde.washington.edu/files/people/docs/Isakson_Spyridakis_Sem_Syn.pdf]],C.S.Isakson andJ. H. Spyridakis, 199970 +[['Plain Language Is for Everyone, Even Experts'>>url:https://www.nngroup.com/articles/plain-language-experts/]], H. Loranger, Nielsen Norman Group, 2017 73 73 74 -[[' How the brain attunes to sentenceprocessing:Relatingbehavior,structure, and function'>>url:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4819595/]],A.Fengler, L.Meyer, A. D. Friederici, NationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation72 +[['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 75 75 76 -[[' FunctionalAnalysis of Clause Complexinthe Languageof News Websites Texts: A Comparative Study of Two Articles'>>url:http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0616/ijsrp-p5445.pdf]],F. M. S. Eid,InternationalJournalof ScientificandResearch Publications,Volume 6, Issue 6, June201674 +[['Strengthening plain language'>>url:http://www.iplfederation.org/]], International Plain Language Federation. Undated. 77 77 78 -[[ ReadingLevel>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]],UnderstandingSC3.1.5,WCAG,200876 +[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://www.clearest.co.uk/plain-language-commission-style-guide]], Plain Language Commission, 2011 79 79 80 -[[' Readability AssessmentofInternet-BasedConsumer Health Information'>>url:http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/53/10/1310/tab-pdf]],T. M. Walshand T. A. Volsko in RespiratoryCareOctober2008,53 (10) 1310-131578 +[['The principles of readability'>>url:http://www.impact-information.com/impactinfo/readability02.pdf]], Impact Information, William H. DuBay, 2004 81 81 82 -[[ 'The research basis of plain languagetechniques: Implications forestablishing 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 PlainLanguage,November20, 2008, Mexico City80 +[[Plain language entry>>url:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_language]], Wikipedia, last updated 2018 83 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 85 86 - [['Writingsmaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]],ClarityJournal no. 63, 201083 +== {{id name="ssl"/}}Short sentence length == 87 87 88 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 89 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 91 92 - [['Towardsa bettermeasureof readability: Explanation ofempirical performanceresults'>>url:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00437956.1989.11435805]],Leslie A. Olsen & Rod Johnson, Taylor & Francis Group, 201587 +== Simple sentence structure == 93 93 94 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 95 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 90 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 91 +Here's some sector specific guidance: 97 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 93 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 94 +Legal 99 99 100 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 96 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 97 +Medical 101 101 102 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 99 +(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 100 +Financial 103 103 104 104 105 - ----103 +{{children/}} 106 106 107 -(% class="box" %) 108 -((( 109 -See also: 110 110 111 -* [[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 -))) 106 +