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Changes for page Simple sentences

Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
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edited by Lizzie Bruce
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edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/05/21 09:25
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... ... @@ -4,24 +4,26 @@
4 4  
5 5  * **people in a hurry** – simply written content is easier to scan and absorb instantly
6 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
7 +* **people who are multi-tasking** – if you're distracted it's hard to comprehend convoluted structures
8 +* **cognitive impairments** – shorter, non-complex sentences carry less cognitive load
9 +* **visual impairments** – short, simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field
10 +* **motor impairments** – clear, concise content is shorted so requires less navigation
11 11  )))
12 12  
13 13  ==
14 14  Guidelines ==
15 15  
16 +Short, simple sentences are better on the web than long, protracted prose with complex syntax. WCAG says: "using the clearest and simplest language appropriate is highly desirable."
16 16  
18 +
17 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"]]
20 +[[1. Make your average sentence 15 words long.>>doc:||anchor="#1"]]
19 19  
20 20  (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H2.A0Avoidcomplexsentencestructures." %)
21 -[[2. Avoid complex sentence structures.>>2. Avoid complex sentence structures.||anchor="#2"]]
23 +[[2. Avoid complex sentence structures.>>doc:||anchor="#2"]]
22 22  
23 23  (% class="wikigeneratedid" %)
24 -[[Usability evidence>>Usability evidence||anchor="#UESS"]]
26 +[[Usability evidence>>doc:||anchor="#UESS"]]
25 25  
26 26  
27 27  ----
... ... @@ -32,9 +32,18 @@
32 32  
33 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 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.
37 +Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree:
36 36  
39 +* 15 word sentences are more likely to be comprehensible
40 +* 25 words is a good maximum sentence length limit
41 +* above 40 words sentences are hard to comprehend easily
42 +
37 37  
44 +Example:
45 +
46 +(% class="mark" %)This sentence is about 15 words long and is easy to understand. (%%)
47 +
48 +
38 38  === {{id name="#2"/}}2. Avoid complex sentence structures. ===
39 39  
40 40  They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences.
... ... @@ -55,12 +55,8 @@
55 55  
56 56  == {{id name="#UESS"/}}Usability evidence: simple sentences ==
57 57  
58 -Oxford Guide to plain English
69 +[[Oxford Guide to plain English>>https://global.oup.com/academic/product/oxford-guide-to-plain-english-9780199669172?cc=gb&lang=en&]] , Oxford University Press, 2013
59 59  
60 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish'
61 -
62 -Author Ann Wylie
63 -
64 64  [[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website
65 65  
66 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
... ... @@ -67,8 +67,12 @@
67 67  
68 68  [['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017
69 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
77 +[['Short sentences boost readability. Nearly 140 years of research proves it'>>https://www.wyliecomm.com/2018/08/short-sentences-boost-readability/]] A. Wylie, a collection of studies since 1880s, 2018
71 71  
79 +[['Indlish: The book for every English-speaking Indian'>>http://www.vivagroupindia.com/frmBookDetail.aspx?BookId=5020&Status=C]], J. Sanyal, 2006. Book.
80 +
81 +[['The role of word difficulty and sentence length in text comprehension'>>https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED215330]], T. M. Duffy and P. K. U'Ren, 1982
82 +
72 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 73  
74 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
... ... @@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
79 79  
80 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 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
93 +[['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]], K. Schriver, PhD, Dr. A. L. Cheek, M. Mercer, Center for Plain Language, November 20, 2008, Mexico City
83 83  
84 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  
... ... @@ -87,19 +87,19 @@
87 87  
88 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
101 +[['Shorter Lines Facilitate Reading in Those Who Struggle'>>url:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0071161]], M. H. Schneps , J. M. Thomson, G. Sonnert, M. Pomplun, C. Chen, A. Heffner-Wong, 2013
91 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
103 +[['Towards a better measure of readability: Explanation of empirical performance results'>>url:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00437956.1989.11435805]], L. A. Olsen, R. Johnson, Taylor and Francis Group, 2015
93 93  
94 94  [['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015
95 95  
96 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 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
109 +[['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]] E. Kirkpatrick, W. Gaisford, E. Williams, E. Brindley, D. Tembo, D. Wright, 2017
99 99  
100 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018
111 +[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] E. Toonen, Yoast, 2018
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
113 +[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign. Undated.
103 103  
104 104  
105 105  ----
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[0]
Author
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1 +Chris in Oslo
Comment
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1 +It's my experience that when you say to people "X should be on average Y long", they hear "X should be at least Y long". They get hung up on the number and think they have to reach it. I could absolutely imagine that people who are not experienced (usually exactly the ones who want clear and explicit guidance) will see this and make sentences *longer* because theirs is only 10 words. TL;DR: I don't think is bad advice, but I do think people are bad at averaging and bad at understanding that X limit does not mean "write X much" :)
Date
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1 +2019-05-03 15:47:13.0
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[1]
Author
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1 +Chris in Oslo again
Comment
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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 +2019-05-03 15:53:50.0
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[2]
Author
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1 +xwiki:XWiki.LizzieBruce
Comment
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1 +Ah, good point Chris. Will revisit this guidance wording! Thanks for the suggested alternative.
Date
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1 +2019-05-21 10:25:03.202