Skip to Content

Changes for page Simple sentences

Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From version Icon 2.35 Icon
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 23:05
Change comment: There is no comment for this version
To version Icon 5.5 Icon
edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/05/21 09:25
Change comment: Added comment

Summary

Details

Icon Page properties
Content
... ... @@ -7,13 +7,13 @@
7 7  * **people who are multi-tasking** – if you're distracted it's hard to comprehend convoluted structures
8 8  * **cognitive impairments** – shorter, non-complex sentences carry less cognitive load
9 9  * **visual impairments** – short, simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field
10 -* **motor impairments** – it's less tiring when you can absorb what you read quickly
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." The United Nations recommends plain language for communications.
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."
17 17  
18 18  
19 19  (% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H1.MakeyouraveragesentenceA015wordslong." %)
... ... @@ -43,7 +43,8 @@
43 43  
44 44  Example:
45 45  
46 -(% class="mark" %)This sentence is about 15 words long and is easy to understand.
46 +(% class="mark" %)This sentence is about 15 words long and is easy to understand. (%%)
47 +
47 47  
48 48  === {{id name="#2"/}}2. Avoid complex sentence structures. ===
49 49  
... ... @@ -65,12 +65,8 @@
65 65  
66 66  == {{id name="#UESS"/}}Usability evidence: simple sentences ==
67 67  
68 -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
69 69  
70 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish'
71 -
72 -Author Ann Wylie
73 -
74 74  [[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website
75 75  
76 76  [['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
... ... @@ -77,8 +77,12 @@
77 77  
78 78  [['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017
79 79  
80 -[['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
81 81  
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 +
82 82  [['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
83 83  
84 84  [['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
... ... @@ -89,7 +89,7 @@
89 89  
90 90  [['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
91 91  
92 -[['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
93 93  
94 94  [['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
95 95  
... ... @@ -97,19 +97,19 @@
97 97  
98 98  [[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012
99 99  
100 -[['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
101 101  
102 -[['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
103 103  
104 104  [['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015
105 105  
106 106  [[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016
107 107  
108 -[['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
109 109  
110 -[['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
111 111  
112 -[[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.
113 113  
114 114  
115 115  ----
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[0]
Author
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
1 +Chris in Oslo
Comment
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
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
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
1 +2019-05-03 15:47:13.0
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[1]
Author
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
1 +Chris in Oslo again
Comment
... ... @@ -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
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
1 +2019-05-03 15:53:50.0
Icon XWiki.XWikiComments[2]
Author
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
1 +xwiki:XWiki.LizzieBruce
Comment
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
1 +Ah, good point Chris. Will revisit this guidance wording! Thanks for the suggested alternative.
Date
... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@
1 +2019-05-21 10:25:03.202