Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From 2.39 to 3.1
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@ 1 -XWiki. CassBonner1 +xwiki:XWiki.LizzieBruce - Content
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... ... @@ -1,126 +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 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 -))) 12 - 13 -== 14 -Guidelines == 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." 17 - 18 - 19 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H1.MakeyouraveragesentenceA015wordslong." %) 20 -[[1. Make your average sentence 15 words long.>>doc:||anchor="#1"]] 21 - 22 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" id="H2.A0Avoidcomplexsentencestructures." %) 23 -[[2. Avoid complex sentence structures.>>doc:||anchor="#2"]] 24 - 25 -(% class="wikigeneratedid" %) 26 -[[Usability evidence>>doc:||anchor="#UESS"]] 27 - 28 - 29 ----- 30 - 31 -== == 32 - 33 -=== {{id name="#1"/}}1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 34 - 35 -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. 36 - 37 -Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree: 38 - 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 - 43 - 44 -Example: 45 - 46 -(% class="mark" %)This sentence is about 15 words long and is easy to understand. (%%) 47 - 48 - 49 -=== {{id name="#2"/}}2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 50 - 51 -They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 52 - 53 - 54 -Complexity depends on: 55 - 56 -* number of clauses in a sentence, the more clauses the more complex it is 57 -* distribution of associated words across the sentence – how easily can the brain 'parse a phrase': recognise, connect and comprehend words that together convey meaning 58 - 59 - 60 -Example: 61 -\\(% class="mark" %)"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 62 -"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 63 - 64 - 65 ----- 66 - 67 -== {{id name="#UESS"/}}Usability evidence: simple sentences == 68 - 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 70 - 71 -Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish: The book for every English-speaking Indian' 72 - 73 -[[Author Ann Wylie>>https://www.wyliecomm.com/]], Reach more readers website 74 - 75 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 76 - 77 -[['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 78 - 79 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 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 - 83 -[['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 84 - 85 -[['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 86 - 87 -[['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 88 - 89 -[[Reading Level>>url:https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-supplements.html]], Understanding SC 3.1.5, WCAG, 2008 90 - 91 -[['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 92 - 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]], Karen Schriver, PhD, Dr. A. L. Cheek, M. Mercer, Center for Plain Language, November 20, 2008, Mexico City 94 - 95 -[['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 96 - 97 -[['Writing smaller'>>url:http://clarity-international.net/journals/63.pdf]], Clarity Journal no. 63, 2010 98 - 99 -[[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 100 - 101 -[['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 102 - 103 -[['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 104 - 105 -[['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 106 - 107 -[[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 108 - 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]] 2017 110 - 111 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 112 - 113 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 114 - 115 - 116 ----- 117 - 118 -(% class="box" %) 119 -((( 120 -See also: 121 - 122 -* [[Plain English>>doc:Plain English.Plain English, simple sentences.WebHome]] 123 -* [[Specialist terms>>doc:Plain English.Specialist terms.WebHome]] 124 -* [[Law, medicine, money>>doc:Plain English.Medical.WebHome]] 125 -* [[Words to avoid>>doc:Plain English.Words to avoid.WebHome]] 126 -))) 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
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XWiki.XWikiComments[2]
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... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@ 1 +xwiki:XWiki.LizzieBruce - Comment
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... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@ 1 +Ah, good point Chris. Will revisit this guidance wording! Thanks for the suggested alternative. - Date
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... ... @@ -1,0 +1,1 @@ 1 +2019-05-21 10:25:03.0