Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
From 4.1 to 5.1
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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 -[[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 72 - 73 -[['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 74 - 75 -[['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 76 - 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 78 - 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 - 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]], K. 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]], M. H. Schneps , J. M. Thomson, G. Sonnert, M. Pomplun, C. Chen, A. 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]], L. A. Olsen, R. Johnson, Taylor and 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]] E. Kirkpatrick, W. Gaisford, E. Williams, E. Brindley, D. Tembo, D. Wright, 2017 110 - 111 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] E. 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/]].