Changes for page Simple sentences
Last modified by Lizzie Bruce on 2020/01/11 23:51
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edited by Lizzie Bruce
on 2019/03/08 22:02
on 2019/03/08 22:02
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... ... @@ -4,50 +4,31 @@ 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 di stractedit's hard tocomprehendconvolutedstructures8 -* **cognitive impairments** – s horter,non-complexsentences carry less cognitive load9 -* **visual impairments** – short ,simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller visual field10 -* **motor impairments** – clear,concisecontentis shortedso requiresless navigation7 +* **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 11 ))) 12 12 13 13 == 14 14 Guidelines == 15 15 16 - Short,simple sentencesare betteron thewebhanlong, protracted prosewith complexsyntax. WCAG says: "usingthe clearest andsimplest languageappropriateis highly desirable."16 +* [[Simple sentences>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#ssl]] 17 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 29 ---- 30 30 31 -== == 20 +== 21 +Simple sentences == 32 32 33 -=== {{id name="#1"/}}1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. ===23 +=== 1. Make your average sentence 15 words long. === 34 34 35 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 36 37 -Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree :27 +Oxford Guide to plain English, GOV.UK and linguists agree 15 word sentences are fine but above 40 words is hard to understand. 38 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 43 44 - Example:30 +=== 2. Avoid complex sentence structures. === 45 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 51 They are less easy to comprehend quickly. Understanding them requires more cognitive effort than simple sentences. 52 52 53 53 ... ... @@ -57,17 +57,18 @@ 57 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 58 59 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 41 +>Example:"The red fox jumped over the gate." – easier to understand 42 +>"The fox, which was red, over the gate jumped." – harder to understand 63 63 64 64 65 - ----45 +== Usability evidence: simple sentences == 66 66 67 - =={{idname="#UESS"/}}Usabilityevidence:simplesentences ==47 +Oxford Guide to plain English 68 68 69 - [[Oxford Guideto plainEnglish>>https://global.oup.com/academic/product/oxford-guide-to-plain-english-9780199669172?cc=gb&lang=en&]] ,Oxford University Press, 201349 +Jyoti Sanyal 'Indlish' 70 70 51 +Author Ann Wylie 52 + 71 71 [[Writing for GOV.UK>>url:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/content-design/writing-for-gov-uk]], UK Government website 72 72 73 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 ... ... @@ -74,12 +74,8 @@ 74 74 75 75 [['Content design'>>url:https://contentdesign.london/book/]], Sarah Richards, 2017 76 76 77 -[[' Short sentencesboostreadability.Nearly140 yearsofresearchprovest'>>https://www.wyliecomm.com/2018/08/short-sentences-boost-readability/]]A.Wylie,acollectionofstudiessince1880s,201859 +[['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 78 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 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 84 85 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 ... ... @@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ 90 90 91 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 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 City71 +[['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 94 95 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 96 ... ... @@ -98,29 +98,26 @@ 98 98 99 99 [[Plain Language Commission style guide>>url:https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/aaf9e928/files/uploaded/PLCstyleguide25July2012.pdf]], 2012 100 100 101 -[['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, 201379 +[['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 102 102 103 -[['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, TaylorandFrancis Group, 201581 +[['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 104 104 105 105 [['What is plain language?'>>url:https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/]], Plain Language Association International, 2015 106 106 107 107 [[Text complexity, ATOS, and Lexile® Measures>>url:https://www.renaissance.com/products/practice/accelerated-reader-360/atos-and-text-complexity/]], Renaissance Learning, 2016 108 108 109 -[['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,201787 +[['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 110 110 111 -[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] E .Toonen, Yoast, 201889 +[['How to use Yoast SEO: The readability analysis?'>>url:https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-readability-analysis/]] Edwin Toonen, Yoast, 2018 112 112 113 -[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign .Undated.91 +[[The Crystal Mark standard>>url:http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/services/crystal-mark/7-the-crystal-mark-standard.html]] Plain English Campaign, undated 114 114 115 115 116 116 ---- 117 117 118 -(% class="box" %) 119 -((( 120 120 See also: 121 121 122 -* [[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 -))) 98 +* Plain English 99 +* [[Specialist terms>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Plain%20English%2C%20simple%20sentences/#st]] 100 +* [[Law, medicine, money>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Medical/]] 101 +* [[Words to avoid>>url:https://readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Plain%20English/Words%20to%20avoid/]]
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 1 -Chris in Oslo - Comment
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 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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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 1 -2019-05-03 15:47:13.0
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 1 -Chris in Oslo again - Comment
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 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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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 1 -2019-05-03 15:53:50.0
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 1 -xwiki:XWiki.LizzieBruce - Comment
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 1 -Ah, good point Chris. Will revisit this guidance wording! Thanks for the suggested alternative. - Date
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... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@ 1 -2019-05-21 10:25:03.202