Clear language
This helps:
- people in a hurry – simply written content is easier to scan and absorb instantly
- cognitive impairments – easy to understand words and sentences need less cognition
- visual impairments – short and simple sentences convey meaning in a smaller field of focus
- motor impairments – it's less tiring when you can understand what you read quickly
Guidelines
Sentence structure
Specialist terms
Words to avoid
Our guidelines come out of conversations held on Slack about clear language usability evidence. Clear language helps in all areas. It opens it up to the widest possible audience.
Plain English
Make content clear and understandable, to open the web up for users with different literacy levels and access challenges.
WCAG states that "using the clearest and simplest language appropriate is highly desirable."
The United Nations recommends plain language for communications.
1. Choose easy and short words not formal, long ones.
Use ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’, and ‘about’ instead of ‘approximately’.
Write for the reading comprehension of a 9 year old. This helps you reach the most users and makes your content easy to scan.
2. Jargon and buzzwords are unlikely to be clear language.
Often, these words are too general and vague and can lead to misinterpretation or empty, meaningless text. Avoid them. Instead, think about what the term actually means and describe that. Be open and specific.
Example:
"Let's touch base in 10 and do some blue sky thinking." This uses jargon.
"Let's meet in 10 minutes to think of some ideas." Conveys same meaning using clear language.
3. Write conversationally.
Picture your audience and write as if you were talking directly to them, with the authority of someone who can help and inform.
4. Test your content with users
What is 'plain' for one person may not be for someone else.
Usability evidence for plain English
Guideline 3.1 Readable: Make text content readable and understandable., Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, 2008.
'Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities', page 4 Article 2, Definitions, The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2018.
'Plain Language Is for Everyone, Even Experts', H. Loranger, Nielsen Norman Group, 2017
'The Public Speaks: An Empirical Study of Legal Communication', C. R. Trudeau in 14 Scribes J. Leg. Writing 121 2012
'Strengthening plain language', International Plain Language Federation. Undated.
Plain Language Commission style guide, Plain Language Commission, 2011
'The principles of readability', Impact Information, William H. DuBay, 2004
Plain language entry, Wikipedia, last updated 2018
Short sentence length
Simple sentence structure
Here's some sector specific guidance:
Legal
Medical
Financial