Downloaded 11 times
Uploaded byDominik Lukes
Tools and strategies for writing in simple language
The document discusses the complexities of writing in simple language and emphasizes that producing clear and concise text is often more challenging than crafting complicated prose. It provides various tips and tools for improving readability, such as using shorter sentences, avoiding jargon, and employing effective formatting. Additionally, it underscores the importance of understanding your audience's reading level and utilizing feedback for improvement.
More Related Content
Similar to Tools and strategies for writing in simple language
More from Dominik Lukes
Tools and strategies for writing in simple language
- 1. Tools to helpwith writing Simple language
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
- 6.
- 7.
- 8. Which way willthe lift go?
- 9. Which way willyou turn the wheel of your car?
- 10. Which way willyou turn your wheel now?
- 11. What makes text easyto read?
- 12.
- 13. I wanted towrite you a short letter
- 14. I wanted towrite you a short letter but I didn’t have time.
- 15. I wanted towrite you a short letter but I didn’t have time. So I wrote you a long one instead.
- 16. … or Franklinor Pascal or Locke or somebody else. I wanted to write you a short letter but I didn’t have time. So I wrote you a long one instead. Mark Twain
- 17. Simple and clear writingis not natural. It is harder and more time consuming than complicated writing.
- 18.
- 19. Avoid passives Be informal/ write conversationally Avoid redundancy Avoid jargon - Use simple words Use short 'English' words Write short texts
- 20. Don’t avoid passivestoo much The School was founded in 1996. They founded the School in 1996.
- 21. Don’t be tooinformal You must confirm your attendance. Why don’t you let us know that you’re coming.
- 22. Redundancy can reduceerrors next Tuesday (24 Dec) next Tuesday
- 23. Redundancy can aidcomprehension Tuesday, 24 Dec 24/12
- 24. Simple words don’talways make things clear Attendance will be taken. We will check who showed up.
- 25. Short English wordsdon’t always make things better. We will provide accommodation. We will put you up. We will find you a place to stay.
- 26. Which is simpler? getacquire
- 33.
- 34.
- 35. Non-native speakers will notalways find short and easy words as easy to understand as you think.
- 36.
- 37. Formatting Space Structure Guides / Graphics Structure Important first, background last Clear outline Shorter sentences Language Limit politeness Avoid embedding andclusters Don't take out too much Tools Test readability Listen to what you wrote Get help with editing
- 38. Who does itwell?
- 42. Making things more readablewith formatting
- 44. Chunking makes textsmore readable
- 45. Word Navigation featureis great for outlines
- 46. Make sure youuse headings
- 47. Mindmaps help withchunking, structure, outline
- 49. Tips for more readablestructure
- 50.
- 51.
- 52.
- 53.
- 54. 54 Short paragraphs can helpyou get away with more complicated sentences
- 55. F-shaped scanning pattern ©Nielsen Norman Group 2017 https://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped- pattern-reading-web-content/
- 56. “F-shaped scanning pattern isbad for users and businesses: it means that users may skip important content simply because it appears on the right side of the page.” https://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped- pattern-reading-web-content/ (Kara Pernice, 2017)
- 57.
- 58. How to use Hemingwayapp to simplify language
- 59.
- 60.
- 62.
- 63. 63 About us byPlain English Campaign plainenglish.co.uk/ about-us.html
- 64. 64 Complexities of simple byDominik Lukeš metaphorhacker.net
- 65. 65 Plain Language Is forEveryone, Even Experts by Hoa Loranger, 2017 https://www.nngroup. com/articles/plain- language-experts/
- 66.
- 67. Welcome to thissite We are very pleased to have the opportunity Avoid too much politeness …
- 68. …but only incontext
- 69. This is mightbe a useful tool If it’s not too much trouble Limit hedges and indirectness
- 70. Bad: "You maylike to register by clicking here." Good: "Register here“ Better: Register Strip out unnecessary language
- 71. Less good: “Yourattendance is important." OK: “It is important that you come.” OK: “Please come. It is really important” Verbs over nouns
- 72. Bad: operations review evaluationtask force Less bad: task force for the evaluation of our operations review Better: task force evaluating our review of operations Beware of noun clusters
- 73. Good: '10:30 -Swim in the lake’ Bad: '10:30 - Swimming in the lake’ Good: 'Achieve objectives’ Bad: 'To achieve objectives’ Good: 'Explain’ Bad: 'Explanation Of...' Simple imperatives in lists of activities
- 74. Limit complex embeddingand if statements Less good: The man we met yesterday was a famous artist. OK: We met a man yesterday. And he was famous artist. Good: We met a famous artist yesterday.
- 75. Don't strip outlinking phrases Good: "John didn't eat because he didn't like soup." OK: "John didn't like soup. So he didn't eat." Less good: "John didn't eat. He didn't like soup."
- 76. Think about whento use nouns vs pronouns Jane was late. She overslept, then she missed the bus. This is the fifth time in a month she did something like that. Her boss would be angry. So Jane / she thought of an excuse.
- 77. Avoid too muchrepetition, but not all of it Jane was late. She overslept, then she missed the bus. This is the fifth time in a month she did something like that. Her boss would be angry. So Jane / she thought of an excuse.
- 78.
- 79.
- 80. What typical levelof education is required to understand a text?
- 81. Aim for GCSE(or less) Grade 9 – 11
- 82. Note: 14-year old readinglevel does not mean, 14-year old content.
- 83. Measured by: length ofsentences length of words frequency of words
- 84. But don’t gamethe readability scores.
- 85.
- 88.
- 93.
- 94.
- 95. Don’t trust URLanalysis
- 96.
- 97. Up Goer Fiveby XKCD CC BY NC https://xkcd.com/1133
- 98. Up Goer Fiveby XKCD CC BY NC https://xkcd.com/1133
- 101.
- 102.
- 103.
- 104.
- 115.
- 116. Listen to whatyou wrote
- 117. Listen to whatyou wrote
- 118.
- 119. All spelling errorsmust be corrected or ignored
- 120. Word online hasdifferent features
- 121. Word online hasdifferent features
- 122.
- 123. Writing / editingbuddies / beta readers Agree set of principles Agree targets Use checklists Constructive Feedback rules
- 124. Careful that youdon’t end up speaking to an internal audience to tick boxes.
- 125. Ask online forhelp
- 126. Be careful whoyou ask. People who write well often don’t know how they do it. And beautiful prose is not always easy to read.
- 127. More on digiknow.sbsblogs.co.uk Thankyou This presentation was created by Dominik Lukeš and it is made available under Creative Commons Attribution license