Why it matters

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Adult Skills Survey shows that 17.9 per cent or about one in six Irish adults are at or below level one on a five-level literacy scale. At this level, a person may be unable to understand basic written information.

Jakob Nielsen (useit.com) explains that “Web users want actionable content; they don’t want to fritter away their time on (otherwise enjoyable) stories that are tangential to their current goals.”

Who it's for

When writing for the web, using plain language is a critical aspect of making content accessible to as many people as possible.

People with low literacy levels or intellectual or learning disabilities may not be able to find or understand your content if you don’t apply plain language principles.

The same goes for people whose first language is not English.

Plain language isn’t about “dumbing down” your message, it’s about writing in a clear, concise and well-organized way to reach a much broader audience with information they can understand.

two female students studying and smiling on a couch

Why it makes sense

If your web content is too complicated and hard to understand, people will leave your website.

If your web content is readable and easily understood, people will interact and stay on your website. This leads to a better User Experience (UX) which contributes to your website’s ranking on Google.

If your website uses the same language as your target audience, it will be rich with keywords which will also positively affect your ranking on Google. This is known as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

“A communication is in plain language if its wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended audience can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information.”

(Source: International Plain Language Federation)

How to write in plain English

  1. Write for your audience. If you are talking to students, use language they will understand. Don’t write for the experts.
     
  2. Keep your text concise. Eliminate all unnecessary words. Try to use no more than 25 words per sentence you write.
     
  3. Write in a conversational manner, as if you are talking to a colleague or friend.
     
  4. Use an active voice with strong verbs. Instead of saying 'The survey was taken by our students', say 'The students took our survey'. 
     
  5. Avoid using acronyms and jargon. Use a simple alternative instead.
     
  6. Use simple, descriptive headings; short paragraphs; and familiar words.
     
  7. Create descriptive links, describing where the link is going.
     
  8. Put the most important information first.
     
  9. Organise the content around tasks, not your organisational structure.
     
  10. Make your content scannable. Use lots of white space and bullets/lists as it makes it easier to scan.
     
  11. Don’t assume your readers know what you are talking about. Each web page should make sense on its own. Add context.

Measuring readability

Developed by Rudolf Flesch and J. Peter Kincaid, the Flesch-Kincaid readability scores are the most widely used measures of readability.

The first number, Flesch-Kincaid reading ease, is based on a ranking scale of 0-100, and the higher your score, the better. Low scores indicate text that is complicated to understand. So if your website receives a low Flesch-Kincaid reading ease score, you will likely need to simplify your text.

For most business writing, a score of 65 is a good target, and scores between 60 and 80 should generally be understood by 12 to 15-year-olds.

Flesch-Kincaid reading ease formula: 206.835 – 1.015 x (words/sentences) – 84.6 x (syllables/words).