PLAIN ENGLISH FOR THE WEB

‘We guarantee that applicants who choose X University as a "firm choice" will be offered a room within one of their hall choices (but you must select a minimum of 5 hall choices)*. This guarantee requires you to apply for accommodation by the advertised deadline, and you must also hold an Unconditional Offer as processed by the Admissions office prior to the Accommodation Bureau allocating rooms.’

The curse of knowledge.

It’s difficult to forget what you already know.

You may know your subject inside out. But don’t assume your reader is going to be familiar with the same technical terms.

Uncommon words slow readers down anderode trust.

The more educated the person, the greater their preference for plain English.

Source: Trudeau and Cooley 2012.

SCANNERS NOT READERS

We scan and sift vast amounts of information daily.

On average a visitor willread only 28% of the words on a page.

Everyday vocabulary makes scanning easier, and…

…using the language of everyday speech sounds friendlier and more direct.

So, keep your writing as close to speech as possible.

Avoid jargon.

Use everyday words, simple sentences, and direct language.

Freewriting is an effective technique for developing a natural approach to your writing.

Simplify your message.

Help users by getting rid of unnecessary details.

Cut big.

Take out the weakest paragraphs, to give greater emphasis to the strongest.

Cut small.

If it’s possible to cut out a sentence or a word, cut it out.

Check for readability. Read your copy out loud. Does it flow? Does it sound natural?

hemingwayapp.com

1. Write as you speak.2. Keep it simple. Shorter

is better.3. Check for readability.

Thanks for your time.

Jennifer Gunthardt helps teams and individuals developtheir services by providing advice on content planning, andwriting for the Web. Follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn formore tips, tools and hacks.

jgunthardt@brookes.ac.ukhttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/jennifergunthardt@jengunthardt