Stephen Jay Gould: Anything, even the conceptually most complex material, can be written for general audiences without any dumbing down. Of course you have to explain things carefully. This goes back to Galileo, who wrote his great books as dialogues in Italian, not as treatises in Latin. And to Darwin, who wrote The Origin of Species for general readers. I think a lot of people pick up Darwin's book and assume it must be a popular version of some technical monograph, but there is no technical monograph. That's what he wrote. So what I'm doing is part of a great humanistic tradition.
Mother Jones, January/February 1997
Friday, December 13, 2002
"People like Flesch and Gunning studied what adults read. They found that all successful magazines and English best sellers, including the King James Version of the Bible, kept their reading level at or below the 12th grade. For example, Gunning found: Francis Bacon used an average 28 words a sentence. Captain John Smith used an average 16 words a sentence. Thomas Paine, writing "The American Crisis" ("These are the times that try men's souls…"), wrote at a 7th-grade reading level. Gunning wrote, "It appears from our own investigation that in all ages there have been men with something to say who wrote comparatively simply.""
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Tuesday, December 10, 2002
Assessing Readability - SMOG etc
" SMOG:
There are a number of formulas to assess the readability of a text. The formulas fall into two major categories: those that are computer generated and those that are calculated by hand. The most frequently used computerized formulas include the Flesch Grade Level Formula and the Flesch-Kincaid Index. Newer word processing programs often have the Flesch formula built into the software for easy use. For those who do not have a computer, or conduct readability tests in the field, there are a number of formulas that can be calculated by hand. Hand-calculated formulas include the FOG method, Fry formula and the SMOG. The SMOG was created by McLaughlin in 1969 and predicts 100% comprehension."
" SMOG:
There are a number of formulas to assess the readability of a text. The formulas fall into two major categories: those that are computer generated and those that are calculated by hand. The most frequently used computerized formulas include the Flesch Grade Level Formula and the Flesch-Kincaid Index. Newer word processing programs often have the Flesch formula built into the software for easy use. For those who do not have a computer, or conduct readability tests in the field, there are a number of formulas that can be calculated by hand. Hand-calculated formulas include the FOG method, Fry formula and the SMOG. The SMOG was created by McLaughlin in 1969 and predicts 100% comprehension."
Health Literacy Studies
"As we develop written materials for the general public, we need to think about vocabulary and sentence structure, organization of ideas, as well as layout and design elements so that we can eliminate as many unnecessary barriers as possible."
"As we develop written materials for the general public, we need to think about vocabulary and sentence structure, organization of ideas, as well as layout and design elements so that we can eliminate as many unnecessary barriers as possible."
What is Plain Language?
Some examples of plain language activities in the countries most active with plain language:
The Plain English Campaign in England awards a crystal mark, a symbol of clarity, to documents that are written in plain language. Consumers know to watch for the mark as they shop for financial services, insurance plans, etc. In March 2002, the Campaign awarded the crystal mark to the 7,000th document that has earned its approval.
Australia’s legal community has worked tirelessly to move to understandable legal documents.
The Swedish government employs plain language consultants to assist government workers in creating easy-to-understand legislation.
In Canada, legislators create laws that are readable to those they govern and health care providers are working to create materials that patients and their families can understand.
In South Africa plain language has become a critical issue. With the new democracy, many people in government are committed to making the constitution and laws understandable. The new government is emphasizing human rights and is very concerned about disseminating information to its citizens. Since there are eleven official languages, many South Africans speak English as a second language, so clarity in English is critical.
Some examples of plain language activities in the countries most active with plain language:
The Plain English Campaign in England awards a crystal mark, a symbol of clarity, to documents that are written in plain language. Consumers know to watch for the mark as they shop for financial services, insurance plans, etc. In March 2002, the Campaign awarded the crystal mark to the 7,000th document that has earned its approval.
Australia’s legal community has worked tirelessly to move to understandable legal documents.
The Swedish government employs plain language consultants to assist government workers in creating easy-to-understand legislation.
In Canada, legislators create laws that are readable to those they govern and health care providers are working to create materials that patients and their families can understand.
In South Africa plain language has become a critical issue. With the new democracy, many people in government are committed to making the constitution and laws understandable. The new government is emphasizing human rights and is very concerned about disseminating information to its citizens. Since there are eleven official languages, many South Africans speak English as a second language, so clarity in English is critical.
CLG / Clear Language Group
"We’re a national consortium of health literacy, plain language, and cross cultural communication specialists."
"We’re a national consortium of health literacy, plain language, and cross cultural communication specialists."
Sunday, December 08, 2002
Dummies::Home
"From the start, For Dummies was a simple yet powerful concept: Relate to the anxiety and frustration that people feel about technology by poking fun at it with books that are insightful and educational and make difficult material interesting and easy. Add a strong dose of personality, a dash of comic relief with entertaining cartoons, and — voilá — you have a For Dummies book."
"From the start, For Dummies was a simple yet powerful concept: Relate to the anxiety and frustration that people feel about technology by poking fun at it with books that are insightful and educational and make difficult material interesting and easy. Add a strong dose of personality, a dash of comic relief with entertaining cartoons, and — voilá — you have a For Dummies book."
'Introducing...' books
"Introducing - from Marx to Freud, from Einstein to Postmodernism, Icon’s brilliantly written and illustrated guides provide witty and accessible introductions to the key figures and issues that have shaped the world in which we live."
Very similar to but seemingly different from the 'for beginners' sereis which is mentioned below
"Introducing - from Marx to Freud, from Einstein to Postmodernism, Icon’s brilliantly written and illustrated guides provide witty and accessible introductions to the key figures and issues that have shaped the world in which we live."
Very similar to but seemingly different from the 'for beginners' sereis which is mentioned below
Clear English Standard - the logo
This blog hasn't passed the test but if it had it would have a seal like this.
This blog hasn't passed the test but if it had it would have a seal like this.
Clear English Standard - accreditation criteria
'The writing and setting out of essential information in a way that gives a co-operative, motivated person a good chance of understanding the document at first reading, and in the same sense that the writer meant it to be understood.'
So plain language is not an absolute: what is plain to scientists may be obscure to lay people. It is inevitable that some documents use technical language but, where possible, they should give explanations. We can accredit a difficult text if we feel it could not be put more simply without verbosity or loss of meaning. Hence we do not expect all documents to be equally plain to everybody, though they should always be appropriate to the intended audience.
'The writing and setting out of essential information in a way that gives a co-operative, motivated person a good chance of understanding the document at first reading, and in the same sense that the writer meant it to be understood.'
So plain language is not an absolute: what is plain to scientists may be obscure to lay people. It is inevitable that some documents use technical language but, where possible, they should give explanations. We can accredit a difficult text if we feel it could not be put more simply without verbosity or loss of meaning. Hence we do not expect all documents to be equally plain to everybody, though they should always be appropriate to the intended audience.
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