Write using plain English (plain language)

Learn about writing in plain English - the writing style you should use on our websites to make content quick and easy to understand.

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What plain English is

Plain English, or plain language, is direct, clear, everyday language. It makes text easier to understand and helps everyone, regardless of ability, age, education, or language. 

Features of plain English

  • Short sentences and paragraphs
  • Simple, everyday words with fewer syllables
  • Avoids jargon (unneeded technical or professional language)
  • Explains technical terms or acronyms
  • Clear sections of text with enough spacing
  • Easy to understand headings and bulleted lists

People with at least some secondary level education should be able to understand text written in plain English. That's around an age 12 to 14 year old reading ability.

Tips for writing using plain English

Help people quickly get to what matters most about your message. Keep it simple using these tips. 

Use:

  • headings to break up text - it should still make sense with the headings removed
  • short paragraphs that cover one topic - no more than 5 sentences each
  • short sentences that average 15 to 20 words - break up sentences longer than 25 words or use bullet points
  • bulleted and numbered lists - aim for 6 to 7 points per list, try to break up longer lists into different sections
  • short or easy words with fewer syllables - use 'like' not 'such as',  ‘about’ not ‘approximately’

Avoid: 

  • unexplained technical terms or abbreviations - explain them the first time you use them
  • jargon (technical or professional language) unless needed for your specific audience
  • starting a sentence with a numeral - restructure it if needed
  • words that appear on GOV.UK words to avoid list

Experts prefer plain English

Experts who have a higher reading level prefer plain English too - it allows them to understand complex information quicker.

GOV.UK explains how to write well for specialists

User experience experts Nielson Norman Group explain how plain English helps specialist readers in this 3 minute video [YouTube]

Measuring readability

Readability tools can help you understand how easy your text is to read. This can help you think about ways to improve your writing. 

While useful, different tools can give different results depending on how scores are calculated (and how you use them). Do not rely on these tools to know if your content is easy to read for your specific audience. 

Always test your content with real users too. 

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score

The Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score is a reading level checker. It tells you how easy text is to read. The higher the score, the easier it can be to read. 

This is what the scores mean: 

  • above 90 - Very easy to read (Easy read language)
  • 80 to 90 - Easy to read 
  • 70 to 80 - Fairly easy to read
  • 60 to 70 - Easily understood (Plain English)
  • 50 to 60 - Fairly difficult to read
  • 30 to 50 - Difficult to read
  • 0 to 30 -  Extremely difficult to read (university graduates)

Aim for a Reading Ease score of 60 and above in your writing.

A key part of this score is amount of syllables per word in the text. You do not need to factor in the complexity of proper names or titles. 

For example, if you were writing to families of children with special educational needs and disabilities, or SEND. 

The words 'educational' and 'disabilities' would lower your score because they have more syllables. You would expect families to know what these words mean. So, you do not need to factor them into your overall score. 

In this example about a cat sitting on a mat, notice how the Reading Ease score goes up the simpler the language becomes. The breed of cat 'Abyssinian' (a proper noun) is needed, so it's exclude it from the score.

  • An Abyssinian feline situated itself upon the burgundy doormat. (Score 18.9 - Extremely difficult to read)
  • An Abyssinian feline sat upon the burgundy doormat. (Score 54.7 - Fairly difficult to read)
  • An Abyssinian feline sat on the burgundy doormat. (Score 66.7 - Easily understood - plain English)
  • An Abyssinian cat sat upon the red doormat. (Score 90.9 - Easy to read)
  • An Abyssinian cat sat on the red mat. (Score 100 - Very easy to read)

Microsoft Word - Readability Statistics scorecard

Microsoft Word has a Reading Ease score included in its Readability scorecard. This can help you check how easy your content is to read before publishing it.

To turn on the checker:

  1. Go to 'File', then 'Options'.
  2. Select 'Proofing'.
  3. Under 'When correcting spelling and grammar in Word', make sure to select the 'Check grammar with spelling' check box.
  4. Select 'Show readability statistics'.

To run the checker, go to 'Review', then 'Editor.' Under to 'Insights', select 'Document stats'.

Aim for a Reading Ease score of 60 or above.

You can also use a web-based tool like the Flesch Kincaid Calculator (Good Calculators) 

Plain English and easy read language

Plain English and easy read language are sometimes confused for each other. They are both writing styles designed to make standard written text easier to understand. 

Easy read language is different from plain English because it's specifically for people with learning difficulties and disabilities.

People with at least a primary school level education should be able to understand text written in easy read language. That's around an age 9 to 11 year old reading ability.

Easy read language is normally used in a specially designed format that incorporates images alongside simple sentences.

Since the visual presentation must be fixed, they are almost always presented as PDF documents for these readers.

For our websites, you should focus on writing most service content in plain English.

Other ways to make web content readable

Readability is about more than just the words on a page. It's also important to consider:

  • your audience, writing style and tone
  • how you structure your content on a page
  • non-text content like images or video
  • the use of colour

Learn more about readability when writing web content.

Related resources

Plain English guidance 

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines on plain language