Write using plain English (plain language)

Plain English is the writing style you should use on our websites to make content quick and easy to understand.

What plain English is

Plain English is direct, clear, everyday language. It makes text easier for everyone to read and understand.

Features of plain English include:

short sentences and paragraphs
simple, everyday words
avoiding jargon unless the audience understands it
explaining technical terms or acronyms
clear sections of text with enough spacing
clear headings and bulleted lists

Plain English helps most people understand content more quickly, including people with lower literacy, cognitive impairments, or who use assistive technologies.

People with at least some secondary education can understand text written in plain English (roughly age 11 to 14 reading ability).

Experts prefer plain English

Even specialist readers prefer plain English because it helps them understand complex information faster.

Tips for writing in plain English

Help people quickly get to what matters most by keeping your writing simple.

Use:

headings to break up text (your content should still make sense if headings are removed)
short paragraphs on one topic (aim for no more than 5 sentences)
short sentences averaging 15 to 20 words (break up sentences longer than 25 words or use bullet points)
bulleted or numbered lists (aim for 6 to 7 points per list; split longer lists into sections)
short or familiar words (for example, use “about” instead of “approximately”)

Avoid:

unexplained technical terms or abbreviations (explain them the first time you use them)
jargon, unless needed for your audience
starting sentences with numerals (restructure the sentence if needed)
words listed on the GOV.UK words to avoid list

Plain English and easy read language

Plain English is not the same as Easy Read, but they are sometimes confused for each other. Both make text easier to understand, but easy read language is designed for people with learning difficulties or disabilities.

People with at least primary school level education (roughly age 7 to 9 reading ability) can understand easy read text.

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

Because the visual layout is essential to understanding the content, easy read materials are usually published as documents, often PDFs.

For our websites, most service content should be written in plain English.

Measuring readability

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

Do not rely on readability scores alone to judge whether content is accessible or appropriate for your audience. While useful, different tools can give different or sometimes misleading results. This depends on how scores are calculated and how the tools are used.

Always test your content with real users too.

Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score

The Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease score measures how easy text is to read. The higher the score, the easier the text is to understand.

This is what the score ranges 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 (academic or technical writing)

Aim for a score of 60 or above where possible.

A key part of this score is the number of syllables per word. Syllables are the individual units of sound that make up a word. For example, “water” has two syllables and “door” has one.

You do not need to penalise unavoidable proper names, titles, or well-understood terms when reviewing scores.

Example: titles and well-understood terms

If you were writing to families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the words “educational” and “disabilities” would lower the score because they have many syllables. You would still expect your audience to understand these terms.

Example: unavoidable proper names

In this example about a cat sitting on a mat, notice how the Reading Ease score improves as the surrounding language becomes simpler. The breed name “Abyssinian” is needed, so it remains unchanged.

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 dark red doormat. (Score 92.9 - Easy to read or Easy Read language)
An Abyssinian cat sat on the dark red mat. (Score 100 - Very easy to read or Easy Read language)

Microsoft Word readability statistics

Microsoft Word includes a Reading Ease score in its readability statistics.

If you have not used the checker before, you may need to turn it on:

Go to 'File', then 'Options'.
Select 'Proofing'.
Under 'When correcting spelling and grammar in Word', select the 'Check grammar with spelling'.
Select 'Show readability statistics'.

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

Aim for a Reading Ease score of 60 or above.

You can also use a web-based tool like this Flesch Kincaid calculator from Good Calculators)