How to Use Easy Language

This blog pulls information and examples from Patricia Almeida’s Simple As This Guide. All credit for information and examples goes to her.

Read the guide for more examples and context:

• Simple As This: How to use Easy Language
• Simples Assim: Comique com todo mundo

 Easy Text: How to write in Easy Language

This section talks about what you can do to communicate with Easy Language. 

What to do: 

Use short, simple sentences. 

The classes start on March 17th. 

Direct word order: subject + verb + complements. 

Three friends went on a trip. 

Write as you speak. 

We are open 7 days a week. 

Use One idea per phrase. 

The restaurant’s owner has Italian parents. 

He opened the restaurant 2 years ago. 

The restaurant is thriving. 

Use everyday words: 

Good: The selection is done through exams and interviews. 

Bad: The selection process consists of exams and interview rounds. 

Use words with precise meaning: 

Good: Color 

Bad: Tonality 

If you need to use a complex word, highlight it and explain the meaning: 

What is gastric emptying for?

Gastric means related to the stomach.

What not to do:

Avoid passive voice: 

Good: The student made the drawing.

Bad: The drawing was made by the student. 

Avoid sentences with if: 

If I had time, I would have travelled on the weekend. 

Avoid terms like although, since, as long as, however, and for that: 

You will be entitled to the benefit as long as your payment is up to date. 

Avoid impersonal sentences: 

It’s been a while since this happened. 

Avoid the use of symbols like %, &, / 

Our store offers a 20% discount on all items. 

Write dates in full: 

Good: Saturday, May 25, 2024 

Bad: 5/25/2024 

Avoid too many commas. It’s better to use a period and start another sentence.  

Good:

We can find a lot of trash in the ocean. 

Fishing nets are a threat to sea animals. 

These nets can choke them. 

Animals can eat pieces of the net and become sick. 

Bad:

Increased amounts of trash particularly plastics and lose or discarded fishing gear, are finding their way into the ocean creating a threat of entanglement or ingestion for countless marine animals.  

Avoid abbreviations and acronyms: 

Good: The United Nations is an international organization. 

Bad: The UN is an international organization. 

Avoid fractions and roman numerals: 

I ate ¾ of the pizza. 

The event of the XX century, 

Avoid technical words and figures of speech: 

In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, lymphocytes grow abnormally. 

He has a heart of stone. 

Avoid foreign words: 

I had a feeling of déjà vu when I saw the movie. 

Avoid using verbs as nouns:

Good: It is hard to walk.

Bad: Walking is hard. 

Use appropriate language to reach your target audience. 

Avoid childish language if you're not talking to children, like "Do you need to go to the potty?"

Use markers like dots or dashes to list more than three things: 

Good:

Grocery list:  

• Rice 
• Beans 
• Flour 
• Eggs 

Bad: Grocery list: rice, beans, flour, eggs 

Do not rely on previous knowledge on the topic. 

 Validation: Testing if people understand the material 

You can do your best to use Easy Language.  

But sometimes you may say something in a confusing way.  

To avoid confusion, you want to do text validation, which means testing its practical comprehension with reviewers. 

To do this:

• Gather people who are a part of your target audience.
  • These people are your reviewers/validators.
• Ask them to read and give feedback on the material. 
• Implement their feedback.

Here are guidelines to validation: 

• Validation is a central step of the process and easy language.  
• It can be in a face-to-face or online meeting. You can also send the material to be evaluated and ask for contributions.  
• Understanding the message involves comprehending:  
  • Words  
  • Images  
  • Phrases  
  • Design  
  • Message 

Once you get their feedback, rephrase the content according to the suggestions. 

This process is about filtering essential information and communicating it in the easiest way possible.  

Validators/Reviewers play an important role in making your content accessible! 

Thank them for their time and include a review group whenever possible.