Plain language is an accessibility tool, not just good writing
Health and government information is often written in dense, technical language, long sentences, and passive voice. For many people with disabilities, this is more than an inconvenience and rather more a barrier to understanding their own health, rights, and choices.
Who is most affected by complex language?
- Cognitive and intellectual disabilities: long sentences, abstract wording, and denseparagraphs increase the effort needed to process information.
- Learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia): complex sentence structure and small, unbroken blocksof text slow reading and reduce comprehension.
- Low vision or blindness: screen readers work best with clear structure, short sentences, and descriptive headings, not walls of unbroken text.
- Attention-related conditions (e.g., ADHD): long, unstructured documents are harder to stay focused on than short, clearly labeled sections.
- Non-native speakers and people with lower literacy levels: technical vocabulary and jargon shut people out even when they are otherwise capable readers.
What plain language strategies actually look like?
- Short sentences and everyday words instead of technical jargon.
- Conclusion-first writing: state the key point before the supporting detail, so readers get the takeaway even if they stop reading early.
- Descriptive subheadings that summarize what a section says, not just what it’s about, so a reader scanning headings alone still gets the gist.
- Bullet points and short paragraphs to reduce visual and cognitive load.
- Visual aids and infographics, which convey structure and relationships (like steps in a process) faster than text alone, and are more accessible to visual learners and low-literacy readers.
A working example: turning a clinical guideline into plain language
To demonstrate the process, I took a dense, 16-recommendation clinical practice guideline on “mixed pain” management (Varrassi et al., 2025, Frontiers in Medicine), originally written for physicians and packed with medical terminology, and rewrote it as a one-page plain language summary. The process involved:
- Reading for the core message first, then writing that conclusion at the top, rather than making readers wade through methodology before reaching the point.
- Replacing clinical terms with everyday language (e.g., “nociceptive pain” explained as pain from tissue injury, with a familiar example like arthritis).
- Writing subheadings that state the takeaway of each section (e.g., “Care works best as a coordinated team, not separate specialists” instead of just “Interdisciplinary Care”).
- Keeping paragraphs short and scannable, so the summary could be read fully in a few minutes instead of the 20+ minutes the original article requires.
I’m looking forward to your feedback, comments and suggestions. It is my very first attempt in creating plain language summary. You can read my rewritten version here:
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