Plain Language
Resources and guidance for using plain language
Using Plain Language
Plain language refers to clear communication that an audience can understand the first time they hear or read it.1 Using plain language enables you to connect directly and clearly with all audiences - from research participants, to the general public, to research colleagues.2 Crafting your materials with plain language principles and guidance in mind increases your chances of connecting with your audience and achieving your communication’s intended purpose.
Materials prepared in plain language are:
Understandable
People of diverse backgrounds and varying levels of health literacy can process and explain key messages.
Actionable
People of diverse backgrounds and varying levels of health literacy can identify what they can do based on the information presented.
Culturally Relevant
The material uses language and examples that would be familiar to the intended audience(s) and does not perpetuate stereotypes.
Plain Language Materials Development Checklist
This checklist will help you ensure that materials you create meet the plain language criteria above. This comprehensive tool, designed by Harvard Catalyst’s Community Engagement Program, is designed to help you conduct a systematic review of the understandability, actionability, and cultural relevance of your material.
Readability, Usability, and Accessibility
Readability
Readability formulas and calculators are useful tools in evaluating how easy or difficult it is to read a given text. These tools take into account factors such as word choice, number of syllables, and length of sentences. Using a free readability tool will provide you with a quick check of basic readability, but it is highly recommended that you also conduct usability testing to ensure your materials are accessible to the intended audience.
Usability
Usability testing involves evaluating the effectiveness of your drafted materials by sharing them with representative users. This comprehensive guide by the MRCT Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard offers practical guidance, including recommendations for how to plan and conduct a usability test, examples, and links to additional resources.
Usability testing tools and assessments
- Center for Health Guidance Health Literacy Principles Checklist - A generic checklist of principles for health literacy, divided into the following sections: planning, content, literacy demands, organization, layout and typography, and graphics.
- National Library of Medicine’s Health Education Materials Assessment Tool (NIH) - A form that can be used to evaluate the use of plain language in health education materials.
- Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials (PEMAT-P) (AHRQ) - A rubric for usability testing for patient education materials
Accessibility
Accessibility best practices are critical to ensuring that digital materials can be understood by as many people as possible. Harvard’s Digital Accessibility resource includes guides steps you can take to improve the accessibility of documents, PDFs, slides, and websites. Harvard's Digital Accessibility Policy was updated in June 2023.
Accessibility Guidance Based on Delivery Format
- Guidance for documents created in Microsoft Word and Google Docs
- Guidance for slides created in Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides
- Guidance for PDFs created in Adobe Acrobat Pro
Accessibility Testing
- Accessibility Testing Tools and Practices - A list of non-technical testing tools for evaluating the accessibility of materials produced in a variety of formats
Additional Resources
