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Re: Help With Plain Language And Learning Disabilities

for

From: Whitney Quesenbery
Date: Oct 31, 2016 7:56AM

Start with:

Design to read brought together researchers in a number of specialisms to
look at overlaps in recommendations. There are some good links there and a
bibliography <http://designtoread.com/Bibliography>;
http://designtoread.com/


http://centerforplainlanguage.org
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/


The work of Kathryn Summers is particularly good. Here's one article.
Reading and Navigational Strategies of Web Users with LowerLiteracy Skills
<http://redish.net/images/stories/PDF/summers_asist2005.pdf>;

Short article:
http://civicdesign.org/writing-election-information-that-everyone-can-read/


Ginny Redis <http://redish.net/books>;h on readability formulas, including:
Redish, J. C., 2000, Readability formulas have even more limitations than
Klare discusses, ACM Journal of Computer Documentation, 24 (3), August,
132-137.

Redish, J. C. and Selzer, J., 1985, The Place of Readability Formulas in
Technical Communication, Technical Communication, 32 (4), November, 46-52.

Joe Kimble <http://www.cooley.edu/faculty/kimble.html>; is a legal scholar
(who also rewrote things like Federal jury instructions). His book Writing
for Dollars, Writing to Please
<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1611631912> is (despite the clickbait
title) a really good collection of the empirical evidence.

On Sun, Oct 30, 2016 at 8:55 AM Preast, Vanessa < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

Would you be willing to share the citations for the articles or other
evidence that real plain language improves access? This information could
be helpful when trying to train academics how to write more clearly without
dumbing down the materials.

Best,
Vanessa