How much of plain language is about words?
How much of the ISO plain language standard is about words or readability formulas?
Two measures yield similar results.
Measure 1: word count
Focus of advice
Total number of words: 4833
Percentage of advice about words: 7%
Percentage of words about readability formulas: 0.04%
* Language that comments on other language, helping readers to understand the author’s purpose and point of view. For example: “This guidance applies mainly to printed or digital information. However, creators of podcasts and videos may also find it useful.” The word “however” functions as
metadiscourse. It acts as a linguistic marker that guides the reader—in this case—to recognize that while the guidance is specific, it may be useful in a wider context.
Evidence-based claim
The ISO Plain Language Standard has roughly 4800 words. It covers a variety of language issues—such as the content’s structure, findability, understandability, and usability—but only 7% of the guidance focuses on word choice.
In addition, readability formulas are mentioned only once. That single mention states explicitly that plain language does not focus on readability formulas to judge text quality. Rather the standard places emphasis on how successfully readers can use documents.
Measure 2: idea count
Focus of advice
Principles of plain language: 253 ideas
Metadiscourse* about using principles: 39 ideas
Organizational cues for using ideas: 158 ideas
Ideas about word choice: 36 ideas
Ideas about readability formulas: 1 idea
Total number of ideas: 487
Percentage of ideas about words 7%
Percentage of ideas about readability formulas 0.21%
* Language that comments on other language, helping readers to understand the author’s purpose and point of view. For example: “This guidance applies mainly to printed or digital information. However, creators of podcasts and videos may also find it useful.” The word “however” functions as
metadiscourse. It acts as a linguistic marker that guides the reader—in this case—to recognize that while the guidance is specific, it may be useful in a wider context.
Evidence-based claim
The ISO Plain Language Standard has roughly 485 ideas. These cover a variety of language issues—such as the content’s structure, findability, understandability, and usability—but only 7% focus on word choice. In addition, readability formulas are mentioned only once. That single mention states explicitly that plain language does not focus on readability formulas to judge text quality. Rather the standard places emphasis on how successfully readers can use documents.