Journalists learn early that if you can\u2019t explain your story simply \u2013 you don\u2019t know it well enough.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the old adage from experienced editors. It’s a rallying call for\u00a0plain English and making\u00a0the complex\u00a0easy to understand.<\/p>\n
Plain English and readability are key in getting your message across, whether\u00a0your audience are esteemed academics or laypersons.<\/p>\n
Fear of \u2018dumbing down\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Some research academics break into a sweat over this. It\u2019s as if making research\u00a0understandable to all is ‘dumbing down’.\u00a0But researchers often do\u00a0themselves a disservice with their ‘impenetrable’ web content.<\/p>\n The recent\u00a0Research Excellence Framework review by Lord Stern<\/a>\u00a0recommends\u00a0research impact case studies\u00a0provide evidence of\u00a0public engagement and understanding<\/strong>.<\/p>\n You can achieve this with your website content. It’s also a way to attract non-traditional\u00a0sources of\u00a0funding.\u00a0But explaining your work in 65-word sentences laden with\u00a0verbose language\u00a0won’t help.<\/p>\n Have the courage to speak plainly<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s easy to write about technical research. It\u2019s almost impossible to get away from some subject-specific\u00a0jargon.<\/p>\n But there are ways of delivering easy-to-read research. And that’s\u00a0without ‘dumbing down’ and patronising your peers.<\/p>\n Writing actively, in tight concise sentences is a start. Bulleted lists and bold to highlight\u00a0key messages\u00a0are also good ideas.<\/p>\n The Art of Scannable Content: How to Write for Today\u2019s Online Readers<\/a> and our\u00a0blog<\/a> are great for writing tips.<\/p>\n Use Hemingway App<\/a> to help you. It allows you to play around with your words to get the best readability score.<\/p>\n Just doing this, without\u00a0removing technical jargon, will help anyone read your content.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t hide your research behind vocabulary<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t just stop at sentence size, structure and scannable content. You\u2019re only half way there.<\/p>\n \u201cAll too often, research is hidden behind a vocabulary that is overly technical and disengaging, but there are ways to avoid that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Cracking the code for effective research communication<\/a>, where this quote comes from,\u00a0gives excellent advice on\u00a0steps researchers can take to\u00a0engage web audiences.<\/p>\n Always put forward\u00a0how your research impacts on\u00a0everyday life. Also think about whether\u00a0you need jargon\u00a0to tell people\u00a0what it\u2019s about.<\/p>\n Five minutes with Mark Blyth: \u201cTurn it into things people can understand, let go of the academese, and people will engage\u201d<\/a> is\u00a0useful.\u00a0Academic\u00a0Mark Blyth gives insight into his\u00a0success through promoting his research online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Journalists learn early that if you can\u2019t explain your story simply \u2013 you don\u2019t know it well enough. It\u2019s the old adage from experienced editors. It’s a rallying call for\u00a0plain English and making\u00a0the complex\u00a0easy to understand. Plain English and readability … Continue reading