In this blog, I present a one-page, industry-agnostic model for turning technical content into plain language. Turning highly technical or medical content into accessible plain language can be a demanding and complex process. My aim is to give practical advice that works whether you write about medicines, law or other technical topics.
Plain language in Brief
Plain language is communication in which the wording, structure and design are so clear that the intended readers can easily find what they need, understand it and use it. This is the definition behind ISO 24495-1, the international plain language standard. Plain language is not only about choosing simple words: it covers how content is planned, organised, designed, and tested. And it is not only for the general public: busy professionals, regulators and readers working in a second language all benefit from clear writing.
Plain language writing is not about “dumbing down” content. It is a professional discipline that combines subject knowledge, communication, and language skills with a good understanding of your audience. Together, these let you shape the content, and how you share it, around your readers’ needs, knowledge and skills.
That is often harder than writing for peers. Scientific and technical audiences share training, terminology and writing conventions. Plain language audiences rarely do. They differ in age, education, health literacy, preferences and first language. And limited health literacy is common: in the European Health Literacy Survey HLS19, between 25% and 72% of adults in 17 countries had limited general health literacy. So you need to plan for your audience, write for your audience and publish for your audience.
A Model for any Content
There is no shortage of plain language guidance. But most of it is written for one sector or document type, or it is long and resource-heavy. The international standard ISO 24495-1 (2023) sets out four governing principles: readers should get what they need, and be able to find it, understand it and use it.
What I missed was a one-page model that turns these principles into practical steps, whatever the content. So I created one. Whether you write about medicines, technologies, law, or finance, it can serve as a quick reference whenever you write for non-specialists. If you have a specific use case subject to regulatory requirements such as plain language summaries of clinical trial results or medical device summaries of safety and clinical performance, you can still use this model and add the specific rules for your content and use case.
How to read the model
The model has two sides. On the left is the process: how you work. On the right are the language and content principles: how you write. The initials spell POWER and RACE, which makes them easy to remember.
In the middle, a lighthouse guides the reader from technical language, the jargon written for specialists, to plain language, everyday words written for everyone. At the bottom are the four principles of ISO 24495-1, which the model helps you put into practice.
The Process: POWER
- Plan. Clarify the purpose and the audience before you write. Agree on the process and the style guide, and set up a glossary, especially if several writers, reviewers or translators are involved. This is important if you adapt technical source documents. In life sciences and healthcare, glossaries may also need to be specific to a therapeutic area.
- Organise. Put the most important points first. Use simple, meaningful headings, a clear layout and graphics that support the message. If your document is written for both healthcare professionals and laypersons, as the medical device summary of safety and clinical performance (SSCP) is, make sure each group can easily find the part written for them.
- Write. Expect more than one draft. The first draft gets the content down; revisions make it clear. The final draft goes for review. If technical writers create the content, have it reviewed by someone with language and plain language communication skills.
- Evaluate. Review the content and the language separately, and test the text with people from the intended audience. Readability tools, including AI-based tools, can support this. Depending on the use case and any regulatory requirements, they can also reduce the need for extensive audience testing, but they cannot fully replace feedback from real readers.
- Release. Approve the final version and publish it where your readers will look for it. Then follow up: collect feedback and update the text when the content changes.
The Language and Content: RACE
- Reduce. Keep sentences short, around 15 to 20 words, and cut words that add nothing. The Good Lay Summary Practice guidance in EudraLex Volume 10 also recommends short words, sentences and paragraphs. For the general public, aim for a text that a 12-year-old can understand. Research backs this up: in Writing for Busy Readers (2023), Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink show that fewer words and a simpler reading level make readers more likely to read and act.
- Activate. Use the active voice and strong, specific verbs. Turn zombie nouns back into verbs: “assess” rather than “carry out an assessment of”.
- Clarify. Explain technical terms the first time you use them. Use graphics to support the message, and keep the design simple, without distractions.
- Elevate. Prefer positive to negative wording, and use inclusive, empowering language. Make the content available in the reader’s own language.
One Model, Many Documents
The model is content-agnostic. It works as a basic method whenever you turn highly technical information into content for laypersons. It will take you a long way, also in regulated or sensitive areas, for example a lay summary of clinical trial results, the patient section of an SSCP or a report for the public. What changes is the detail: the audience, the regulatory requirements and how much testing you need. For an example from the medical device field, read my blog on the SSCP patient section.