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Rewrite Text in Simple Language

Complex writing quietly excludes the readers it most needs to reach.

Simplifies technical and complex text

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Reduces jargon and improves accessibility

Maintains accuracy while improving clarity

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Plain Language as an Accessibility and Comprehension Standard

Plain language is not a writing style preference or a personal aesthetic choice but an accessibility standard with measurable comprehension outcomes that have been studied for decades. The United States Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to use plain language in all public-facing communication, reflecting research showing that complex government documents produced significant comprehension failures across the general public and disproportionately affected populations with lower literacy, limited English proficiency, or specific learning differences. Studies of health literacy consistently show that patient comprehension of medical instructions drops sharply when documents exceed a Grade 8 reading level, and the consequences include missed medications, misunderstood diagnoses, and worse health outcomes. In legal contexts, research on jury instructions has found that jurors make significantly different and more accurate decisions when instructions are simplified from typical legal register to plain language. The evidence base for plain language is not stylistic but practical and consequential.

Simplification operates on three interconnected levels: vocabulary, sentence structure, and document organization. Vocabulary simplification replaces low-frequency multisyllabic words derived from Latin and Greek roots with high-frequency words derived from Anglo-Saxon roots, which are typically shorter and more familiar to general readers. The word "utilize" becomes "use," the word "terminate" becomes "end," the word "commence" becomes "start," the word "endeavour" becomes "try." Sentence structure simplification shortens average sentence length to around fifteen to twenty words, converts passive constructions to active voice that names the agent of action, and removes embedded subordinate clauses that require readers to hold multiple conditions in mind simultaneously while parsing the sentence. Organization simplification breaks dense paragraphs into shorter units with clearer topic sentences, uses bullet points for parallel information, and adds informative subheadings that help readers navigate the document.

The FixTools simplification rewriter addresses vocabulary and sentence structure automatically through the simplified tone setting, producing output that is significantly more accessible than typical professional or academic writing. Paragraph organization and document structure remain manual tasks that benefit from a human eye, since structural improvements depend on the document's purpose and the reader's journey through it. After running the simplification rewrite, review the output structurally: are paragraphs short enough that readers can absorb them in a single visual unit, are key actions visible without searching, are conditions and exceptions presented clearly rather than buried within dense text. These structural choices compound with the sentence-level simplifications to produce documents that genuinely serve their readers.

When simplifying professional or technical content, involve a subject matter expert in the review process, particularly for medical, legal, financial, and technical contexts where specific terms have exact meanings that the simplification process can inadvertently alter. Simplification occasionally sacrifices precision for clarity in ways that are unacceptable when accuracy matters legally or clinically. The reliable process for high-stakes simplification is a three-step workflow: rewrite for clarity using the tool, then have a subject matter expert verify that the simplified version preserves all material facts and qualifications, then test the verified version with a reader from the target audience to confirm it actually achieves the comprehension goal. Skipping the expert review introduces accuracy risk, and skipping the user testing leaves you uncertain whether the simplification actually worked for the intended readers.

How to use this tool

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Paste complex or technical text to receive a plain language version that communicates the same information more clearly and accessibly.

How It Works

Step-by-step guide to rewrite text in simple language:

  1. 1

    Identify complex passages

    Read through your document with a critical eye and highlight the sections with the most jargon, the longest sentences, the most complex sentence structures, or the heaviest use of passive voice. These are the passages that will benefit most from simplification. Working from a marked-up document rather than simplifying everything indiscriminately produces better results in less time, since you focus effort where it matters most.

  2. 2

    Paste into the rewriter

    Copy the complex text and paste it into FixTools Text Rewriter with the simplified tone selected. For long documents, work section by section rather than processing the entire document at once, since section-level rewriting produces higher quality output and gives you more control over the result. Process each marked complex passage separately so you can review each one carefully before moving on.

  3. 3

    Review for accuracy

    Read the simplified version side by side with the original to confirm that the factual content has been accurately preserved through the simplification. Pay particular attention to numbers, dates, conditions, exceptions, and qualifications, which are the elements most likely to be altered or dropped during simplification. For high-stakes content, have a subject matter expert review the simplified version before publication.

  4. 4

    Test with a non-expert reader

    Ask someone unfamiliar with the subject to read the simplified version and identify any passages they found unclear or confusing. Their fresh perspective catches problems that are invisible to you because you already know the underlying content. If they cannot identify any unclear passages, the simplification is working well. If they find multiple unclear passages, revise those specific sections with additional manual rewriting.

Real-world examples

Common situations where this approach makes a real difference:

Patient-facing health content

A healthcare provider simplifies clinical documentation into plain language patient information leaflets that are accessible to readers at all literacy levels. After the tool produces a simplified draft, a clinical reviewer verifies that all medical facts, dosages, contraindications, and warnings have been accurately preserved, then a patient advisory group reads the result to confirm it actually communicates the necessary information to non-medical readers before final approval and distribution.

Government public communication

A government communications team simplifies policy documents and legal notices into plain language for public-facing announcements that comply with the Plain Writing Act. The team uses the tool to produce a first-draft simplification, then legal counsel reviews the result to confirm regulatory accuracy is preserved, and finally communications staff test the document with representative citizens to verify comprehension before publication on the agency website.

Technical documentation for non-technical users

A software team simplifies user-facing technical documentation to make it accessible to non-technical customers who need to use the product without understanding its underlying engineering. Engineering reviews ensure the simplified language still describes accurate behavior, and a sample of non-technical beta users walks through the simplified documentation to confirm they can successfully complete the tasks the documentation describes.

Financial product disclosure

A financial services company simplifies dense regulatory disclosure documents into plain language summaries that accompany the formal legal versions required by regulators. The simplified versions help customers actually understand what they are agreeing to when they sign up for products, which improves customer satisfaction and reduces complaints driven by misunderstandings about terms and conditions that were technically disclosed but practically incomprehensible.

When to use this guide

Use this when you need to make complex, technical, legal, or academic content accessible to a general audience for public-facing documentation, customer communications, or educational content.

Pro tips

Get better results with these expert suggestions:

1

Check Flesch score before and after simplifying

Paste your text into Readable.com before simplifying to get a baseline Flesch Reading Ease score, which measures how accessible the text is to readers at different education levels. Run the same check on the simplified version produced by the tool. Aim for a score of 60 or above for general audience content, which corresponds to roughly Grade 8 reading level and matches the literacy level of typical adult readers. Document the before and after scores to track progress across your simplification project systematically.

2

Replace nominalizations with verbs

Nominalizations, which means converting verbs into nouns like "make a decision" instead of "decide," are a primary driver of complexity in technical and administrative writing. They add syllables and indirection without adding meaning. After the tool simplifies, scan the output for remaining phrases like "make an assessment," "conduct an investigation," "provide assistance," or "perform a review" and replace them with simple verbs like "assess," "investigate," "help," or "review." This single transformation often produces dramatic readability improvement.

3

Simplify one document type at a time

When simplifying a class of documents such as patient consent forms, customer terms and conditions, or HR policies, develop a simplified template from one well-chosen example, then apply that template structure to all remaining documents in the class. This produces consistent reading level improvements much faster than simplifying each document individually from scratch. The template approach also produces consistency across the document set, which helps readers who encounter multiple documents from the same source.

4

Use the simplified version alongside the original for regulated content

For legal and medical documents where the original formal version must be preserved for compliance or legal weight, publish both versions: the formal original for legal purposes and a plain language summary for reader comprehension. This dual-publication approach is standard practice in informed consent documentation, financial product disclosures, and government regulation communications. The formal version protects against legal risk while the plain language version actually achieves the communication goal of informing the reader.

5

Target a specific reading level

Think about your least experienced reader when simplifying. If you are writing for general audiences, aim for a reading level appropriate for a motivated non-expert, clear sentences, common vocabulary, minimal jargon.

6

Define technical terms you cannot remove

If you must use technical terms, add a brief plain-language definition in parentheses after the first use. After simplifying, check that all jargon is either removed or defined.

7

Test with a non-expert reader after simplifying

After simplifying, ask someone unfamiliar with the subject to read the output and identify any remaining unclear passages. Their feedback pinpoints what still needs work.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Plain language is writing designed to communicate clearly and directly to the intended audience without unnecessary complexity. It uses common vocabulary, short sentences, active voice, clear logical structure, and minimal jargon. Plain language does not mean simple content or dumbed-down ideas; it means clearly expressed content organized for easy comprehension. Well-designed plain language can communicate complex ideas at a Grade 8 reading level without losing accuracy or analytical depth. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 codified plain language requirements for federal agencies and reflects decades of research on what makes writing genuinely accessible.
Simplification can involve trade-offs between precision and accessibility, but the trade-off is usually smaller than writers fear because nuance in complex writing is often buried in unnecessary complexity rather than contributing meaningful information. Long sentences with elaborate qualifications often add cognitive load without adding meaning, and removing the unnecessary complexity reveals the underlying content rather than damaging it. For most content types, the precision loss from careful simplification is minimal. For legal, medical, and technical content where genuine precision requirements exist, have a subject matter expert review simplified versions to confirm essential accuracy is preserved before publishing.
Yes, the rewriter can significantly improve the readability of legal text, transforming dense legalese into accessible prose that ordinary readers can understand. For published legal documents that carry legal weight in court or in contractual obligations, always have a qualified lawyer review the simplified versions before using them to confirm they accurately reflect the original legal meaning. The dual-publication approach is common in legal contexts: maintain the formal legal version for its legal weight and provide a plain language summary that helps readers actually understand what they are signing or agreeing to. Both versions serve different purposes and complement each other.
For most public-facing content aimed at general audiences, target a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 7 to 9, which corresponds to a Flesch Reading Ease score of roughly 60 to 70. Government agencies and health organizations typically target Grade 6 to 8 for the broadest possible accessibility, since this range serves readers across the full range of adult literacy levels. Highly specialized professional audiences may tolerate higher reading levels appropriate to their field, but even expert readers process information faster and more accurately when it is presented at moderate reading levels rather than maximally dense academic prose. Check reading levels for free using Readable.com or the Hemingway App.
Research consistently shows the opposite of the common fear: plain language increases perceived trustworthiness and competence with general audiences rather than reducing them. Unnecessarily complex language is associated with confusion, suspicion, and lower trust in public communication contexts, particularly when the audience perceives that the complexity is obscuring meaning rather than conveying nuance. Expert audiences may expect domain-appropriate technical language and would find oversimplification condescending, but plain language is rarely perceived as incompetent by any audience when applied appropriately. The key is matching the simplification level to the audience rather than oversimplifying for specialist readers.
You can use the tool to produce a simplified draft and improve overall accessibility, but for patient-facing health content, public scientific communication, or any context where accuracy has clinical or safety implications, have a domain expert review the simplified version before publishing. Simplification of medical or scientific text occasionally drops clinical qualifications, statistical conditions, or scientific exceptions that are essential for accurate understanding. The expert review step adds time but prevents accuracy errors that could harm readers who rely on the simplified information to make health or safety decisions.
Use a combination of quantitative and qualitative checks. Quantitatively, run the simplified version through Readable.com or the Hemingway App to confirm the reading level has dropped to your target range. Qualitatively, ask one or two people from your intended audience to read the simplified version and identify any passages they found unclear or confusing. If they cannot identify any unclear passages, the simplification is working effectively. If they find multiple unclear passages, revise those specific sections with additional manual simplification. The combination of quantitative readability scoring and qualitative reader testing produces high confidence that the result actually achieves the communication goal.
Simplifying means expressing ideas in clearer language while preserving the underlying intellectual content, complexity, and accuracy. Dumbing down means removing intellectual content along with the complex language, leaving a version that is more accessible but less informative. The difference matters enormously: well-simplified content respects the reader by communicating substantive ideas in accessible language, while dumbed-down content patronizes the reader by assuming they cannot handle real information. Effective simplification keeps the same ideas but expresses them in language any motivated reader can understand. Dumbing down sacrifices content along with complexity, which is rarely what you want.
Define technical terms in plain language at first use rather than removing them entirely, since some technical vocabulary is irreducibly necessary for accurate communication about specialized topics. Use the structure "technical term (plain definition)" the first time a term appears, then use the technical term alone afterward. This approach preserves accuracy while bringing new readers along. For terms that are not essential, replace them with everyday equivalents that mean the same thing. After simplification, scan for any technical terms that were replaced with everyday synonyms that have different meanings, and restore the precise terminology where accuracy requires it.
Match the language level to the audience and the context rather than always simplifying maximally. Highly specialized professional audiences communicating within their field genuinely benefit from technical vocabulary that allows precise, efficient communication of complex ideas, and oversimplifying that communication would slow professional work and feel condescending. Mixed audiences and general audiences benefit from plain language that meets readers at varying expertise levels. The right question is not whether to simplify but how much to simplify for this specific audience and context. When in doubt, simpler usually works better than more complex, since simplification rarely causes harm while excessive complexity routinely fails its readers.

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