Readability and Plain Language
Reading-Level Exception Record
Explain why technical complexity is necessary in a passage and document the definitions, examples, navigation, alternatives, and review that support readers.
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Exception context
- Page and passage
- [URL/section and exact wording]
- Intended reader
- [Knowledge, language, and situation]
- Reader task
- [What the passage enables]
- Readability target or test
- [Measure and context]
- Flagged feature
- [Term, sentence, condition, formula, or reference]
- Observed difficulty
- [Evidence from review or testing]
- Consequence of misunderstanding
- [Why it matters]
Justification and support
- Wording to retain
- [Exact phrase or structure]
- Reason
- [Meaning, obligation, safety, or technical precision]
- Authority or expert
- [Source, version, and reviewer]
- Simpler option considered
- [Alternative]
- Meaning lost or changed
- [Specific distinction]
- Support added
- [Definition, example, summary, diagram, or help route]
- Boundary
- [Audience, jurisdiction, product, or version]
- Review trigger
- [Source or context change]
Approval checks
- Avoidable jargon and long framing were edited first.
- The exception is limited to exact necessary wording.
- The stated authority or technical distinction was verified.
- Support appears where readers encounter the complexity.
- Conditions and exceptions remain connected.
- Representative comprehension was checked where feasible.
- Expert and editorial reviewers accepted the final meaning.
- Expiration and update ownership are documented.
How to use this template
- Capture the flagged passage, target audience, expected task, measure used, and observed comprehension problem.
- Separate necessary technical or controlled wording from complexity that can be edited.
- Document the source and meaning preserved by every proposed exception.
- Add definitions, examples, structure, summaries, or alternative formats that support understanding.
- Obtain expert and editorial approval, then assign a review trigger and expiration condition.
Diagnose what creates complexity
Record the exact passage and the reason it was flagged: specialized terms, long sentences, embedded conditions, dense references, symbols, or unfamiliar concepts. Determine whether the complexity comes from the subject or from the drafting. A necessary term may be retained while a long introductory clause is rewritten. A legal requirement may need exact wording, but its placement and supporting explanation can still improve. Test individual barriers instead of treating a single reading-level number as a verdict on the whole page.
Justify precision at the phrase level
Identify each word or structure that cannot change and name the authority, standard, contractual need, safety implication, or technical distinction it preserves. Record alternatives considered and the meaning they would lose. Avoid broad claims such as “compliance requires it” without a citation or qualified reviewer. If the formal wording applies only in one jurisdiction, version, audience, or document type, state that boundary. An exception should be as narrow as possible and should expire when its source changes.
Add support around the necessary complexity
Readers may benefit from a plain-language preview, definition beside first use, worked example, diagram, progressive disclosure, summary, or route to qualified help. Structure conditions in a list when that preserves logic, but do not split text in ways that separate a requirement from its exception. Ask representative readers to explain the passage or complete the relevant task. Record misunderstandings and adaptations. Approval should include the subject expert and the editor responsible for audience comprehension.
See the fields in context
Fictional example: water-test reporting note
Clearwick Laboratory and its reporting rule are invented; no scientific or regulatory guidance is provided.
- Flag: The invented term “method reporting threshold” raises the passage's calculated reading level.
- Reason retained: A fictional reporting standard distinguishes it from a detection limit, so substituting “smallest amount” changes meaning.
- Support: Define the term in plain language beside first use and provide a simple invented sample report.
- Boundary: The definition is labeled for Clearwick's fictional method version 4 only.
- Approval: An invented laboratory specialist checks technical meaning; a content editor checks reader comprehension.
Frequently asked questions
Is a high reading-level score proof that content is inaccessible?
No. It is one signal based largely on word and sentence patterns. Comprehension also depends on structure, familiarity, context, design, and reader testing.
Can legal text automatically receive an exception?
No. Verify which wording must remain exact and which explanatory or navigational content can improve. Obtain appropriate qualified review.
Should technical terms be replaced with everyday words?
Replace them only when meaning remains accurate. Otherwise define the term, explain its significance, and use it consistently.
When should an exception be reviewed again?
Review it when the cited standard, law, product, audience, translation, test evidence, or surrounding task changes.