How to write for a general reader
Plain language is a skill with rules, and they're well documented.
A structure that works
Unless you've been given headings, four short paragraphs in this order will carry almost any study.
| Part | Question | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Background | What is the problem, and who does it affect? | Start with people, not with the literature |
| What we did | How was the study done? | One or two sentences; skip technical detail |
| What we found | What was the main result? | Use plain numbers: "1 in 5", not "20.3%" |
| What it means | Why does it matter, and what is still unknown? | Say what the study can't tell us |
Words to replace
Some research terms have a different everyday meaning, which makes them worse than unfamiliar ones. "Significant" is the usual culprit: to a general reader it means important, not statistically detectable.
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| participants in the intervention arm | people who received the treatment |
| statistically significant | unlikely to be due to chance |
| efficacy | how well it works |
| adverse events | side effects or harms |
| longitudinal | followed over time |
| correlated with | linked to (which doesn't mean caused by) |
| cohort | group of people |
Sentences and numbers
Keep sentences to one idea and around 15 to 20 words. Use the active voice and "we". Explain any technical term you can't avoid the first time it appears.
Give numbers in a form people can picture, such as "8 out of 100 people", and give the comparison alongside: 8 out of 100 on the treatment against 12 out of 100 without it.
Simple, not exaggerated
Keep the limits of the study in the summary: who was studied, for how long, and whether the design can show cause. "This study suggests" and "in this group" are plain words too.
Don't give medical or other advice the paper doesn't support, and say where readers should go for guidance if the topic is health.
Who asks for these
Requirements vary. Cochrane reviews include a plain language summary, some journals publish lay or "significance" statements alongside articles, and many health research funders require a plain English summary in applications. Check the specific instructions, since length and headings differ widely.