2. What You Should Know

 

2.1 What is jargon?

🗣 Jargon means special words that professionals often use.

✅ These words make sense to people in the same job.
❌ But they are often hard for other people to understand.

📌 Example:

• Biopsy = taking a small piece of tissue from your body for a test.

• Litigation = taking legal action.

• Referendum = asking the public to vote yes or no on an important question.

• Misdemeanour = a small crime.

👉 Jargon can make people feel confused, left out, or unable to join in.
👉 If you use a jargon word, always explain it in simple words.

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2.2 What are hard words?

📖 Hard words are words that people don’t use in everyday life.
They may look long, unusual, or tricky to understand.

📌 Example:

• Exaggeration = saying something is better or worse than it really is.

• Contemplate = thinking.

• Annual = every year.

• Participation = taking part.

👉 Instead of using hard words, use shorter and easier words.
👉 If you really need to use a hard work, explain what it means.

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2.3 How to give information to people

📄 Long documents can be very hard to read.
Small print and long words make it worse.

🔑 Tips for making information accessible:

• Write in short, clear sentences.

• Pick out only the most important facts.

• Summarise your message.

• Use examples from everyday life.

• Use large print if possible – small print can be tiring and hard to focus on.

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Why these matters

📚 Many people have missed out on reading books and documents because they were too hard to read.

✅ Easy Read gives everyone a fair chance to learn, understand, and take part.
✅ It helps people focus better, especially when the text is in large print and written simply.