University communications can be overwhelming and confusing for students, especially as they contain unfamiliar or very technical language. So, we built a custom AI agent using Cogniti to assist with clearer messaging and content. This uses the Easy Read and Plain English principles to guide AI in making language for target audiences.
Clear communication is essential but difficult
Clear communication is the key ingredient for getting anything done but achieving this, particularly in academic environments, can be a lot harder than we think. Words like “paradigm” and “schemata” are used regularly so we regularly produce sentences like, “This article elucidates the multifaceted paradigmatic shift in contemporary pedagogical discourse” (translated* – “this article explains the big changes in how we teach and learn these days”).
So what about our students? Are they actually listening if they’re faced with similarly complex language? If they’re not, can we blame them? When students don’t understand, they usually let us know through omission rather than telling us outright. The challenge then falls on us as teachers and education professionals to proactively design communications that are clear and easy to understand. This is where the Simple English Converter Cogniti agent can assist via Easy Read and Plain English.
What is Easy Read?
Easy Read is a simple text language that was developed for people with cognitive disabilities. It is a communication style that combines images with plain English text in an easy-to-read format. You’ll often find examples of traditional Easy Read in Government documents, particularly on topics relating to disability. Translating information into Easy Read is a reasonable accommodation people with disabilities can request from their educators, employers and communities.
The principles of Easy Read have a big role to play as the University shifts to a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to its resources and materials. It’s important to note, that official Easy Read follows an exact format and is crafted by certified translators, but there are some basic principles of Easy Read that any content creator can implement into their designs:
- Visual / graphical / multimodal
- Use adjectives and verbs sparingly, limit to one per sentence.
- Break the text down into steps or a follow a clear linear narrative
What is Plain English?
Plain English is a set of style guidelines to ensure whatever is being communicated is understood the first time it is read or heard. Similar to Easy Read, it is widely used and encouraged in government publications. Unlike Easy Read though, there is no standard manual but there are some common recommendations. These overlap with Easy Read features and include:
- Short paragraphs and sentences – achieve this by avoiding idioms and jargons and using everyday words (here’s a short list of what to avoid and recommended alternatives)
- Clear sections and headings
- Active voice rather than passive – it’s more direct and better engages the recipient of the communications
- Personal pronouns – “you” for the listener and “we” for the speaker or writer
- Direct instructions or commands – e.g., “Submit before 5pm”
Using a blend of Easy Read and Plain English helps us present complex information in a straightforward way without “dumbing down”.
The Cogniti Agent “Simple English Converter” in action with the early feedback task
The “Simple English Converter” Cogniti agent was originally developed to support a 1000-level Engineering unit with the Early Feedback Task (EFT) which was introduced last year for all 1000-level units. In addition to providing meaningful feedback on students’ performance on the task, EFT emails to students contained important information about and links to the policies underlying the EFT, deadlines and student support services. However, these messages were often long with potentially new and difficult terms like “census date”. This can create not only confusion but distress (Jankowska & Imbir, 2024), particularly for English as an Additional Language (EAL) speakers.
The converter helped make EFT communications simpler for students whilst retaining the key messages. It also simplified the language in quizzes and course administration emails to ensure they were as clear as possible for the student cohort (of which a large percentage were EAL speakers). The unit coordinator commented:
The Simple English Converter helped identify where language potentially had ambiguous meanings and simplified communications to focus on key messages. When used, it noticeably reduced questions about unit design and administration related elements of the unit. I wish I had used it more often in drafting my communications and can see myself relying heavily on it in the future!
Using the Simple English Converter is easy – put in your text and it rewrites it using succinct language. You can also ask it questions about using Easy Read or Simple English.
Last words
- Other potential uses for the converter could include clarifying learning outcomes, and assessment rubrics and instructions or producing writing templates for different assignments.
- Please try out the Simple English converter for yourself and share any use cases, feedback or suggestions with the authors.
- Check out the following resources:
* translated by the Simple English converter Cogniti agent
Special thanks to Dr Yvette Debergue for her feedback on a draft version of this article.
