Reading Level
When content requires reading ability beyond a lower-secondary education level, provide a simpler alternative — a plain-language version, a summary, or supplementary materials such as illustrations or audio.
What it asks
If the text on a page demands reading ability above the lower-secondary level (roughly 12 to 14 years of schooling, equivalent to Flesch-Kincaid grade 8 or below), supplemental content or a simpler alternative must be available. The alternative does not have to be at primary-school level — it must simply be easier than the original.
The SC explicitly excludes proper names and titles from the reading-level calculation, and exempts content where complex prose is essential (legal documents, scientific publications where simplification would distort the source).
How to meet it
- Aim for sentences under 25 words and paragraphs under 4 sentences in general-audience writing.
- Use the active voice and concrete subjects.
- For long-form articles, add a TL;DR or plain-language summary at the top.
- Pair complex text with diagrams, charts, or illustrations that carry the same information visually.
- For government, health, and legal content, publish an “easy read” version alongside the canonical version.
- Use a readability tool (Hemingway, Flesch-Kincaid checker, plainlanguage.gov tools) during editing.
Common failures
- Policy and terms-of-service pages written at college reading level with no plain-language summary.
- Healthcare patient information delivered in clinician-grade prose.
- Educational resources for general audiences that use academic-paper register without alternatives.
- Government service pages that quote statute verbatim without translating to actionable guidance.
Why it matters
This is a AAA criterion, but its scope is huge — roughly 20% of adults in many countries read below the lower-secondary level. For users with cognitive disabilities, dyslexia, limited education, or non-native language skills, dense prose is not just inconvenient — it’s a hard barrier. Plain language also benefits everyone reading on a phone, in a hurry, or under stress (which describes most users of medical, legal, or financial sites at the moment they need them most).