The Clear Writing Style seal of approval is awarded to the text of documents written to the highest standards of clarity as measured by StyleWriter, our plain-English editing software.
StyleWriter, endorsed by the Plain Language Commission, uses a database of 100,000 style issues and a 500,000-word graded dictionary to assess every sentence to measure the style, clarity, and readability of the text. It draws on artificial intelligence to work out the familiarity of word choice. It uses its measures of clear writing to assess the writing style.
If the software rates the text as Good or Excellent on the following measures, the author (individual or organization) can display the Clear Writing Style seal of approval on the document or website.
- Sentence Length – measures average sentence length
- Bog Index – measures style and readability
- Style Index – measures style faults found
- Readability Grade – measures sentence length and word choice
- Jargon – measures acronyms, jargon phrases, and difficult words
- Glue – measures wordy sentences
- Pep – measures interest and reader engagement
- Clarity Index – a weighted average of all the measures
Most documents when first drafted fail to reach the standard. However, the StyleWriter software highlights the style and clarity issues to help the author edit the text into a clearer style.
The seal of approval only applies to the text of the document and not the overall design or content. The design and content are the publisher’s responsibility.
The publisher of the document is a member of our Clear Writing Club and can display their Membership on their documents. But they can only display the Seal of Approval if they pass the StyleWriter clarity threshold.