How Clear Language Improves Readability In Technical Documentation

In technical documentation, clarity is essential. The ability to communicate effectively determines a product’s usability and success.

What’s clear language?

Clear language means that communication is easy to understand, straightforward, and free of unnecessary complexity. It uses short sentences, common words, and logical structure to make sure the audience quickly grasps the intended message.

What’s the meaning of clear language?

Clear language goes beyond simplicity. It enables better understanding and fosters trust, reducing misinterpretation. And it not just benefits user comprehension, but also operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Clear language vs. plain language vs. Simplified Technical English: What’s the difference?

Clear language, plain language, and Simplified Technical English (STE) all share the common goal of making content understandable. Plain language and STE are two different approaches to standardized readability — let’s take a closer look at both.

What does it mean to use plain language?

Plain language is a standardized communication method designed to eliminate barriers to understanding. It makes content usable for the widest possible audience, including those with varying levels of literacy or technical expertise.

Plain language operates on a set of four plain language principles:

1. Clarity: Eliminating ambiguity to deliver a message that is instantly understood.
2. Conciseness: Using no more words than necessary.
3. Organization: Presenting information in a logical, intuitive sequence.
4. Appropriateness: Tailoring content to the knowledge level and needs of the intended audience.

These practices contribute to higher readability scores, such as those measured by the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease test, which help evaluate how accessible content is to a general audience.

Is Simplified Technical English a standard for clear language?

Yes, Simplified Technical English (STE) is a formalized standard specifically designed for use in technical industries, particularly those that require precision and consistency, such as aerospace, engineering, and manufacturing. STE provides a controlled vocabulary of approved words and specific grammar rules. These guidelines are meant to reduce ambiguity and make sure that technical documents are clear, concise, and easily understood by a global audience, regardless of their native language.

Why is readability important in technical documentation?

Readability makes content clear, concise, and digestible. This fosters accurate understanding, enabling readers to make informed decisions. Some benefits of clear technical documentation include:

• Improved user experience: Readable documentation improves the user experience by making information easy to locate and understand by diverse audiences, from novices to experienced professionals.
• Reduced product misuse: Clarity in technical documentation minimizes the risk of misinterpretations, reducing operational mistakes and the potential for costly errors. This is especially critical in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and aerospace, where errors can have dangerous consequences.
• Improved compliance: Regulatory standards, for example in financial services or medical technology, often require technical documentation to be accessible and understandable for its intended audience.

The benefits of simplified writing for technical writers

Simplified writing doesn’t just benefit readers — it also makes life easier for writers:

• Saves time: Simplifying writing reduces the effort spent editing, re-explaining, or reworking documents, accelerating project timelines.
• Reduces support tickets: Clear documentation addresses common user questions, cutting down on support requests and freeing up resources.
• Aligns departments: Consistent, concise communication fosters alignment across all content contributors, from subject-matter experts to external teams, improving collaboration.

How to improve the readability of your documentation

Improving the readability of technical documentation requires intentional strategies. Here are some recommended approaches:

Use clear language

Clear language simplifies complex concepts, so readers can quickly grasp the intended message. Avoiding ambiguous constructions — like passive language — helps make technical topics accessible to a broader audience.

Avoid jargon

Jargon alienates readers who aren’t familiar with industry-specific terms. Replacing complex terminology with everyday words makes your content approachable and inclusive.

Structure content logically

Using headings, subheadings, bullet points, and a clear sequence helps users quickly locate the details they need, making navigation easier and dense documents less intimidating.

Maintain consistent terminology

Consistent terminology helps avoid ambiguities and confusion in technical information. It also streamlines translation processes for global audiences.

Keep sentences short

Avoiding overly long sentences improves readability by reducing cognitive load. Breaking down information into manageable chunks allows readers to process content more easily, avoiding misinterpretation and confusion.

Use readability metrics

Readability metrics, such as the Flesch Reading Ease score, provide insights into your content’s accessibility. Tracking such metrics over time helps identify areas for improvement, track progress and maintain high standards over time.

Challenges of implementing clear language in technical documentation

While clear language is essential for effective technical communication, adopting it can be challenging. Here are some of the main challenges technical writing teams face while implementing clear language:

Multiple contributors

Technical documentation often involves input from multiple contributors, including subject-matter experts (SMEs), technical writers, and external teams. Each contributor may have their own writing style, terminology preferences, or level of expertise. This makes it difficult to maintain consistency across the final document. Without a centralized system for managing language and style, the end product feels fragmented or confusing to readers.

Complex topics for non-technical target audiences

To explain complex technical concepts to non-expert audiences, writers must distill it into digestible content without oversimplifying or compromising accuracy. Achieving this requires skillful writing and a deep understanding of both the topic and the audience’s needs.

Industry-specific jargon, unexplained

Industry-specific jargon can be a barrier to comprehension for many readers. Including clear definitions or replacing jargon with everyday language is critical to improving accessibility.

Style guides and terminology are hardly accessible

Even when style guides and corporate terminology exist, they’re often buried in inaccessible locations or not widely shared among team members. Without easy access to these resources, writers are left guessing, which leads to inconsistencies in the final document.

Using generative AI without guardrails

Generative AI tools help to produce content quickly. But without clear guidelines, the output  lacks the enterprise’s writing standards, leading to a variety of problems, including clarity issues.

Established habits are hard to break

Writers may find it difficult to adopt new approaches, such as using plain language. Resistance to new writing standards slows down implementation and creates uneven adoption across teams.

One way to integrate clarity and readability into technical writing is through implementing content governance software.

How to improve the readability of technical documents with Acrolinx

Acrolinx’s AI-powered platform integrates clear language principles into the writing process. It makes technical documents not only readable, but aligns them with all your enterprise writing standards. With our AI guardrails for writing standards, this isn’t only true for human-written, but also for AI-generated content.

And this is how it works:

• Writer guidance: As they work, Acrolinx provides writers with clickable suggestions on issues like sentence length, tone, and structure, improving readability metrics. This way, all content contributors, from subject-matter experts to experienced writers, follow enterprise standards for clarity without the need to interrupt their work.
• Automated content governance: With this capability, organizations can check existing content regularly or add automated checks to their workflows. This allows them to check content at scale, following writing standards and improving clarity across the content supply chain.
• Terminology management: With Acrolinx, enterprises enforce the consistent use of approved terms across all documents. This eliminates confusion caused by inconsistencies.
• Acrolinx Reporting: Acrolinx provides insights into content quality and how it relates to content performance. Organizations track improvements in clarity, scannability, consistency, and readability metrics over time.

Acrolinx helps enterprises improve and maintain clarity by integrating content governance across the whole content supply chain.

Clear language for readable and effective technical documentation

Clear language is more than a writing style — it’s a tool to improve technical documentation. By adopting strategies like plain language and using tools like Acrolinx, businesses create content that’s accessible, accurate, and effective. Ready to make your technical documentation more effective? Start by making clarity your top priority! Start by reading our report, or just reach out to us.