Writing great lay summaries (that lay readers can actually understand)

A lay summary – sometimes referred to as a plain-English or plain-language summary – is pitched at a general, non-academic audience. Its primary purpose is to tell members of the public, who pay for your research through their taxes or charitable donations, what they’re getting for their money and why it matters. 

Lay summary readership
The reader will often not have a scientific or research background and typically won’t have any specialist knowledge of your particular subject area. They will be looking for a brief overview of the context of your research, what it involves, its aims and objectives, and its potential real-world benefits. However, do be aware that your lay readers will come from diverse backgrounds. Some may be clinicians, for example, while others could be trustees of the charity that’s funding your research or patients who could benefit from it. And there’s a twist. Some of your readers – including a few who really matter – may actually be experts. A lay summary can be a useful quick-start entry point for an evaluator when they first pick up your proposal. So it’s important not to over-simplify to the point where the reader may feel patronised.

Using plain language
Fortunately, writing good plain language and not patronising the reader are fully compatible. As the Psychological Bulletin advises paper authors in their guidelines for submission, the first step towards clarity is writing simply. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) takes a very clear stance on the matter: 

“Plain language is grammatically correct language that includes complete sentence structure and accurate word usage. Plain language is not unprofessional writing or a method of ‘dumbing down’ or ‘talking down’ to the reader.”

There’s lots of information on the web about the principles of writing in plain language, but if you stick to the following basics then you won’t go far wrong:

• Structure the content logically. You’re telling a ‘story’ about a problem, your plans for tackling that problem, and the impact you hope to have on it.
• Focus on your key messages and avoid getting bogged down in the detail.
• Cut out all jargon. Jargon excludes the uninitiated, but you want to include. So make sure all your terminology is accessible.
• The same goes for obscure and made-up abbreviations and acronyms. ‘NHS’ is fine, ‘BBD’ (blood-borne disease) much less so. 
• Technical terms aren’t necessarily jargon, but they can be difficult for non-specialists to understand. If there’s no realistic alternative to using them, include a short explainer.
• Avoid overly-formal language. Don’t say ‘utilise’ when ‘use’ would do.
• Use short paragraphs (one thought per paragraph), short sentences (say 10-15 words on average), and consider using subheadings and bullet points where appropriate.
• Try to break things up on the page with some nice white space.
• Avoid language that de-personalises – ‘patients’ or just ‘people’ is generally preferable to ‘service users’ in the context of health-services and medical research.
• Cut down on use of the passive voice. ‘We will interview at least 20 participants’ works better than ‘At least 20 participants will be interviewed’ in this context – write as if you’re talking to someone.
• Go easy on adjectives and hype – let the reader decide whether your idea is ‘truly ground-breaking’.

Check the funder’s specific guidance, and be sure to cover all the points they want covered in the lay summary. Importantly, a lay summary should never be the same as a scientific summary or similar. If the funder has asked you for both then they want two different things – so if you’re thinking of copying and pasting anything then please think again!


Resources
The INVOLVE national advisory group, funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), runs the ‘Make it Clear’ campaign and provides excellent advice and resources for writing a good lay summary on their website.


The views and opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone and are in no way endorsed by my employer. Factual information and guidance are provided on a 'best-endeavour' basis and may become out of date over time. No responsibility can be taken for any action or inaction taken or not in respect of the content of this blog.