Writing for specialists

Your page for industry experts or subject matter experts needs a different tone from pages for the public, and should be written to an 8th grade level.

Audience

When you are writing for subject matter experts or people who have specialist training, you do not need to write in the same way you write for the public. For a specialist or expert audience, you should be using the terms used by that audience. We suggest you aim for an 8th grade reading level, but prioritize clarity and findability over a grade level.

Content for specialists should use the terms used by those specialists. It does not need to be written to a 5th grade level.

However, research shows that specialists strongly prefer simple, direct language. Try to use clear, plain language when writing for experts.

Findability

Most writing for specialists will use terms that are unique to that specialty. Use those terms when you are writing for that audience.

Use specialist terms to makes it easier for search engines to locate your pages. Those terms also make your writing trustworthy. Explain what technical terms mean when you first use them, for anyone new to the field or any member of the public who's discovered your page.

Specialists could include architects, City staff who manage procurement, or planning experts. Examples of technical or specialist terms terms include:

• City planners use “Place of public accommodation” and “abatement”

• Architects understand “setback”

• Business owners know if their business uses a “Fictitious Business Name” or is “Doing Business As (DBA)”

• Health care professionals use “post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)” and “pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)”

Read more about writing for specialist audiences on the federal Plain Language website.

Translations for specialists

We do not usually send pages for specialists for translations by humans. Our translators, who are non-specialists, find it difficult to translate pages for specialists correctly. So most content for specialists is machine translated. Machine translation for advanced content is usually enough.

Digital content that is vital for San Franciscans must be at a 5th grade readability level and translated by humans. If your page for specialists is vital information and needs to be translated by humans, speak to the DS team. You can book time in office hours or email [e-mail] to talk through options.

Supporting research

There are several studies showing that specialists prefer writing in plain language. Professor Christopher R. Trudeau, in 2012 research looking at the preference for plain language in the legal profession, found that most people prefer reading plain language. However, “as education increased, so did the preference for plain language.” Professor Trudeau updated this research in 2017, with similar results.

Mark Morris summarized research done by IpsosMORI for the UK Department of Health in a 2014 blog post. The Department found the specialist stakeholders did not have the time nor the patience to read confusing or wordy communication.