Readability & Plain-Language Standards — local playbook

Summary. How to act on a slowking readability rewrite — the target reading levels, the techniques that lower a grade without losing meaning, and when a high grade is acceptable. Local fallback; point slowking at a live Outline wiki (OUTLINE + OUTLINE_API_URL, collection via SLOWKING_WIKI_COLLECTION).

Surfaced by. slowking: the current copy’s reading grade (Flesch–Kincaid), the rewrite to the target grade, and the measured before→after.

Target reading levels

• Grade 8–12 for most B2B and consumer pages. slowking’s ideal band is 6–12; aim for 8–12 on typical marketing and informational copy.
• Exception: technical, medical, and legal pages legitimately read higher — a grade above 12 there is acceptable when accuracy demands it, not a defect to force down. slowking never FAILs on reading level; it’s guidance.

Techniques (clarity without changing meaning)

1. Shorten sentences. Break 30+ word sentences into two or three. This single change lifts the grade the most.
2. Plainer words. Prefer the common word over the elaborate one (“use” over “utilize”) — unless the precise term matters.
3. Active voice. “The team ships the release”, not “the release is shipped by the team.”
4. One idea per paragraph. Front-load the point; let the rest support it.
5. Keep every fact. Numbers, names, claims, and calls to action are preserved exactly — clarity is the only thing that changes. slowking’s prompt enforces this; a reviewer should still confirm it.

Process

• slowking is output-only — it hands you rewrite.html to review and paste. It never overwrites a live page (a whole-body rewrite can disturb images, embeds, CTAs, and page-builder shortcodes).
• Check the measured before→after grade (graded on the same text), not just the promise. On long pages, rewrite section by section — one pass covers only the first ~12 000 characters.