# Easy-to-read (ETR) Source: https://ordergroup.co/glossary/easy-to-read/ Last updated: 2026-10-10 > Easy-to-read (easy read, ETR) explained: Inclusion Europe rules, WCAG 2.2 reading level, and what software that simplifies text with AI has to handle. [AI](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/ai/)[Accessibility](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/accessibility/) 4 min read # Easy-to-read (ETR) Easy-to-read Also known as: easy read, ETR, easy-to-read text, text simplification Definition Easy-to-read (ETR) is a way of writing information so that people with intellectual disabilities can understand it, with everyday words, short sentences and one idea per line, checked by readers from that group. Inclusion Europe publishes the European standard. Cite this entry Text "Easy-to-read (ETR)". Order Group, Software glossary, 10 October 2026. https://ordergroup.co/glossary/easy-to-read/ HTML `Easy-to-read (ETR) - Order Group` Reviewed by [Łukasz Gajownik](https://ordergroup.co/authors/lukasz-gajownik/), Head of AI & Frontend Last reviewed 10 October 2026 ## How easy-to-read works Easy-to-read, also called easy read or ETR, is a set of writing and layout rules for people with intellectual disabilities. In Europe the reference is "Information for all", a standard written by Inclusion Europe and partner organizations in the Pathways project. Inclusion Europe also owns the European easy-to-read logo, which publications that follow the guidelines may carry. The rules are concrete. Use words people know, and explain every difficult word you cannot avoid. Use the same word for the same thing throughout. Avoid metaphors, words from other languages, special characters and abbreviations such as "e.g." Start each sentence on a new line and never split a word across two lines. Write numbers as digits, never use Roman numerals, and prefer the present tense. Use a clear sans-serif font, align text to the left and do not justify it. The standard also sets a process rule: people with intellectual disabilities should be involved in making the information, including checking how easy it is to understand. A text that follows every writing rule but was never read by anyone from the target group has skipped part of the standard. Easy-to-read is stricter than plain language. ISO 24495-1:2023 sets governing principles and guidelines for plain language documents, and its widest use is for documents intended for the general public. ETR aims at readers with intellectual disabilities and often also helps people with low literacy, older readers and people reading in a second language. ## What easy-to-read means for your software Software that produces ETR automatically, usually with a language model, has to turn the standard into requirements that can be tested: - Meaning is preserved. The simplified text must not add facts or drop obligations, dates and amounts. A model that invents the expansion of an acronym changes the meaning for a reader who cannot check it. - Writing rules become automatic checks: sentence length, paragraph length, one sentence per line, digits instead of number words, no Roman numerals, no abbreviations. - Difficult words left in the text are explained. A dictionary of words and acronyms needs the context of the sentence, because the same word can mean different things. - Readability formulas are a trend indicator. Most were designed for English and count syllables and sentence length, so they cannot tell whether the meaning survived. - Readers from the target group check the output, at least on a sample, as the standard expects. The system should make that review easy and record its results. - The interface is accessible as well. ETR readers use the buttons, forms and error messages, so the app needs to meet WCAG and keep its own labels in easy-to-read language. - Reading aloud needs text normalization. Abbreviations, dates and numbers in the source have to be expanded and inflected correctly before speech synthesis. Writing the specification? Add Easy-to-read (ETR) to your requirements checklist Collect the terms your project touches and get their system requirements in one e-mail, ready for an RFP. Plain language, easy-to-read and automatic simplification AspectPlain languageEasy-to-read (ETR)Automatic simplification with a language model AudienceGeneral publicPeople with intellectual disabilities, also other readers with reading difficultiesWhoever the prompt and evaluation targetReferenceISO 24495-1:2023Inclusion Europe, "Information for all"No standard of its own; quality is measured per systemCheckEditorial review, user testingInvolvement of people with intellectual disabilities, including checkingAutomatic checks plus human reviewSentence formShort, active voiceShort, one idea, each sentence on a new lineAs specified and testedTypical failureJargon left inText too long or too abstractChanged meaning, invented details, hard words left in ## Rules and standards WCAG 2.2, Success Criterion 3.1.5 Reading Level (level AAA), requires supplementary content or a simpler version when text needs reading ability above the lower secondary education level, after removing proper names and titles. ISO/IEC 23859:2023, published in July 2023, sets international requirements and recommendations for making written text easy to read and understand in any user interface, covering how such text is created, adapted and evaluated; it gives no language-specific guidance. Article 9 and Article 21 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities oblige states to make information accessible to persons with disabilities. In Poland, the 2019 Act on ensuring accessibility for persons with special needs (ustawa o zapewnianiu dostępności osobom ze szczególnymi potrzebami) requires public bodies to publish on their websites a description of the scope of their activities in easy-to-read text, alongside a machine-readable file and a recording in Polish Sign Language (Article 6(3)(c)). ## From our projects For PSONI (Polskie Stowarzyszenie na rzecz Osób z Niepełnosprawnością Intelektualną, the Polish association for people with intellectual disabilities) we are building Generator ETR, a web and mobile app that simplifies pasted or uploaded documents into easy-to-read Polish with a [self-hosted model](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/self-hosted-llm/). The app also has a dictionary of difficult words, reads the text aloud while highlighting the current fragment, keeps a history of simplifications and exports the result to DOCX. The project specification requires WCAG 2.2 level AAA. The first round of model fixes addressed three problems: invented expansions of acronyms, including PSONI itself; formatting, with headings, bullet points and blocks of at most 4 to 6 lines; and difficult words left in the text, such as konflikt zbrojny (armed conflict). A "simplify more" option produces one further level of simplification. The dictionary covers difficult words and acronyms, and for words with several meanings it uses the context of the sentence. For reading aloud, PSONI reported errors in abbreviations and numbers, and in October 2026 we are adding a normalization step that, for example, makes Polish numerals agree with the nouns they count before synthesis. ## Related terms - [LLM evaluation](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/llm-evaluation/) LLM evaluation is the systematic testing of a language model's outputs on a fixed set of inputs against agreed acceptance criteria, using automatic checks, model-based grading and human review. It decides whether a model, prompt or version is good enough to ship. - [Self-hosted LLM](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/self-hosted-llm/) A self-hosted LLM is a large language model whose weights run on infrastructure you control, your own servers or rented GPUs. Prompts and outputs never reach a model vendor. ## Read more on the blog - Article [How Does Typography Color Affect Readability?](https://ordergroup.co/blog/typography-color-readability/) ## Sources 1. [Information for all: European standards for making information easy to read and understand](https://www.inclusion-europe.eu/easy-to-read-standards-guidelines/) - Inclusion Europe 2. [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Success Criterion 3.1.5 Reading Level](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/#reading-level) - W3C 3. [Ustawa z dnia 19 lipca 2019 r. o zapewnianiu dostępności osobom ze szczególnymi potrzebami, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2024 poz. 1411](https://eli.gov.pl/eli/DU/2024/1411/ogl/pol/pdf) - Dziennik Ustaw 4. [BS ISO 24495-1:2023 Plain language - Governing principles and guidelines](https://knowledge.bsigroup.com/products/plain-language-governing-principles-and-guidelines) - BSI 5. [ISO/IEC 23859:2023 Information technology - User interfaces - Requirements and recommendations on making written text easy to read and understand](https://www.iso.org/standard/77178.html) - ISO 6. [Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities](https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities) - United Nations OHCHR Łukasz Gajownik reviewed this entry. Ask how it applies to your project. [Ask an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ## FAQ ![Łukasz Gajownik](https://ordergroup.co/media/images/T02DHCC1Z-UT420UBA7-d74022d27c3c-512.format-webp.webp) Łukasz Gajownik Head of AI & Frontend [Talk to an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ### What is the difference between easy-to-read and plain language? Plain language is for the general public and is described in ISO 24495-1:2023. Easy-to-read is for people with intellectual disabilities, has stricter rules and expects people from that group to take part in checking the text. ### Can AI write easy-to-read text on its own? A language model can produce a good draft and check the formal rules. The standard still expects readers from the target group to be involved, so the system should keep a human review step, at least on a sample. ### Does WCAG require easy-to-read versions? Only at level AAA: Success Criterion 3.1.5 requires a simpler version or supplementary content when text is harder than lower secondary level. In Poland, public bodies must by law publish a description of the scope of their activities in easy-to-read text on their websites. ### How do you measure whether a text is easy to read? With three layers: automatic checks of the writing rules, a readability score to compare versions, and review by readers from the target group. Only the last one shows whether people understood it. Building a system that depends on Easy-to-read (ETR)? See how we build software for this domain, with case studies and the stack we use. [See AI Software Development Services](https://ordergroup.co/ai-software-development/) Requirements checklist For each term we send the definition and what it requires from your software. Free, no sales call needed. Your checklist is empty. Use the plus next to a term to add it.