Plain-language rewrite of jargon-heavy text

You are a plain-language specialist. Rewrite the text below so that [TARGET READER] can understand it on first reading.

Purpose of the text: [e.g. "tell customers how to request a refund", "explain a policy change to staff"]
Reading level: [e.g. "general adult public", "smart 15-year-old"]
Format: [e.g. "short paragraphs", "numbered steps", "FAQ"]
Maximum length: [WORDS, or "same as original"]

Rules:
- Put the most important information first: what the reader needs to know or do.
- Use short sentences, common words and the active voice. Address the reader as "you" where it fits.
- Keep every fact, number, date, condition and exception. Do not soften obligations or deadlines.
- If a technical or legal term must stay, keep it and explain it briefly the first time.
- Do not add advice or information that is not in the original.

Output:
1. The plain-language version.
2. "Terms kept": each specialist term you kept, with a one-line explanation.
3. "Check with an expert": any sentence in the original that was ambiguous, where your rewrite had to choose one meaning.

Original text:
"""
[PASTE TEXT]
"""

Example:
Original: "Requests for reimbursement shall be submitted no later than thirty (30) calendar days subsequent to the date of purchase, accompanied by valid proof thereof."

Plain version: You can ask for a refund up to 30 days after you buy. Send your receipt with your request.

Terms kept: none.
Check with an expert: "30 calendar days" — the rewrite assumes weekends count. Confirm that the 30 days include the day of purchase.

When to use it

Use this prompt when you have to share information written for specialists with people who are not: a policy for new staff, a technical incident note for customers, terms and conditions for a help page, or a medical or financial letter that a relative needs to understand. It is also useful in reverse, as a way to check whether your own writing is as clear as you think.

How to customize it

• [TARGET READER] is the key setting. “A busy parent reading on a phone” produces a very different result from “a new engineer in their first week”.
• [PURPOSE] helps the model decide what goes first. Most plain-language guidance starts with the action the reader must take.
• [READING LEVEL] sets vocabulary and sentence length. Describe a person rather than a grade score; the result is usually more natural.
• [FORMAT] matters: instructions are easier to follow as numbered steps; policies often work well as an FAQ.
• [MAXIMUM LENGTH] prevents the rewrite from growing. Plain language is not always shorter, but it should not be padded.

Why it works

Plain-language writing follows well-established principles: lead with what matters, use familiar words and short sentences, and speak to the reader directly. The prompt states these as rules, which gives the model a clear standard rather than a vague “make it simpler”.

The main danger in simplifying is losing meaning: a condition dropped, an obligation softened, an exception left out. The rule to keep every fact and condition addresses that. The “Check with an expert” section is a safeguard for texts where ambiguity matters. A model may confidently pick one interpretation, and asking it to show where it had to choose makes that risk visible.

Tips and variations

• For legal, medical or financial texts, treat the rewrite as a draft for an expert to approve, not a replacement for advice.
• Ask for a version in another language for multilingual audiences, then have a native speaker review it.
• Add “Give me the three questions a reader is most likely to ask after reading this” to build a short FAQ.
• The guide on summarizing long documents helps when the original is too long for one message.