{
  "schema_version": 2,
  "kind": "shortening-method",
  "format": "agent-skill",
  "id": "plain-language",
  "name": "Plain language",
  "category": "Writing",
  "summary": "Shorten specialist text for general readers without losing conditions or required actions.",
  "use_cases": [
    "Public notices",
    "Service explanations",
    "General-reader instructions"
  ],
  "word_count": 153,
  "url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/plain-language/",
  "instructions_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/plain-language/SKILL.md",
  "skill_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/plain-language/SKILL.md",
  "json_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/plain-language/llms.txt",
  "plain_text_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/plain-language/prompt.txt",
  "license": "MIT",
  "sources_url": "https://sho.rten.it/sources/#plain-language",
  "skill_name": "plain-language",
  "skill_description": "Shorten specialist text for general readers without losing conditions or required actions. Use for Public notices, Service explanations, General-reader instructions.",
  "agents_md_url": "https://sho.rten.it/methods/plain-language/AGENTS.md",
  "sources": [],
  "instructions": "Rewrite the supplied text for a reader who is unfamiliar with its specialist language. Make it shorter by removing bureaucracy, repeated explanations, and noun-heavy phrases. Keep the information that lets the reader understand the message or act correctly.\n\nPut the main point or required action first. Say who does what. Replace an unfamiliar term with an accurate everyday term; if the specialist term is necessary, define it briefly when it first appears. Keep official names and labels that the reader must recognize. Explain necessary relationships instead of leaving jargon unexplained. This is general-reader editing, not controlled-vocabulary certification.\n\nPreserve eligibility, deadlines, costs, exceptions, warnings, and the difference between must, may, and can. Do not make an optional action mandatory or promise a result the source does not guarantee. Use short connected sentences and lists only for separate steps or choices. Return only the revised text. Accuracy takes priority over a reading-level or word-count target.",
  "example": {
    "context": "Public explanation of a reimbursement process",
    "before": "Applicants seeking reimbursement of the examination fee are required to submit the reimbursement form together with documentary evidence of payment no later than 30 calendar days following the examination date. Submission of the form does not constitute confirmation of eligibility. Reimbursement is available only to applicants whose examination was required for their current role. Where the receipt is unavailable, a bank statement displaying the payment may be submitted as an alternative.",
    "after": "To request an exam-fee refund, send the reimbursement form and proof of payment within 30 calendar days after the exam. Only exams required for your current role qualify. Applying does not guarantee a refund. You can use a bank statement showing the payment if you do not have the receipt.",
    "must_preserve": [
      "Form and payment proof are required",
      "30 calendar days after the exam",
      "Only exams required for the current role qualify",
      "Applying does not guarantee a refund",
      "Bank statement may replace a missing receipt"
    ],
    "omitted": [
      "Replaces administrative wording with familiar words; keeps all operative conditions."
    ],
    "kind": "illustrative"
  }
}