Simplify Complex Topics for a General Audience

🎯 Problem:

You need to explain a complex topic to a non-specialist audience, like (1) a potential client, (2) a judge deciding your case (3) a smart senior executive who may not know much about your field, and you need to distill the topic down, and strip out jargon, without sacrificing accuracy.

⚙️ Solution:

Start with whatever you have—whether it’s a draft of a technical document, an outline for a presentation, or even notes scribbled on a whiteboard. Your goal is to work from the material that exists. If you're starting from scratch, see our article on how to turn disorganized thoughts into a solid outline or first draft.
Choose your AI writing assistant, e.g. ChatGPT or Claude.ai
Paste in your text and ask the AI to “rewrite at a 10th grade reading level” (you can, of course, also ask it to write at an 8th grade or 6th grade reading level).
Review the output for accuracy and tone.
Give the AI feedback -- the more specific the better -- on anything it got wrong and how it might improve.
Repeat step 5 as many times as you need to get a useful draft.

For those outside the US/Canada, "10th grade reading level" means at a level for students with 10 years of schooling, i.e. about 16 years old.

📝 Sample Prompts

Initial prompt:

Please rewrite this text at a 10th grade reading level. 
The audience for this is professionals, and we want to adopt a professional tone.

Follow-up prompt:

Thanks, this is helpful. 
But the audience here is professionals, so we want a more businesslike tone. 
Also, as much as possible we'd like to avoid "business speak" 
terms like "empower" and "leverage"
Could you take another run at this?

🚀 Take it to the next level:

Experiment with different grade levels to find the sweet spot for your audience.
Use AI to create multiple versions of your content for different audiences or platforms.
Ask the AI to provide explanations for complex terms while maintaining the overall grade level.

⚠️ Keep in mind:

Always review AI-generated content for accuracy and tone preservation.
Some technical or specialized content may require a higher grade level; use your judgment.
It is better to err on the side of a lower grade level and simpler explanation. Remember, you are the expert and so what seems "simple or obvious" to you will seem the opposite to most of your readers.
Remember that readability is just one aspect of good writing; maintain your unique voice and style.

If you'd like more personalized guidance, our one-on-one and customized group training sessions can help you master these tools even faster.

Schedule a Free Consultation

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Last updated 7 months ago

Was this helpful?

⚙️ Solution:

Start with whatever you have—whether it’s a draft of a technical document, an outline for a presentation, or even notes scribbled on a whiteboard. Your goal is to work from the material that exists. If you're starting from scratch, see our article on how to turn disorganized thoughts into a solid outline or first draft.

Choose your AI writing assistant, e.g. ChatGPT or Claude.ai

Paste in your text and ask the AI to “rewrite at a 10th grade reading level” (you can, of course, also ask it to write at an 8th grade or 6th grade reading level).

Review the output for accuracy and tone.

Give the AI feedback -- the more specific the better -- on anything it got wrong and how it might improve.

Repeat step 5 as many times as you need to get a useful draft.

For those outside the US/Canada, "10th grade reading level" means at a level for students with 10 years of schooling, i.e. about 16 years old.

📝 Sample Prompts

Initial prompt:

Please rewrite this text at a 10th grade reading level. 
The audience for this is professionals, and we want to adopt a professional tone.

Follow-up prompt:

Thanks, this is helpful. 
But the audience here is professionals, so we want a more businesslike tone. 
Also, as much as possible we'd like to avoid "business speak" 
terms like "empower" and "leverage"
Could you take another run at this?

⚠️ Keep in mind:

Always review AI-generated content for accuracy and tone preservation.

Some technical or specialized content may require a higher grade level; use your judgment.

It is better to err on the side of a lower grade level and simpler explanation. Remember, you are the expert and so what seems "simple or obvious" to you will seem the opposite to most of your readers.

Remember that readability is just one aspect of good writing; maintain your unique voice and style.

Find Out About LawSnap Customized Training

If you'd like more personalized guidance, our one-on-one and customized group training sessions can help you master these tools even faster.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Book a FREE one-one-one session to discuss your specific needs.

Email our Team

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