This research project (acronym: PLanTra) will investigate the impact of training business students in the use of plain language when producing business content, with a view to addressing the needs of customers and readers with different levels of financial literacy.
The PLanTra project will last for two years (August 2020 - August 2022), and will be carried out by Dr Alessandra Rossetti (University of Antwerp) under the supervision of Prof Luuk Van Waes (see page Who is involved). If you have questions or comments about this project, please email us at: Alessandra.Rossetti@uantwerpen.be
Why this research?
Financial literacy (namely, the ability to comprehend and use business and financial information) is essential for planning and wealth management, but what happens when writers are not trained to consider the needs of their readers? For example, you want to apply for a mortgage, but you find it difficult to understand the terms and conditions from your bank. With the responsibility for financial decisions increasingly shifting from institutions to individuals, it is important to ensure that business and financial information is written in plain and accessible language.
What do we know so far?
Simplifying texts involves revising them in terms of vocabulary, syntax, cohesion, layout, structure, and visual components, e.g. by replacing complex terms with their lay synonyms; by repeating the same noun; or using bold for headings.
The comprehensibility of business and financial texts has received attention at the European level, and efforts to simplify these texts are underway in several countries and financial institutions.
Scholars have emphasised the need to train business (communication) students in text simplification, while also developing courses and resources to make students more aware of the (language) needs of their audience.
However...
The comprehensibility of business and financial content has not been increasing consistently.
No empirical evidence has been gathered so far on the effectiveness of this training.
The PLanTra project will answer these two research questions:
Does plain language training have an impact on how business students simplify business texts?
Does training business students in using simplification strategies have an impact on the resulting comprehensibility of business texts among readers?
Year 1: Experimental study with business communication students
Development and pilot-testing of plain language training
Observation of pre-training simplification of business texts with Inputlog, screen recording, and retrospective interviews
Observation of post-training simplification of business texts with Inputlog, screen recording, and retrospective interviews
Year 2: Experimental study with lay readers
Online comprehension testing of business texts produced before and after plain language training