Breaking Down the Complex: Editing for Accessibility
Making your message easy to read doesn’t mean dumbing it down—it means opening it up.
Start With the Reader, Not the Writer
If you’re writing for a union newsletter, a grassroots campaign, or any kind of political cause, your first job isn’t to impress people. It’s to reach them. And that means using words and sentences that real people—busy, tired, distracted people—can easily understand.
You might be tempted to load your article with official terms or complex policy talk to sound credible. But if your readers have to stop and re-read every other sentence, the message gets lost. They might give up halfway through—or worse, misunderstand what you’re trying to say. That’s where editing for accessibility comes in.
You’re not simplifying because your audience isn’t smart. You’re simplifying because they don’t have time to play translator. Big ideas deserve clear language. You want people to read your message, understand it quickly, and feel confident enough to share it with others.
Say It Straight, Then Say It Shorter
Let’s say you’re explaining a new law that affects postal workers or renters or health care access. You know the details matter, but the average person doesn’t need every clause and citation up front. What they need is: what’s happening, how it affects them, and what they can do about it.
So you start with a plain-language summary. Think of how you’d explain it to a friend over coffee or to a neighbor in the grocery store aisle. You don’t start with “Section 4-B of the proposed legislation.” You start with “There’s a new bill that could raise your prescription costs.”
Once you’ve got that clear idea on paper, you can start trimming the fat. Look for long-winded sentences, fancy words that don’t add much, and anything that sounds like it came from a legal memo. Replace them with simple, strong words. Use short sentences to drive the point home.
You can still include more detailed info later—just make sure your reader wants to keep going first.
Use Formatting Like a Friend
When you’re editing for accessibility, your layout matters just as much as your words. Nobody wants to face a giant wall of text. It’s intimidating. It feels like homework. And most folks will scroll right past it, especially if they’re reading on a phone.
Break things up with subheads, bullet points, or bolded highlights. Think of these as friendly road signs for the brain. They guide readers through your content and let them skip to the parts that matter most to them.
Use paragraph breaks generously. Keep your sentences around 15–20 words or less. (You’re reading an example of that right now.) If something takes a paragraph to explain, ask yourself: could it be two paragraphs instead? Or maybe even three?
Accessible editing is reader-first editing. It doesn’t mean “less smart.” It just means “easier to follow.”
Avoid Jargon Like You Avoid Potholes
Jargon can sneak in without you noticing, especially if you’ve been in the union or political scene a long time. You get used to words like “solidarity,” “mobilization,” or “collective bargaining,” and they might feel like regular vocabulary to you.
But for someone new to the cause—or even someone who’s been around but not super involved—those words might sound like a foreign language. That’s where your editor’s radar needs to turn on.
You don’t always have to delete those words. Sometimes they belong in your story. But if you use them, define them in plain language the first time. Say what they mean in real life. For example: “Collective bargaining means workers sit down with the boss and negotiate wages, benefits, and working conditions as a group.”
Boom—now everyone’s on the same page.
You can even throw in an example or a quick story to help the meaning stick. People don’t remember definitions. They remember people.
Sentence-Level Activism: Micro-Edits That Shift Tone
One Word Can Change the Mood
Small edits can make a big difference in how your message lands. Swapping one word for another can shift the tone from confrontational to collaborative—or the other way around, depending on what you need. Instead of “demand,” you might say “push for.” Instead of “failures,” try “shortcomings.” These tiny choices can help you connect instead of alienate.
Short Sentences = Clearer Thinking
Long, winding sentences are easy to write when you’re passionate, but they’re hard for readers to follow. Aim for one main point per sentence. This doesn’t mean your writing has to be choppy. You can still build rhythm and flow—but shorter, clearer lines help the message sink in faster.
Start Strong, End with Purpose
Your first sentence sets the tone. Your last sentence drives the point home. Don’t bury your lead or trail off into vagueness. Open with a punchy line that tells readers why they should care. Close with something that moves them to think, feel, or act. That’s how you make your content stick.
Highlighting Urgency Without Hype
Don’t Shout—Shine a Light
We all know the issues we care about are urgent. But urgency doesn’t mean alarm bells in every sentence. When everything feels like a crisis, readers burn out fast. A better approach is to highlight real stakes with calm clarity. Tell people what’s happening, what it means, and what’s at risk—without setting their hair on fire.
Use Stories, Not Scare Tactics
Instead of loading your writing with dramatic language, share a quick story or quote from someone affected by the issue. That gives your content a human voice and helps readers relate. A real story beats a scary headline any day, especially when your goal is to build understanding, not panic.
Balance Passion with Practicality
It’s okay to show emotion—frustration, hope, anger, pride—but anchor it with action. Tell readers what they can do, not just what’s wrong. When people feel overwhelmed, they shut down. When they feel like they have a role to play, they lean in. Your edits should make that choice easy.
Inclusive Language Choices: Small Words, Big Impact
Check for Hidden Barriers
Sometimes we use words that quietly shut people out without meaning to. Maybe it’s gendered terms like “chairman” or assumptions like “everyone drives to the polls.” Inclusive language is about catching those blind spots and rewriting them in ways that make more people feel seen and welcomed.
Speak Across Differences
Not everyone reading your message shares your background, your education, or even your politics. That’s not a weakness—it’s an opportunity. Choose words that bridge gaps, not widen them. You can still be bold, still be clear, and still take a stand—just do it in a way that invites people in instead of drawing a line around them.
Swap Labels for People
It’s easy to write in shorthand: “the poor,” “the disabled,” “the undocumented.” But those labels can flatten real people into categories. Use people-first language whenever you can—“people living in poverty,” “workers with disabilities,” “undocumented families.” It takes a few more words, but it adds warmth, humanity, and respect.
Wrap-Up Tip
Editing isn’t just about punctuation or grammar (though those things matter, too). It’s about shaping the message so it connects. That means trimming what’s not needed, rewriting what’s confusing, and organizing ideas in a way that flows naturally. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to care about being understood. That’s what makes accessible writing powerful—and what makes your message impossible to ignore.