BYTETOOLS

Plain English Checker

Flag bureaucratic wording, hidden verbs, long sentences and passive voice, with everyday replacements from an A–Z of over 200 plain-English alternatives.

Paste some text above to see formal wording, hidden verbs, long sentences and passive constructions highlighted.

The score is a simple, transparent formula: 100 minus ten points for every issue per 100 words, floored at 0. It is a house measure for comparing drafts of the same document, not an official readability standard. All four checks are heuristics — “regarding” and “substantial” are sometimes exactly the right words, and passive voice is a legitimate choice when the doer does not matter. Nothing is uploaded; the analysis runs in your browser.

What is the Plain English Checker?

Plain English Checker runs four checks over your text at once. It matches more than two hundred formal words and phrases against everyday alternatives — utilise becomes use, in the event that becomes if, prior to becomes before.

  • Over 200 formal words and phrases matched against plain-English alternatives
  • Hidden verbs found from a weak verb next to a -tion, -ment, -ance or -ity noun
  • Editable long-sentence threshold, defaulting to 25 words
  • Passive voice detected from a be-verb plus past participle, with ~100 irregulars
  • Colour-coded highlighting per issue type, sentence by sentence
  • One-click rewrite that applies the word swaps, plus a copyable issue list

How to use the Plain English Checker

  1. 1

    Paste a policy, letter, contract or web page into the text box.

  2. 2

    Set the long-sentence word limit and switch any of the four checks off if you don't need them.

  3. 3

    Read the score and the counts for formal wording, hidden verbs, long sentences and passive voice.

  4. 4

    Work through the sentence-by-sentence list, where each issue names its replacement.

  5. 5

    Optionally click “Apply the simple-word swaps” to see the text with the first alternative substituted, then copy it.

About the Plain English Checker

Plain English Checker runs four checks over your text at once. It matches more than two hundred formal words and phrases against everyday alternatives — utilise becomes use, in the event that becomes if, prior to becomes before. It finds hidden verbs where a weak verb props up a noun, like “make a decision” for “decide”. It flags sentences over your word limit, and it detects passive constructions from a form of “to be” followed by a past participle.

Every issue is listed against the sentence it came from, with the text highlighted by issue type, and a one-click button swaps in the first suggested alternative for the word-list matches so you can see the difference immediately.

The score is a simple house measure, not an official readability standard, and all four checks are heuristics — sometimes “regarding” really is the right word. Nothing is uploaded; the analysis runs in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

How is the plain English score calculated?

It is 100 minus ten points for every issue per hundred words, floored at zero. That is deliberately simple and transparent so you can compare two drafts of the same document. It is not an official standard and should not be quoted as one.

What is a hidden verb?

A verb turned into a noun and then propped up by a weak verb: “make a decision” instead of “decide”, “conduct an investigation” instead of “investigate”. Unpacking them usually cuts two or three words per sentence and makes who is doing what much clearer.

How long should a sentence be in plain English?

Most plain-language guidance suggests an average of 15 to 20 words with few sentences over 25. The threshold here defaults to 25 and is editable, because a long sentence is not automatically a bad one — a long sentence carrying three separate ideas is.

Is passive voice always wrong?

No. Passive voice is the right choice when the doer is unknown, irrelevant or deliberately unnamed. The check flags it so you can decide, not because every instance needs changing.

Will the automatic rewrite always be correct?

No, and that is why it is a separate button. It applies only the word-list swaps and always takes the first alternative, so read it through — “substantial” to “large” and “provided that” to “if” often work, but shades of meaning do change.

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