Camila Silva

Rewrite dense text at a 12-year-old's reading level, accurately

Rewrites official or technical text in short, plain sentences a 12-year-old could follow, then checks every fact, number and instruction survived.

At a glance

Best for: Anyone turning official notices, policies or instructions into something every reader can follow, including people reading in a second language.
Tested on: Claude · Opus 5.5
You fill in: textreader
You get: Boil your water before you use it A water pipe broke on Harlan Avenue. Start boiling your water now. This notice is for you if you live in the area… (full result below)

writing

editing

education

Prompt

Rewrite the text below so a 12-year-old could read it once and understand it, without making it wrong.

Text:
{{text}}

Who will read it: {{reader}}

Rules:

• Short sentences (aim for 15 words or fewer on average) and everyday words. When a technical term is needed, keep it and explain it in the same sentence.

• Keep every fact, number, deadline and instruction. Simpler is fine; less accurate is not.

• Don't talk down: no "Did you know?", no exclamation marks, no forced fun tone.

• Use a short list only where the original has steps or options.

• Don't add facts or reasons that aren't in the original. If a reason would really help, add it and flag it in step 2.

Then check your work:

1. List every fact from the original and mark it ✓ if it's in your version, or explain why it was dropped.

1. Name any place where simplifying risked changing the meaning, and how you handled it.

1. Estimate the grade level of the original and of your version, noting that it's an estimate.

Fill in

{{text}}: The original text to simplifye.g. Effective immediately, due to a water main break...
{{reader}}: Who will read the rewritee.g. all residents, including many who read English as a second language

Example input

text: BOIL WATER ADVISORY. Effective immediately, due to a water main break on Harlan Avenue, the City of Millbrook Water Department advises all customers in the area bounded by Harlan Avenue, 5th Street, Oak Street, and the Millbrook River to bring all water used for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, making ice, and preparing infant formula to a rolling boil for a minimum of one (1) minute, and allow it to cool prior to use. Alternatively, customers may use bottled water. Water is safe for bathing; however, care should be taken that young children do not swallow bathwater. The advisory will remain in effect until laboratory testing of samples confirms the water is safe, which is anticipated to require a minimum of 48 hours following restoration of service. Customers will be notified when the advisory is lifted. Questions may be directed to the Water Department at (555) 010-4477, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
reader: all residents in the affected area, including many who read English as a second language

2.1k0

Generated Outputs (1)

2 hours ago

Claude

Opus 5.5

2 hours ago

Generated Output

Boil your water before you use it

A water pipe broke on Harlan Avenue. Start boiling your water now.

This notice is for you if you live in the area between Harlan Avenue, 5th Street, Oak Street and the Millbrook River.

Boil tap water before you use it for:

• drinking

• cooking

• brushing teeth

• making ice

• making baby formula

To boil water, heat it until big bubbles keep rising fast, even when you stir. This is called a "rolling boil." Keep it boiling for at least 1 minute. Let it cool before you use it. You can use bottled water instead.

You can still wash in tap water. Watch young children so they don't swallow bathwater.

How long will this last? The city must test the water in a lab first. That will take at least 48 hours after your water comes back on. The city will tell you when it's safe.

Questions? Call the Water Department at (555) 010-4477, Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

---

1. Fact check

• Starts immediately ✓

• Cause: water main break on Harlan Avenue ✓ ("water pipe broke")

• Area: Harlan Ave, 5th St, Oak St, Millbrook River ✓

• Uses: drinking, cooking, teeth, ice, infant formula ✓

• Rolling boil, at least 1 minute, cool before use ✓

• Bottled water is an alternative ✓

• Safe for bathing; children shouldn't swallow bathwater ✓

• Lab testing required, at least 48 hours after service returns ✓

• Customers will be told when it's lifted ✓

• Phone number and hours ✓

• Issued by the City of Millbrook Water Department: partly. The body says "the city" and names the Water Department only in the phone line. Add "From the City of Millbrook Water Department" under the heading.

2. Meaning risks

• "Water main break" → "water pipe broke." Slightly less precise, but the reader doesn't need the term to act.

• "Safe for bathing" → "You can still wash in tap water." I avoided "bath or shower" so I wasn't adding detail the original didn't give.

• "Rolling boil" I kept the term and explained it, because readers will hear it elsewhere.

• I didn't add a reason (such as germs), because the original doesn't give one.

3. Grade level (estimate)
Original: around grade 14-16, with long sentences and words like "anticipated" and "restoration." Rewrite: around grade 4-5.

Why it works

"Without making it wrong" and "simpler is fine; less accurate is not" set accuracy as the constraint that wins, which matters for anything people will act on. Explaining technical terms in the same sentence keeps useful words like "rolling boil" instead of replacing them with something vaguer. The "don't add facts" rule plus a flag for any added reason catches the most common simplification error: helpful-sounding explanations that the original never made. The fact checklist turns "I think it's all there" into something you can verify line by line.

When not to use it

Grade-level estimates from a model are rough; use a readability tool if you need a number for compliance. For legal, medical or safety text, have the responsible person approve the rewrite, since plain language can shift obligations. For content aimed at children, you'll want more than readability: examples and pacing matter too.

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