Language is just one of the many clues that alerts the reader to the level of complexity of the magazine or journal. At the other end of the spectrum, some magazines use very general language in order to include a wider audience with diverse educational backgrounds. Employ specialized terminologies which often only a handful of scholars might understand The terms highlighted below illustrate the nature of the terminology used in an academic journal such as the Journal of Abnormal Psychology . Avoid jargon and use language that is appropriate for an educated readership The passage below is written in a formal manner but can nonetheless be understood by the average reader. The language used in this exerpt from an article in People is written in an informal manner and easy to understand.
Most newspapers try to attract as a large an audience as possible.
It may happen that only a minority of a given paper's readership are educated beyond high school. Often editorial policies will require that writers keep their prose at a fairly low reading level.