Commonality of language

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A dashboard is for Year 9 students and parents. Which label shows commonality of language?

A Average mark out of 100

B Mean SD of ordinal attainment

2. A report uses the abbreviation 'KPI' for the first time. What is the best way to use it?

A Write 'Key Performance Indicator (KPI)' the first time

B Use 'KPI' alone and expect everyone to know it

3. Which is the better way to keep terms consistent in an infographic?

A Switch between 'customers', 'clients' and 'punters'

B Always call it 'customers' on every page

4. True or false: Using jargon is fine as long as the writer understands it.

A True: only the writer needs to understand it

B False: the audience must understand it

5. Some of your audience are learning English as an additional language. Which wording suits them best?

A Sales went up in March

B Sales went through the roof in March

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Plain English		ASpecialist words that only experts know, which can confuse an audience who do not share them
2Jargon		BKey Performance Indicator (KPI)
3Use the same term for the same idea every time so readers are not confused		CAlways write 'customer' (not 'client', 'user' and 'buyer')
4Spell out an acronym the first time it appears so every reader understands it		DUses different terms for the same idea, so readers may think they are three different groups
5Title: 'Q3 KPIs are lit, no cap' (for a community newsletter)		EUses slang and unexplained abbreviations, so many readers will not understand it
6Legend: 'Cust' on one chart, 'Client' on another, 'Buyer' on a third		FUsing short, clear words and sentences that most readers understand straight away

Definitions

commonality of language

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

=__________(A2,"DOB","Date of birth")

=PROPER(____(A2))

=VLOOKUP(A2,E2:F9,_,FALSE)

="Total students: "&_____(B2:B9)

=IF(B2__50,"Pass","Fail")

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A title = "Wkly Sls Rpt Q3 FY"

B audience = "Year 7 students"

C print(title, audience)

Question 2

A labels = []

B labels.append("Gross txn vol")

C labels.append("Total profit")

D print(labels)

Question 3

A title = "Survey Results"

B note = "Goal: 80% SLA per KPI"

C print(title)

D print(note)

Question 4

A head = "Students by House"

B sub = "Students per Year"

C axis_label = "Learners"

D print(head, sub, axis_label)

Question 5

A title = "Sales Went Nuts!"

B audience = "Year 7 families"

C print(title)

Answer Key

Commonality of language

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Average mark out of 100

A — Write 'Key Performance Indicator (KPI)' the first time

B — Always call it 'customers' on every page

B — False: the audience must understand it

A — Sales went up in March

Section B: Match the Pairs

Plain English → Using short, clear words and sentences that most readers understand straight away

Jargon → Specialist words that only experts know, which can confuse an audience who do not share them

Use the same term for the same idea every time so readers are not confused → Always write 'customer' (not 'client', 'user' and 'buyer')

Spell out an acronym the first time it appears so every reader understands it → Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

Title: 'Q3 KPIs are lit, no cap' (for a community newsletter) → Uses slang and unexplained abbreviations, so many readers will not understand it

Legend: 'Cust' on one chart, 'Client' on another, 'Buyer' on a third → Uses different terms for the same idea, so readers may think they are three different groups

Section C: Definitions

commonality of language — Using words the audience shares and understands, such as plain English and consistent terms, and avoiding jargon, slang and unexplained abbreviations.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

=SUBSTITUTE(A2,"DOB","Date of birth")

=PROPER(TRIM(A2))

=VLOOKUP(A2,E2:F9,2,FALSE)

="Total students: "&COUNT(B2:B9)

=IF(B2>=50,"Pass","Fail")

Section E: Spot the Error

A — The title uses unexplained abbreviations that Year 7 students may not understand. It should use full, plain words such as "Weekly Sales Report".

B — "Gross txn vol" is jargon and an abbreviation that many readers will not know. It should use plain English, such as "Total sales".

B — SLA and KPI are acronyms that are not explained, so the audience may not understand them. Use plain words such as "Goal: 80% returned".

C — The same group is called "Students" in the other labels but "Learners" here. Terms must be consistent, so it should be "Students".

A — "Went Nuts" is slang that not every reader will understand, especially those with English as an additional language. Use a plain title like "Sales This Term".