Free lay summary checker

Paste your plain-language or lay summary and see, in your browser, whether it fits the word limit, how hard it reads, and which words and sentences a non-specialist will trip over. Nothing is uploaded.

What it checks

Journals and funders that ask for a lay summary (also called a plain-language summary or lay abstract) usually want a short text an interested adult with no training in your field can follow. The checker looks at length against your limit, average and longest sentence, an estimated reading grade (the Flesch-Kincaid formula, with a rough syllable count, so treat it as a guide and not a verdict), technical-sounding words from a built-in list, acronyms that are never spelled out, statistics notation such as p-values, hype words, and causal words such as "proves" or "cures" that your study may not support.

How to fix what it flags

Split any sentence over about 25 words in two. Swap a flagged technical word for what it means ("pitfall traps" becomes "traps sunk into the ground"), or keep it once with a few words of explanation. Spell out an acronym the first time or drop it. Move the p-value to your paper and say "the difference was unlikely to be chance". Keep every hedge your paper has: "may", "suggests" and "associated with" are not the same claim as "causes". Never add a benefit, a number or a "could lead to a cure" that your results do not support. The checker only looks at wording; it cannot tell whether your claims are right.

For seven rules and a before-and-after example, read how to write a lay summary.

If you would rather start from a full draft made from your own abstract, with every number and hedge kept exactly and gaps shown as visible blanks, see the paid draft service ($7, AI-written).