Tailor Jargon to your audience

Jargon can be a major obstacle to clear writing and inevitably narrows the potential audience for your article. You should distinguish between cases where jargon is inappropriate because it obscures meaning and where it is appropriate because it aids communication.

Jargon should only be used when it serves as a bridge - not as a barrier - to communication.

Audience Restricted by Jargon Use

Below, using young sporophytes is legitimate but limits the audience to botanists. Seedlings is useful when addressing a wider audience.

Young sporophytes were visible at 8 weeks after sowing.

Seedlings were visible at 8 weeks after sowing.

Inappropriate Use of Jargon

As an alternative to jargon, clarify meaning by creating a mental image for the reader.

In this example, the use of etiolated is not advisable because this technical term belongs to the field of botany. Afferent neuron is an accepted technical term, but using sensory neuron will reach a wider audience.

This population of afferent neurons possesses axons that are exceptionally etiolated.

This population of sensory neurons possesses axons that are exceptionally long and thin.

Create Mental Images Instead of Using Jargon

A phrase like the passage of drugs evokes a mental image which helps the reader understand the process being explained.

Approaches that allow drug permeability through the hematoencephalic barrier entail osmotic disruption.

Approaches that allow the passage of drugs through the blood brain barrier involve osmotic disruption.

Exercise — Avoid unnecessary Jargon

Consider sentences 1 - 4. They all convey the same information, but use different amounts of jargon or technical terms.

  1. Gene loss following whole genome duplication juxtaposes new combinations of intergenic and genic regions.
  2. Gene loss following whole genome duplication brings together new combinations of intergenic and genic regions.
  3. Pseudogenisation following polyploidisation juxtaposes new combinations of intergenic and genic regions.
  4. Gene loss following polyploidisation juxtaposes new combinations of intergenic and genic regions.
  • Which words do you consider to be jargon?
  • Which sentence has the largest audience? The smallest?
  • Which sentence is most concise?