Plain language summary
A clear, one-page summary of your paper, written in your own voice — accurate to your research, accessible to anyone curious enough to read it.
Compact, complete, and unmistakably yours.
A plain language summary strips your research down to its essence — what you asked, how you went about it, what you found, and why it matters — and weaves all of that into clear, continuous prose. No jargon, no abstract-style language, no padding. Because it's written in the first person, your voice still shapes the page; it just does so in fewer words. Choose this format when readers need to grasp your study quickly and accurately, in the time it takes to drink a coffee.
Built for clarity, not for compression
A Yicco plain language summary isn't a shortened abstract. It's a self-contained, readable summary written in your own voice — concise enough to scan, complete enough to stand on its own.
Written in your voice
Every summary is written in the first person ("I" or "we"), so the page carries the warmth and authority of the researcher behind it, not a faceless third-person abstract.
Four elements, one flowing text
Aim, background, methods, and meaning are woven into a single, continuous narrative — no subheadings, no bullet points.
Tuned to your audience
Short, varied sentences with jargon and statistical terms translated into plain language. Accessible without being childish — written for a curious general reader.
What a Yicco plain language summary looks like
Below is an excerpt from a real Yicco plain language summary by a researcher in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, who studied whether proteins in the blood that signal brain damage are also linked to depression in older adults.
Could a blood test help spot depression in older adults with memory loss?
In our study of 81 older adults in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, we found that two proteins in the blood linked to brain damage were also linked to depression in later life. This is one of the first studies to look at these brain-related blood markers and mood in sub-Saharan Africa.
Why depression in older adults is often missed
Depression is very common in older people who have dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease. Up to 9 in 10 people with Alzheimer's also experience low mood, loss of interest, or other depressive symptoms. Yet in sub-Saharan Africa, this overlap has rarely been studied. Most research on the biology of late-life depression has been done in Western countries. We wanted to know whether the same biological signals seen there also show up in older adults in Kinshasa, and whether they might help explain why depression and dementia so often go together.
Measuring brain proteins in 81 older adults
We invited 81 people aged 65 and older to take part. Each person was checked for dementia using two screening tools and for depression using a standard questionnaire designed for older adults. We also tested memory, attention, and other thinking skills with a battery developed for use in Africa. From a small blood sample, we measured several proteins that can leak from brain cells when those cells are stressed or damaged.
From research to plain language summary in four steps
We don't work with forms that force you to squeeze your research into boxes. The Narrative Flow asks questions that surface what your research is really about. Then our AI does the writing, and you can optionally have a communications expert review the result.
Article + Narrative Flow
Upload your scientific paper and complete the Narrative Flow, a guided interview that helps surface what your research is really about. At the end you can also flag any words or phrasings you'd rather avoid.
AI builds the draft
Our AI shapes a first version in your voice, weaving aim, background, methods, and meaning into one continuous text at the right reading level for your audience.
Refine and verify
Edit the text yourself, and call on our AI to check whether your changes stay accessible and accurate. If you want, a science communication expert can also sharpen the language.
Publish & share
Receive the final summary: clean text, a ready-to-publish URL on yicco.com/plainlanguagesummary, and a one-page format that's easy to share with anyone.
Six ways to make your summary travel
Publish on your website
Add the plain language summary to your research group or organisation's website, alongside a link to the full paper. This makes your work discoverable and shows you take public communication seriously.
Share via institute channels
Ask the communications team to share the summary on platforms like X (Twitter), Instagram, or in a newsletter. A one-page summary is exactly the kind of asset they're often looking for.
Post on LinkedIn
Write a short, personal intro explaining why this research matters, what your key message is, and who would benefit from reading the summary. A striking number from your findings often makes a strong opening line.
Pair it with the full paper
Link the summary from the abstract page on your publisher's site, your repository, or your ORCID profile. Readers who don't have time for the full article can still take away the core message.
Use in presentations & teaching
Hand out the summary at conferences, lectures, or stakeholder meetings. It gives your audience something concrete to take home and reread, in language that won't lose them after the first slide.
Share via email
Send the summary to colleagues, research partners, journalists, or policymakers. A short message explaining why it's relevant to them, with the one-page summary attached or linked, is hard to ignore.
Ready for your plain language summary?
Upload your paper, walk through the Narrative Flow, and shape your one-page summary in minutes — accurate, accessible, and ready to share. Optionally with a human check by our experts.