In this recent BMJ Opinion, writer, journalist and patient Roger Wilson advocates for the development of a plain language summary (PLS) even before the research has begun. In this way, researchers can keep in mind what they want to achieve and clearly explain their objectives. The PLS then evolves as the project develops with the the final version accompanying the journal article when published.
Read the opinion piece in full ‘Roger Wilson: Patients should be involved from the outset in creating plain English summaries of research papers’ to learn more about Roger’s idea to create an evolving lay summary.
The plain English summary is a living document, the final version will be very different, but its parentage should still be recognisable.