Worksheet: Text Simplification Evaluation

Background

Text simplification makes text easier to read while preserving its meaning. This is important for readers with cognitive disabilities, non-native speakers, and children.

Text Simplification: Transforming text to make it more accessible while retaining essential information.

Key Challenge: Balancing simplicity with meaning preservation and naturalness.

Simplification Operations

Lexical Replace complex words with simpler ones

Syntactic Simplify sentence structure

Splitting Break long sentences into shorter ones

Deletion Remove non-essential information

Part 1: Evaluating Simplification Quality

Original:

The pharmaceutical company's quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, resulting in a significant surge in stock prices during after-hours trading.

Simplified:

The drug company made more money than expected. Its stock price went up a lot.

Question 1

Rate this simplification:

Dimension	Rating (1-5)
Simplicity: Is it easier to read?	1 5
Meaning: Is the meaning preserved?	1 5
Fluency: Is it grammatical and natural?	1 5

What information was lost in the simplification?

Part 2: Identifying Operations

Original:

The government has implemented comprehensive legislation to mitigate the environmental impact of industrial activities, which has been criticized by business leaders as being excessively restrictive.

Simplified:

The government made new laws to reduce pollution from factories. Business leaders think these laws are too strict.

Question 2

What simplification operations were used?

Lexical substitution Syntactic simplification Sentence splitting Information deletion Reordering

Give specific examples of each operation used:

Part 3: Over-Simplification

Original:

The patient should take 500mg of the medication twice daily with food, and should avoid consuming alcohol or grapefruit juice, as these may interact with the drug and cause adverse effects.

Simplified:

Take the medicine with food.

Question 3

Is this an acceptable simplification?

Yes - simpler is better No - critical information is missing Depends on the target audience Partially acceptable - needs dosage info

What critical information was lost?

Write a better simplification that preserves essential information:

Part 4: Comparing Simplifications

Original:

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants convert light energy, usually from the sun, into chemical energy that can be later released to fuel the plant's activities.

Simplification A:

Plants use sunlight to make food. This process is called photosynthesis.

Simplification B:

Photosynthesis is how plants turn light into energy they can use.

Simplification C:

Plants need sun to live.

Question 4

Rank these simplifications from best (1) to worst (3):

Version	Rank	Reason
A
B
C

Part 5: Target Audience Considerations

Original (Legal Document):

The lessee shall be liable for any damages to the premises resulting from negligence or intentional misconduct, exclusive of normal wear and tear.

Question 5

Write appropriate simplifications for different audiences:

For a general adult audience:

For someone with limited English proficiency:

For a 10-year-old:

How did your simplifications differ?

Part 6: Evaluating Automatic Simplification

Original:

The committee unanimously approved the proposal after extensive deliberation, despite initial reservations expressed by several members regarding the financial implications.

System Output:

The committee said yes to the proposal. They talked about it a lot. Some people were worried about money at first.

Question 6

Evaluate this automatic simplification:

Criterion	Rating
Grammaticality
Meaning preservation
Simplicity
Coherence

What nuance was lost by saying "said yes" instead of "unanimously approved"?

Part 7: Group Discussion

Question 7

Compare your evaluations with your group. Where did you disagree?

What counts as "simpler" What information is essential Fluency vs. simplicity tradeoff Target audience assumptions Comparing simplifications

Describe one specific disagreement:

Part 8: Reflection

Question 8

Why is text simplification evaluation difficult?

"Simple" is subjective Simplicity vs. meaning tradeoff Audience-dependent Multiple valid simplifications Domain affects what's essential All of the above

Key Takeaway

Good simplification requires balancing multiple competing goals.

Simplicity and meaning preservation often conflict
What counts as "essential" depends on context and audience
Over-simplification can be dangerous in critical domains (medical, legal)
Multiple valid simplifications exist for most texts
Target audience must guide simplification decisions