Access to Understanding seeks to make the science presented in jargon-heavy research articles accessible to a wider audience. Competition entrants were asked to write plain English summaries of scientific research articles for a public audience.

Each summary needed to explain why the research was done, what was done and why it was important. Entrants could write about one of 10 articles, each covering fascinating cutting-edge science including combining drug therapies to treat cancer, brain scanning to better understand specific function, a new way to assess effectiveness of arthritis treatments, and an analysis of malaria resistance around the world.