Plain Language Writing

Introduction

"Plain language" writing (also referred to as "plain writing" or "plain English") is "reader-oriented" communication designed to be easily understood and retained by the reader the first time they read it.² Put plainly, it is writing presented in ways that help readers get the information they need as easily as possible. Advocates around the world have been working to make plain-language writing standard in government, law, health, and business as a way to bring essential information to all citizens.They are doing this by identifying language and design principles that promote usability for all citizens.¹³

Plain Writing Act of 2010

The movement toward adopting plain language as policy gathered momentum in the US Government in the 1990s. In 2010, plain language became federal law when President Barack Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010.¹³

The Plain Writing Act requires federal agencies to "use clear government communication that the public can understand and use" ⁷. It also requires demonstrated awareness of plain language, training opportunities for workers, and a rewrite of public documents.¹³

Main Principles of Plain Language Writing

Consider your audience

A key point of plain language writing is to" write for your audience".⁵ Always consider the reader's needs and abilities, e.g., whether you are writing for the general public, a group of colleagues, or a group of specialists, and how they will use the document. Organize, write, and design your document in a way that will create the greatest ease of comprehension, use, and retention.

Organize and Design

Clear organization aids usability. Organize your document in a way that will orient the reader and easily find needed information.

• Provide informative headings, topic sentences, and frequent summaries to keep the reader oriented.²

• Use graphics in proximity to related written information for visual cues, which aid comprehension and retention of data.²

• Incorporate white space to separate sections and prevent dense text blocks.

• Use bullet points wherever appropriate.

The Center for Plain Language performs an annual review of documents published by governmental agencies and reports on how well each is complying with the Plain Language Act of 2010. The following web document was chosen as the "most improved" from the previous year.

Language

Verbs

Use active verbs over nouns when possible, to improve conciseness and clarity.

Instead of:

The committee came to an agreement to the effect that a study should be carried out by the consultants into the feasibility of the provision of national funding.

Use:

The committee agreed that the consultants should study the feasibility of providing national funding.⁸

Passive Voice

Use the active voice instead of passive voice in most cases.

Instead of:

Votes were counted by election officials.

Use:

Election officials counted the votes.

Word Choice

Use simple, clear, and concise words and phrases.

Jargon

Jargon is "Jargon is unnecessarily complicated, technical language"⁵. Use everyday words in place of jargon whenever possible.

Acronyms

• Overuse of acronyms can be distracting to readers.²

• Spell out names when acronyms are not commonly known.

• Acronyms may be used when the term they are abbreviating is used many times in a document, but spell out all words at first mention.

• Generally recognized acronyms, such as FBI, CPR, and USA, however, do not need to be defined.

Sentences and Paragraphs

• Keep sentences short and succinct. Long sentences, which can be difficult to comprehend, should be Consider breaking up long sentences, which can cause comprehension difficulty for readers into shorter sentences.⁶

• Sentences should have between 15 and 20 words on average.¹²

• Keep paragraphs brief.

• Paragraphs should have one main topic sentence each

• Use white space between sections.

When to use plain language writing

Technical communicator Russell Willerton developed the acronym "BUROC" to help communicators "identify opportunities for plain language";¹³ circumstances in which citizens will benefit most from clear, straightforward writing. The following situations can be stressful, involve ethics implications, and are situations which may especially benefit from clear communication.

• Bureaucratic- Situations involving bureaucracy in large organizations' policies and procedures. "The bureaucracy’s public façade often keeps outsiders distant and limits their access to information."¹² Examples include buying insurance and making claims, claiming social security benefits, and paying taxes.

• Unfamiliar- Unfamiliar situations involving complex or new vocabulary, and that people face rarely or infrequently. Examples include an ill patient enrolling in a clinical trial and having to wade through medical jargon¹² or a new homeowner applying for a first mortgage.

• Rights-Oriented- Situations related to individuals' civil, patient, consumer, or human rights–rights as citizens, as patients, as consumers, as humans. Examples are registering to vote,¹² reading and understanding voter pamphlets, and the protection of one's medical privacy.

• Critical- Serious and often unexpected situations that can have significant consequences to people.^{13 "}The stress of these situations can affect a person’s judgment, cognition, and performance."¹³ Signing forms at a hospital for urgent medical care is an example.

Arguments against plain language

Critics Argue:

Writing in a plain language style "dumbs down" information.

Counter:

The goal of plain language writing is not to write every document at a low level, but to write with the user in mind, "writing clearly and effectively"¹² at the level of comprehension you assume your reader to have.

Plain language writing is too broad and cannot be specific.

Counter:

Revising to plain language helps reveal any ambiguities and contradictions, allowing necessary information to be clearly presented.¹²

Plain language cannot present information as effectively as "legalese" or other official language.

Counter:

Because content written in plain language is likelier to be read and understood, readers are more likely to comply with plain language documents, leading to fewer questions and misunderstandings, and more satisfied users.¹²

See Also

Readability Formulas

Accessibility

Information Design

References

^{1. Bobek E, Tversky B. Creating visual explanations improves learning. Cogn Res Princ Implic. 2016;1(1):27. doi:10.1186/s41235-016-0031-6}

^{2. Byrne, D. (2008). Writing Government Policies and Procedures in Plain Language. Business Communication Quarterly, 71(1), 88-92. doi:10.1177/1080569907313376}

^{3. Greer RR. Introducing Plain Language Principles to Business Communication Students. Business Communication Quarterly. 2012;75(2):136-152. doi:10.1177/1080569912441967}

^{4. Groups and organizations. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://plainlanguage.gov/resources/groups/}

^{5. Federal Plain Language Guidelines. (2011, March). Retrieved 2020, from https://plainlanguage.gov/media/FederalPLGuidelines.pdf}

^{6. Jordan, M. P. (1994). Toward Plain Language: A Guide to Paraphrasing Complex Noun Phrases. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 24(1), 77-96. doi:10.2190/fhed-rmjg-y03y-y4uj}

^{7. Laws and Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved October 26, 2020, from https://www.plainlanguage.gov/}

^{8. Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.). Writing in Plain Style. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://owl.purdue.edu}

^{9. Sparano, R. (2020, July 23). The Most Common Mistakes in Technical and Scientific Writing — and Their Plain Language Solutions. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://aceseditors.org/}

^{10. Tebeaux, E., & Dragga, S. (2021). Chapter 4: Achieving a Readable Style. In The Essentials of Technical Communication. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.}

^{11. United States, Centers for Disease Control, Office of the Associate Director for Communication. (2016). Everyday Words for Health Communication. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/other/pdf/everydaywordsforpublichealthcommunication.pdf}

^{12. What is plain language? (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2020, from https://plainlanguagenetwork.org/plain-language/what-is-plain-language/}

^{Willerton, R. (2014). Finding Empathy for Users: A Plain Language Model. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://uxpamagazine.org/}

_{13. Willerton, R. (2015). Plain Language and Ethical Action. New York: Routledge, https://doi-org.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/10.4324/9781315796956}

14. Center for Plain Language, centerforplainlanguage.org.

External Links

Everyday Words for Public Health Communication

Federal Plain Language Guidelines

**^{Last updated by Elaine Schumacher 10/27/20**}