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What Is Plain Language?: "Plainness Does Not Mean The Absence of All Ornaments, Only The More Obvious Ones."

The document discusses plain language which aims to make written communication easily understandable. It should be organized for readability, use clear language, and have a friendly tone. Benefits of plain language include effectiveness, efficiency and building confidence. Elements of plain language include organization, tone, language, sentence structure and visual design.

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KM Macatangay
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238 views3 pages

What Is Plain Language?: "Plainness Does Not Mean The Absence of All Ornaments, Only The More Obvious Ones."

The document discusses plain language which aims to make written communication easily understandable. It should be organized for readability, use clear language, and have a friendly tone. Benefits of plain language include effectiveness, efficiency and building confidence. Elements of plain language include organization, tone, language, sentence structure and visual design.

Uploaded by

KM Macatangay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Plain Language?

A communication your audience can understand the first time they read
or hear it.
A

written material is in plain language if your audience can:


Find what they need;
Understand what they find; and
Use what they find to meet their needs.

Plainness does not mean the absence of all ornaments, only the more
obvious ones.
Characteristics of Plain Language
General features that distinguish plain language from the traditional
writing style:
They are organized for easy reading.
They use words effectively.
They are built of clear, simple sentences and paragraphs.
They are designed for visual appeal.
What is not Plain Language?
Difficult text cause more:
Misunderstanding
Errors
Complaints
Enquiries
Staff Time Lost to Problem Solving
Why Use Plain Language?
Plain language means your readers can understand your documents more
quickly. It results to an effective and efficient communication.
The Benefits of Plain Language
1. Effectiveness
2. Efficiency / Cost Efficiency
3. Competitiveness
4. Confidence / Reassurance
ELEMENTS OF PLAIN LANGUAGE
1. Organization
Before you start, make sure you know the purpose of the document

and the intended audience.


Focus on what the reader needs to know; consider omitting the niceto-know info, or publishing it separately.
Place what is most important to the reader first. Follow the 'inverted
pyramid' style of writing: Summarize key info at the start, then add
details in order of what is most interesting and important for readers to
know.
Keep paragraphs short, averaging 35 sentences per paragraph.
2. Tone
Speak directly to the reader. Use "you" and "we" if possible.
Adopt a formal and respectful but friendly voice for most public
documents.
Use the active voice (subject + verb + object).
Use positive language that directs the reader toward the results you
hope to achieve.
3. Language
Use simple, everyday words.
Find replacements for acronyms, jargon, idioms and technical terms.
If you have to use an acronym, write it out in full. If you have to use a
technical term, explain it.
Keep nouns made from verbs to a minimum; if you can, replace
them with the verb at their root (For example: Use to restore instead
of for the restoration of)
Replace outdated legal language. (For example: Use must,
may or will instead of shall; below instead ofherewith.)
Explain or find more familiar replacements for specialized language.
If you must use technical terms, define them first and use them
consistently.
4. Length of sentences, paragraphs and sections
Write mostly short sentences, averaging up to 25 words each but
with varying sentence lengths.
Use simple sentence structure, with one thought per sentence.
Remove words that don't contribute to the meaning.
If using a list of three or more items, replace text with a bulleted list
or table.
Keep the subject (actor) and verb (action) together and close to the
beginning of the sentence.
5. Design
Use headings and subheads to signal changes in topic focus and help
readers more quickly navigate.

Use basic visual elementssuch as sidebars, tables and simple


chartsto help readers easily pick out key information.
Choose a type style and line length that is easy to read.
Use at least 12 point type for print.
Set your line length to 7585 characters (with 1.25 inch side
margins).
Use a text colour that contrasts well with the background to make
the document easy on the eyes. Bold and larger type also show structure
in a document: Larger, bold type shows a new section, smaller bold type
draws attention to changes in focus for people who scan documents or
screens to find the sections that interest them.
Consider the needs of readers with different abilities: Are there other
ways to get your message across besides print?

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