Principles of plain language

Overview

Words matter

People come to government websites to do many different things. Mothers read nutritional guidelines to choose better food for their children. Students look for reliable financial aid information to help pay for college. Construction workers confirm that their job site complies with safety and health standards. Residents look for real-time reports about the forest fires near their homes. 

Without clear and concise communication, people in the U.S. won’t be able to find or use information from the federal government. While federal communications have improved, research finds the user experience is lacking. Researchers cite responses to government website feedback requests as:

• “Cluttered”
• “Information flow was poor”
• “I would try to keep it more simple.”

Plain language addresses these concerns and is also the law. In this plain language guide, we will help you to understand plain language basics and explore how to create content that people can easily understand. You’ll learn the importance of

• Defining your audience
• Writing and designing easy to understand content
• Testing your content to make sure it is clearly communicating your intent

Choose your words carefully

Words are the most basic building blocks of written and spoken communication. While there is generally no problem with being expressive, most federal writing has no place for literary flair. People do not curl up in front of the fire with a federal regulation to have a relaxing read.

The first rule of plain language is: write for your audience. 

Writing for your specific audience is important. One of the most common plain language myths is that you have to “dumb down” your content so that everyone can read it. That’s not true.

Use language your audience understands and feels comfortable with. Take your audience’s current level of knowledge, expertise, and interest into account. Don’t write for an 8th-grade class if your readers are PhD candidates, small business owners, or working parents. Only write for 8th graders if your audience is, in fact, an 8th-grade class.

Follow plain language guidelines

There are some best practices to follow when writing with plain language. Get started with these key practices, and find more throughout this guide.

• Have a topic sentence. Good opening sentences help organize the structure of writing.
• Use the active voice. Active voice helps the message stay clear and easy-to-read.
• Organize the information. Prepare readers for what to expect. Summarize lengthy documents up-front.
• Use tables where appropriate. These can be effective for more than just showing numerical data.
• Use lists. They can help you convey detailed information quickly without overloading your readers.