Why write in plain language?

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- You know that saying, people don't read anymore? Well, that's just not true. People
who need information do read, but they can't and won't read content that's too long,
too technical or too difficult to scan. That's why we write in plain language. It's the
modern, reader-focused way to write. Plain language never means dumbing down your
writing, it means making your writing easy to understand. It means thinking like your
reader so you can anticipate and answer their most important questions. It means
writing in active voice, avoiding jargon and cutting the fluff so your writing is
concise and writing in plain language requires a whole new set of skills, ones you
probably didn't learn in school. I'm Leslie O'Flahavan. Join me on LinkedIn Learning for
this hands-on writing course and learn how to write plain language content that helps
people understand what they've read and find the information they need to get
important things done.

Use headings to highlight your message

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- I have to be honest with you. Your readers don't want to read your entire document, they really
don't. And you know what? I'll bet that doesn't come as a complete surprise. Your readers are just
like you and me. They want to scan documents to find the information they're looking for. When
readers scan, they choose how much or little to read and in what order. So to be a great plain
language writer you've got to provide scanable features. One way to do that is with headings. You
probably know what a heading is, but for learning's sake, a heading is the title for a section of a
document, email, or webpage. Most writers bold the heading so they'll stand out. I'm going to
show you two versions of a short proposal, one without headings and one with them. Here's
version A. One quick glance and you can see how the lack of headings gives readers an all or
nothing choice. Read all the paragraphs to find what they need or read nothing. Version A
requires a lot of effort. Here's version B, with headings, much clearer. Readers can scan this
version and jump easily to the section they want to read. Headings also provide readers with a
high-level outline of the document. When your reader can see the structure of your document at a
glance, they're more likely to understand the points you're trying to make. Let me show you three
types of headings. Topic headings are the shortest type of heading. They're just a word or
phrase and don't provide much information. Statement headings are longer. They're a clause or a
sentence. Statement headings can provide a full idea. And then question headings. Question
headings are a great way to show you understand your readers' questions about your topic. Let's
imagine you're writing a tip sheet for parents on bicycle safety for their kids. The tip sheet
includes one paragraph on getting the child's helmet to fit properly and another on how to choose
the right size bike. Topic headings for these two paragraphs might look like this. As you can see,
they provide some information but not much. They make it clear what the topic of the paragraphs
will be but they don't tell you anything about the message of the paragraph. If we change them to
statement headings, there's a lot more information. If your reader's scanning, you'll provide more
support if you write statement headings. And question headings give the document a
conversational style, especially if you use your reader's actual questions for the headings. Some
people hold an outdated, anti-heading attitude about writing. They believe that important
documents or content should look important. Well, it's time to get over that. Plain language
writers aren't over-simplifying their topic. They're helping their readers find the information they
need.

Use bulleted lists to support your message

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- Which would you rather read, this paragraph or this, a bulleted list? Bulleted lists play
an important role in plain writing because they're easier to read than long sentences or
paragraphs. The bullet, that simple little black dot, shows the relationship between the
smaller ideas, the ones that are bulleted, and the larger idea, the lead-in
statement. Bullets also convey that the items in the list are comparable and that they
relate to the lead-in statement in the same way. Yep, that little simple black dot does a
lot of work. Now keep in mind that a bulleted list attracts the reader's eye like a
magnet, so you've got to write your lists properly. First, use a strong lead-in
statement. The lead-in statement is the controlling idea of the list, so choose a clear idea
expressed fully. Second, use consistent capitalization and punctuation. Most of the
time, you'll begin each bulleted item with a capital letter, and you'll omit end
punctuation unless each item is a full sentence. And third, use parallel structure, which
means that each bulleted item must start with the same part of speech and have the
same grammatical structure. So in this example, we can improve the lead-in
statement by clarifying what the list is about. We'll remove the end punctuation because
they're not all full sentences, and we'll change the first and third bullets to create parallel
structure. You know how much readers love bulleted lists? Enough to coin the word
bulletize to describe the act of adding easy-to-see bullets to dense paragraph text. And
while bulletize may be an odd-sounding word, readers' need for and love of bulleted
lists is natural. Plain language writers should take note.

Use tables to simplify complex content

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- Let's imagine you are the world's most avid do-it-yourselfer, and you're going to make
your own electric guitar. You're reading an article about the supplies you'll need, and it
contains this paragraph. While there's really nothing wrong with the paragraph, it's not
the easiest read for a person who wants to make a shopping list. Putting that same
information into a table makes it much easier for the reader to scan what you've
written and find what they're looking for. You know your paragraph should be a table if
the sentence structure is repetitive. That's a clue that what you're writing about can be
put into categories. Or, if your reader will want to compare items. Tables present similar
information in similar places, making comparison easy. Take this table, for example. It
explains three different membership options at Landon Gym, and is much easier to
read than a long, wordy paragraph. The reader can easily compare the various plans and
choose the one they prefer. The easy comparison also helps the reader ask better
questions, like, "If I want to include a fifth family member "in my membership, will I have
to pay the family fee "of $99 per month, plus the adult fee of $39?" Finally, tables can
also present cause-effect content, like this one. The column names show they aren't just
categories. They are two categories that have a cause-effect relationship. If you need
some practice, download the exercise file for this lesson. You can use the information
I've provided to create a table, and take a look at my table when you're done. Don't let
anyone tell you that using a table isn't real, plain language writing. It is. Anything you
can do that helps your reader understand and use what you've written is definitely real,
and definitely plain language, too.

Write in active voice

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- I'm going to show you a couple of versions of a sentence, and you tell me which one's
better, okay? Version A. Contact information must be provided for references and
employers when Form 123 is completed. Or version B. Your references and employers
must provide their contact information when they complete Form 123. Version B is
better, right? That's because version B is written in active voice. Active voice is a sentence
structure where the grammatical subject of the sentence is doing the action of the
verb. In this active voice sentence, the subject of the first clause, references and
employers, is doing the action of the verb provide. The subject of the second clause,
they, is doing the action of the verb complete. The active voice sentence makes
clear who should complete the form. Writing in the active voice isn't hard. In fact, the
grammar checking software you use will prompt you to change passive voice
sentences to active voice sentences. So why is writing sentences in active voice a plain
language issue? Because active voice makes clear who should take action or who has
taken action. Let me give you a couple of examples. First, active voice sentences clearly
explain who should take action. Let's imagine you bought a table online, and when it
was delivered, the table was scratched. You email the manufacturer to complain. You
want them to pay for the repair. If their reply included this passive voice sentence, photo
documentation of the damage must be submitted, that's confusing. Should you submit
the documentation? Should the delivery company do it? While that passive voice
sentence is grammatically correct, it avoids giving the information the reader wants the
most. This active voice reply is much clearer. You must submit photo documentation of
the damage. And the second reason active voice sentences are clearer is they show who
has taken action. Who did what? Here's an example of how active voice shows who has
taken action. You've interviewed for a job but haven't received an offer. You write a
follow-up email to the executive who interviewed you, and they respond with this
passive sentence: The job search has been called off. Did the executive call off the job
search? Was it someone else? The active voice sentence is much clearer and more
honest. The hiring manager called off the job search. Most plain language writers work
hard to write in active voice as often as possible. They know that readers want to easily
understand who is doing what, and active voice sentences meet that need. They
understand why a passive voice sentence sounds evasive while the active voice version
sounds candid. Need more practice in recognizing passive voice and writing in active
voice? Download and work through the Exercise File. Once you've completed it, you'll
have a solid understanding of active voice, and you'll know exactly what to do when the
grammar checker gives you a squiggly line.

Write brief, clear sentences

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- You've heard of the Atkins Diet, the Paleo Diet and the Mediterranean Diet, right? They
all promise to help you lose weight. But have you ever heard of the plain language
diet? Didn't think so. The plain language diet helps your sentences lose words. Today's
readers prefer shorter sentences of 20 to 25 words. Long sentences are confusing, and
understanding them requires too much effort. Take this 48-word monster. There's
potential for inconsistency in the study results due to the fact that various studies have
been performed by several laboratories. Oh my goodness. No one wants to read
that, and a plain language writer would never produce that. Put the sentence on a plain-
language diet, however, and you have a tidy 22-word sentence that's easy to
understand. Much better, right? Let me show you three ways to keep your
sentences short, clear and tight. First, cut unnecessary modifiers. A modifier is a word
that adds information or description to another word in the same sentence. Writers use
modifiers to intensify a description. For example, in this sentence, Jason was really very
hungry, the modifiers "really" and "very" are meant to intensify the extent of Jason's
hunger, but these modifiers add words to the sentence without adding much specific
meaning. Remove the modifiers "really" and "very" and find a more exact word, and
you'll have a better plain language sentence. Keep a sharp eye out for modifiers like
actually, completely, really, generally, quite, totally and very. Instead of this double
modifier sentence, remove the modifiers to clarify your message or take a completely
different approach. Okay, let's move on to the next sentence-trimming trick, breaking
the "this and that" habit. The "this and that" habit is when you two words that mean
nearly the same thing, and separate them with "and" or "or." Here's an example. You
don't need both "substantial" and "measurable" in this sentence. Cut one of those words
and help break the "this and that" habit. We break the "this and that" habit in this
sentence by taking out the extra words in two places. Why do writers develop a "this and
that" habit? I bet some think the double wording makes their writing sound
profound, but believe me, it doesn't. The most profound writing is the easiest to
read. Another way to shorten sentences is to replace "there" and "it" as the subject of
the sentence. When you start a sentence with the words "there are," "there is" or "it
is," those pronouns become the grammatical subject of the sentence, often displacing
the actual subject of the sentence. Removing the "there are" from this sentence is
easy. In this sentence, we'll remove the word "people," the real subject of the
sentence, and use the "must" instead of "it is important." By using the verb "must," we
can remove the "it is" from this sentence. We've made the sentence four words
shorter, and a lot clearer. Download the exercise file and practice streamlining your
sentences because while dieting is never easy, putting your sentences on a diet is easier
than you think.

Avoid jargon and abbreviations

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- When you commit to writing in plain language you commit to ridding your documents of all
kinds of word clutter that accumulates and clogs up your sentences. Clearing out this clutter is
like cleaning out your closet, it's easier to do if you don't let it get full of junk in the first
place. One kind of clutter you must clear out is technical jargon, which is the language specific to
a group or profession. For example, if you're a mortgage lender this sentence is crystal clear, you
understand the jargon terms amortization and balloon payment, because you're in the banking
profession. But if you're writing for perspective borrowers these jargon terms can cause
confusion. Maybe they're learning about mortgages for the first time or they've borrowed before,
but it's been a while. To write in plain language you should use non-technical substitutes for the
jargon terms or explain the terms in the sentence like this, your loan repayment schedule includes
a balloon payment, which is a larger, one-time payment you'll make at the end of the loan. Now
the sentence is both accurate and understandable to all its intended readers, even if they aren't
bankers. There's another type of jargon you can plan to rinse out of your writing right away,
business jargon. Those words and phrases that were fresh the first time they were used, but are
tired and trite now. You know, drink from the fire hose, think outside the box, move the
needle. In addition to being corny, these business jargon phrases aren't clear. If your boss emailed
you this sentence would you understand what they want you to do? Are you supposed to recruit
more people? Recruit better people? Or get more candidates to accept job offers? Who knows
which needle your boss wants you to move. The second type of clutter is
abbreviations. Abbreviations are shorted forms of words or phrases. There's certainly nothing
wrong with using abbreviations, but too many of them or too many paragraphs between the
explanation and the abbreviation make them confusing. The classic way to handle
abbreviations is to write out the term the first time you use it and follow it with the abbreviation
in parentheses. And this method works pretty well, but plain language writers handle
abbreviations in a more reader friendly way. For example, let's say you're writing about the
SBOTG, which stands for Small Business Owner's Tax Guide. You could write this sentence and
then use SBOTG everywhere else in the document, but there's an alternative that's even better for
your readers. Use some of the important words from the full name instead of just using the first
letter of each word. With this method the first time you'd write Small Business Owner's Tax
Guide and Tax Guide in parentheses. Then just write Tax Guide every time after. Or you could
use SBO Tax Guide. These methods take the pressure off the reader to remember what an
abbreviation stood for when it was explained three pages or six clicks before. Here are a few
more examples of how to use words or letters plus words instead of a letters only
abbreviation. The Administrative Procedure Oversight Committee becomes the Committee, or
the Oversight Committee. The Production Part Approval Process becomes the Approval
Process. Even if your closets aren't tidy, your writing can be. Don't clutter your writing with
jargon or abbreviations. Always remember, your reader is a regular, humble, nice person who's
life you can make a bit easier when you write in plain language.

Avoid noun strings and smothered verbs

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- If you're going to become a first class plain language writer, you have to become an
anti-wordiness crusader. You must not tolerate any wording that makes sentences
bloated. So let's take a look at two bad writing habits that make your sentences longer
and harder to read. Fix these two problems and you'll take a huge burden off your
reader. The first habit to break is writing sentences that have noun strings. What's a
noun string? It's a series of consecutive nouns where all the nouns but the last one
function as adjectives. Confusing, right? Well let's take a look at an example. The
committee met to discuss the draft immigrant tenant rights protection
regulations. While this sentence is grammatically correct, it's really hard to read because
all the nouns before regulations are actually functioning as adjectives. The words draft,
immigrant, rights, and protection all describe regulations, but the reader can get lost in
the shift from nouns working as adjectives to the final nouns which is, well, working as a
noun. There are two ways to fix a noun string. One is by breaking up the string by using
prepositions or articles such as to and for. For example, the committee met to discuss
draft regulations to improve protection for immigrant tenant rights. When I break up the
nouns string with the prepositions to and for, it gets a little longer, but it's much easier
to read. Even someone new to the topic will understand the revised version. The other
way to fix a noun string is to convert some of the nouns into verbs. Let's go back to the
original sentence. Now I'll convert the noun protection to the verb would protect. Better,
right? The second bad sentence habit to break is smothered verbs. A very dramatic term
for a mundane bad writing habit. The term refers to smothering a verb by turning it into
a noun. When you smother a verb this way, you then need to use a helping verb to
express action which makes your sentence longer and duller. Here's an example of a
sentence with a smothered verb. In this sentence the writer has smothered the
verb suggest by using it in its noun form, suggestion. That's forced the writer to choose
the dull verb is. Here's a much better version of the sentence in which the verb suggest
has been unsmothered. The revised version is shorter and the verb suggest gives the
sentence energy. How can you recognize verbs in the smothered noun form? One way is
to look for these endings. So, for example, inform is the verb form of information. Agree
is the verb form of agreement. Prefer is the verb form of preference. So in this sentence,
information is the smothered form of the verb inform. And this one is improved by using
the verb. In this sentence, the verb agree is smothered. And again, change the way we
use the verb form of the word and it's a better sentence. I've put together a handout for
you so you can practice editing noun strings and smothered verbs. Download a copy
from the exercise files. If you're going to become a first class plain language writer and
an anti-wordiness crusader, break the habit of noun strings and unsmother your
verbs. Your readers will appreciate it.

Continue writing plainly

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- Congratulations. You've finished the course. I respect the time and effort you've
invested to learn about plain language and become a better writer. While it's modern,
writing in plain language is not a fad. Plain language is how writers make content
useful for readers. Fundamentally, it's how writers show readers respect. To help you stay
on track, you can download the resource guide to plain language checklists in the
exercise files. I hope we'll stay in touch. Start by visiting my website. Download my 10-
Step Guide to Writing in Plain Language, as well as whitepapers on business writing,
email, chat, and social media. Then, subscribe to my newsletter to get monthly tips about
how to be a better writer. In addition to online training, I offer onsite, in-person plain
language courses that are customized to your company's needs, so your whole team can
participate in an E-WRITE course. Or you can send me an email or connect with me on
LinkedIn. I look forward to hearing from you.