Simple is the New Sophisticated

Did you know Wikipedia has a whole list of plain language expressions you can use instead of their jargon-y equivalents? It’s a great resource, because writing in plain language is harder than it seems. People who invoke plain language often have huge blind spots in how they perceive their own speaking or writing styles. And almost no one, including your humble author, is exempt.

The lack of a specific definition for “plain language” complicates the issue of whether a certain piece of writing measures up. That said, many scholars and editors define “plain language” generally as text that is easily understandable to a broad audience—and quickly, too.

For government institutions or businesses, this means that plain language enables people to help themselves by accessing information without turning to outside guidance and resources. (Perhaps this is why lawyers are so slow to embrace it.) And surprisingly, public communications from the US government have been known to exemplify plain language. Agencies such as the IRS have sought to clarify their communications for decades, so instead of sending out letters that are walls of text made from bricks of bureaucratese, the IRS uses plain English coupled with thoughtful formatting — like presenting information in a frequently-asked-questions layout using personal pronouns (“What Do I Have to Do to Avoid a Penalty?”). 

The benefits of this approach are concrete and measurable. The Plain Language Act, which President Obama signed in 2010, requires "clear Government communication that the public can understand and use." And it’s already produced rewards:

Every several years the Veterans Benefits Administration writes a letter to all veterans asking them to update their listing of beneficiaries in VBA's files. If a veteran dies without a valid beneficiary listed, VBA staff must locate and identify one. VBA was getting a response rate of about 43% to its letter. They rewrote the letter in plain language, and the response rate rose to 65%. This saved VBA about $4.4 million in staff time. (Source: PlainLanguage.gov)

Next week I’ll share some of my favorite strategies for direct and effective writing.