Purpose
What Is Plain English?
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Select simple words.
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Make lists.
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Keep sentences short.
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Refrain from giving unnecessary details.
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Cut down on jargon and use defined terms sparingly.
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Discard superfluous words.
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Reduce nominalizations.2
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Avoid weak verbs.
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Use the active voice with strong verbs.
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Be specific rather than general.
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Write personally, as if you were talking to the reader.
Knowing the Audience
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What are the demographics of the audience, e.g., age, education, and work experience?
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How familiar is the audience with technical terminology?
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What concepts can one safely assume the audience understands?
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How will the audience read the document for the first time? Will they read it straight through or will they skip to sections of particular interest? What data and information will they look for, and is it easy to find?
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How will the audience use the document?
Knowing the Information to Disclose
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Read and outline the current document.
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Read the table of contents to see if there is an obvious logical flow to the argument.
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Read the entire document without taking notes to gain a general understanding of the information presented.
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Read the entire document a second time, taking notes on what information is covered and what questions the target audience might have. The notes will show if the information flows through the document in logical order.
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As you read, consider the following: Will the audience understand the language? Does the document emphasize information of importance to the audience? Is any important information missing? Does the document include information that is not required and will not help the audience make informed decisions?
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Eliminate redundant information.
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Question the need for repeating any information. Reading similar material more than once bores—perhaps even troubles—readers.
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Readers skip over paragraphs they think they have read before.
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Discuss the executive summary.
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An executive summary is an inviting entryway to a document. It should orient the reader, highlighting the most important points that are presented in detail in the document.
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Many executive summaries seem as long as the document itself and all-too-often consist of paragraphs copied from the main text.
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Applying the Rule of 15
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Not more than 15% of sentences should be longer than 15 words.
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Not more than 15% of sentences should be written in the passive voice.
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Not more than 15% of words should be longer than three syllables.
Editing the Document
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Edit for overall structure.
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Edit for sequencing and logical flow within subsections.
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Edit for plain English.
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Edit for style conventions.
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Edit for typographical errors and punctuation.
Checking Microsoft Word’s Readability Statistics
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Flesch Reading Ease score > 50 (higher scores are easier to read).
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Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score < 12 (lower scores are easier to read).
Using Readability Formulas and Style Checkers
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Gunning Fog Index
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Juicy Studio
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Online-Utility