Tag Archives: plain

Resources to learn plain language writing

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A colleague of mine in another country wants to improve her report writing and writing for the web. She works in a government water & sanitation project. English is not her first language. She has a number of audiences she must write for, via various reports, briefing papers, project reports and the web: donors (mostly foreign governments), other government offices in her own country, the media in her own country and residents of her country, especially those her office is trying to help.

I think resources on plain language are the best guidance for writers anywhere. I use my journalism training and experience, which was steeped in plain language, to write reports, and at UN offices, I got a tremendous amount of great feedback from colleagues about my reports, along the lines of “Wow, I could understand this!”

Here are the free online resources I’m recommending to my colleague. Note that some of these resources link to even more resources:

  • Communicate Health, a health education and communication firm specializing in improving health literacy through user-centered design, research, and content development. Resources promote usability and accessibility of public health materials.

What would YOU recommend for my colleague? Say what you would recommend in the comments.

Also see:

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awards for plain language

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Earlier this month, the Center for Plain Language named 14 winners at the 2018 ClearMark Awards. These awards recognize effective plain language writing and information design that help people find information, understand it, and act confidently based on what they’ve learned. As with every year, the winners include a range of communication materials, from a knee surgery decision aid to a law school’s bylaws—and a newsletter I’m quite fond of, called We ❤Health Literacy.

Here is what the Center for Plain Language says about plain language:

A communication is in plain language if its wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended readers can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information.

The definition of “plain” depends on the audience. What is plain for one audience may not be plain at all for another audience.

Our measure of plain language is behavioral: Can the people who are the audience for the material quickly and easily:

  • Find what they need
  • Understand what they find
  • Act on that understanding

Plain language is more than just short words and short sentences – although those tactics are important guidelines for clear communication. When you create material in plain language, you also organize it logically for the audience. You consider how well the layout of your pages or screens works for the audience. You anticipate their questions and needs.

When people have complimented me for my communications abilities, whether writing press releases or editing a massive United Nations report or writing a technical manual on how to use an online tool, I say thank you and, if I think they might care to know it, that it’s a dedication to plain language that makes me a good communicator.

I’m on a constant quest to improve my communications skills, and learning from plain language communicators has been better than any course I have ever taken since my journalism classes back at Western Kentucky University a million years ago. I loathe jargon, text and graphics that are more about making the author or host look important or an expert than trying to help people connect with an idea, change a mind, encourage a new way of doing something, etc.