aybe this has happened to you: you've decided to move;vour retifement funds from youremployer's pian io another financiai institution. You've been told it's a siinple paper transferollover. fou get the paper.work. Tlee instruetions are noL simple at all. You cali tire account

rnana1er at your forrner employer ancl a-sk trer to help you fili ou1- tire forms. Even she gets confu,sed.

do 1'e11r best and rnaii the papers to the 403b agency. Three weeirs iater, ihey're returned to you. Thesays the fornes were not filled oui properly. You inake another attemp[, tils time consulting witbr,vouradvisor. Yor.l send orT the papers again. Another three weeks pass, anci ddj) vu-they're bacl< irr i'our tagain. l!ow- the eoler letter says one of the forrns is noi eomplete. Yiru rnust fill jn the missing in tolt

is,so

re-sign airci re-d,ate ever-ything. Ybu are feeling like /ob, bu'r you paiientl;v ma,ii ihe papers agair'"Tv,'o

and you get a phone eall. The tormer retireineni. plan eoordir.rator still has oire iTrore questio n for {o1ranswer it arrd al1er you hang up yoLt wond,er-whaf is going on herel

Avi Arditti, an editoi."at lioice of A.merica (VOA), iaughs rvhen he hears [his story-. V'&at's goingw-riiing, or morf acci,iraiel7, the lack r:f it. "You recognize it wiren )iou dorit see it," says Arditti, v'ho rs

irr the plain language mo-trement"

The lack of clear writing is a big issue right now-big f<rr governinent, big fur business, andbiganri- heaith professions. Foor writing creates unhappy cllstomers, a-qd costs orgariizatic-rns trme, mo a

sometimes lawsr,iits. For example, untrl 1973, when Citibanl.; revised the vrriting in its promissory not -iIll

company had spent a iot of tiine in smali ciaims court trying to collect on i,heil. It had aiscr spent a ioiiraiiriirg r:ustolnei'srrpport staff to anslver consumer qriestions about its forms and contracts (.l,lazrt-r,

Poor writing also costs lires (see "tsusiness Spotlight" article on Ctr-AD, p. i6).Good clear -writing, on ihe o'rher hand, does nore of these tiiings. Anii businesses are hu-ngry ior

ivith goocl writiilg skj1ls-businesses spend hillions annually on correcting nrrrting cleficiencies (C){'tfrA)

The plain langliage movement has been influential in helping governmeni, businesses, and irrdto write cleariy, that is, "to express ideas eoi'rectly, to express then-i weil, ancl to express them in a way tsense" (College Board, p. l9)" Ihis article explains wl"iat people rnean when they say "plainia.ngwage."

examines in more detail the impor"tanee of plain language in bu,siness and in the worl-place and.sugges

I

sirategies i-eacliers can use to encou-rage the deveiopmeni and pi'acticr: of clear writing si<ilis intheit

FFei* Lx*Sr*;i*Plain language

writing that putssidebar,"Plain Lan

FAQs"). Bypaying a

st1'le, structure, andlanguage documentinformation in a

readily understand (

that use plainwith customers save

and please and pers(Kimble, 1996-97).plain language docuinformation faster, uon the first try, andcorrectlywithout hcustomer service su

Plain languagea"dumbingdown""That's just a myth;'law professor at theLaw School in Lansilanguage is neither''baby talk'-that's jview," he says, "Plain

and effective commopposite of legalese."

teaches lawyers howclearly, says this abo

iiberate my studentsthevhave to sound

f6*s* t*q e*ri5* il!Plain writing is a

readable text. Bill Dulanguage consultant iCalifornia, puts it thithe reading level of(2) create texts for t

Understandreadabilitv. Aaffected by his or herbackground thetopic, and the persontopic. Creating textsreading ievei means

idea of readability.Readability refe

hard a document is

Ybu're probablyreadability, eithereducational backgrnoticed that Mic

t

* *f in*rja styie ofclearers first (see

rge: Tust theention to contenl,esign, a piain'ies to presentthat readers can

ig. 1). Businesses

e to communicat{roneyand time,de their readers

ustomers who re{dents can iocateerstand contentout forms

to call forrr t.

been criticized ag

information.ys Joe Kimble, a

homas M. Coolel':, Michisan. "Plailr

mbed down'northe cartoonishnguage is clear

ion-theimble,whownte morethat "I want to

m the idea thatc.

ut creatmga plain

Costa Mesa,

way: (1) find outrr audience, and

at that level.

levelandreading level is

bulary, thebrings to the

interest in ther a particular

rstanding the

to how easy orunderstand.

familiarwithuse ofvour

or because youWord automati-

cally calculates the ins level of a e

p

re

IS

1" ilclrt*ntl*'*s;Stat**:**c*ln*ti'urri*n*

3. sgr-ucCr.*r**lgnnie*e[':.r:il,*l'rer*ng rlJ,--.*.- -., lt *u.! l,-.i i:,1;;f; t:: l'Cr * i R ** d ;r* tr:r T'::*,r

: 6rigr.;r"t: l. Fr*;ntnres q}f Readatlle'Ibxt

Figure l. The features 0f readable text are listed in the order oftContent is most important, followed by style, structure, and des

, Note From "The Basics of Plain Language" by B. DuBay, B.

: Language at Work Newsletter. Retrieved November I0, 2004,I www.impact-information.c0m/impactinfo/newsletteriplworkl 1 . h

, with permission.

document afier you complete a spellingand grammar check. Word uses theFlesch scale, which bases readability onthe average sentence length in words andthe average word iength in syilables(other readability scales include Spache,

Dale-Chall, andFry INCTE, 1981])."Researchers have always said that wordlength and sentence length are the bestpredictors ofhowdifficult a document isto read," DuBay says.

To create a text that your audiencecan read, you must first know youraudience and purpose, and the readinglevel ofthat audience^

Identify audience readabilitylevels" Hoi.v do you find out the readinglevel ofyour audience? One way is to lookat what they read. If you're writing forother employees, for example, walkaround the bu ild ing and paF atteri tioit tothe size of their vocabuiary and the kincisof reading materials theyleave lyingaround the mailroom or cafeteria. Onceyou know what your audience reads, youcan gauge the readabilitylevels ofthosematerials and begin to create materiais atthat ievel.

Writing to readability levels can bechallenging. DuBay recommendsstudying and mimicking the sryle of

materials vsritierr ataudience needs. Foraudience is at the int9th-grade level, studwritten for those inBoth Reader's Digestalso written at thatpopular magazines

Iayout, type size, andas the tr:ne and laadjust readability i

the materiai. For exa

writing medical andtions, like ele.ratorpublic, write no highlevel.

Create readaeasy to read has ce

readability score) inwritten by avtiterpurpose anci audishort sentences rn

famiiiar words andvoice. The vrriting apfliendly tone, oflen u b

pronouns like you a

sounds human, andwords or unn )atthere neediess com ty.

uses

ete,

activeional yet

we Th wrltingextra

f

fyour7th-to-materialsschools.

are

withConsiderns, as wellBut also

rpose ofre

lnstruc-general

h-grade

that isbesides a

t's beent

conrplex informatiotables or charts, and

design eieir:ents (headilrgs, white space,

short paragrapl-rs, bol,Cface) and layouias iools for increasing cpmprehension(Smith, n.d.).

As l'-irnble puts it, f'Resist the urge tosounrj torma!" P.elax add be flatural (butnot too iriformall. you]r main goal is to

coilvei'y,,ur i,leas with fhe greatest

possi'bie clarity."Ybi,r can run readapiiity formulas on

ihe final te/t, trut note tFdt these formu-1as only predict readability. The ultimatetest of whether a dr:cun[6n1 is readable is

to iry it out on the inte4ded reader(l.lCTE, tgSi). "llVith $o much at stakelin mass documents, -wtry wouldn't yoritest the form or the lettEr crr the noticesthat you- sencl ou,t?" Kiilrble asks."Companies icrse tons of money Iwhenthey c{,3p';1 ."

l. ':.-:1., : : tr, : i

If coiopanies lose rIroneywhen theydistribute confi-rsing do6uments to theirclrstomer's, what cJo thcy Hain when theywrite docurneuts iit phin language? Doesplain langurge havr a cost benefiti

T'he ans-wer is " Yes"'] K imble's article'Writing lor Dollars, Writing ro Please"

lisir 25 e>,.ample, ol huw converting toplain language made good firrancial sense

and created better cLlstofner relations ingoverrrmerrt, business, arnd the legal andhealth professions. And firere's moreer.i dence frc' n rei^erences Du iiay collected :

The Ii.S. Departmerlt ofVeteransAffairs r€rrroie certain fbrm letters inplatniangsz"ge. They thqn tested the effectand lcr-Lnd that the new treiters reducedsupDori clils frum 1.5 per letter to 0.22per let tcr. The Depu rt rnent saved anesLimatei 540.000 ann Lralll.

Fcdcrll Express levised its ground^operalio,t rnanuals and saved an

estimated $400,000 the fir'st year"

Co, npu ter mai ru iaciurer Allen -

Bradie;' 19H,16te its manirals. Supportcalls decreased from 50/day to 2/nronthrDr-ri;ay, ii.cl.).

I i plaiir la nguage has so manybenefits. why isn t it morE cominon?(imble points to bad haf its and theoverrrhei r.a ing infl irence]of poor models.

"Lawyers have written poorly for fourcenturies," he says. "Lack ofgood traininghas been a problem for a long time, butin the last decade or so iaw schools havefinally started to improve their writingprograms."

Others offer different explanations"Some say that deadlines get in the way,and there's no time left to do a good edit.Sometimes people don't realize howunclear their writing really is (this usuallyhappens when writers forget to thinkabout their audience). Sometimes peoplefeel that if they write too plainly, theirpeers will think they're not smart. Yet noone ever complains that a document wastoo easy to read!

As businesses realize the cost of poorwriting and the benefits of plain, they areoffering or requiring training for saiaried

employees vrho have

Estimated trainingbillion annuaiiy (Co

The NationalWritingconducted a

leaders and asked tirnportance of writingThe titie of their reporWriting: A Ticket toOut (Fig.2).

According to theskills can make or bis not only a thresholdgatekeeper. A threshowriting skills can keepbeing hired. A gate

i

80

70 1

uol

o--oo .^o- 4U-

30

Figure 2. Letters A through E correspond to the percentages

A. Percent of companies that take writing into consideration whenmake promotion decisions

B. Percent 0f salaried employees in large American corporationsresponsibilities in their job

C. Percent 0f FIRE (service and finance, insurance, and real estate)assess writing during hiring

D" Percent of companies that "frequently" orE. Percent 0f companies that require training

deficiencies

"always" produce re

for salaried emp

ffofe. From "Writing: A Tic4et to Work . . . 0r a Ticket Ouf" by thesion on Writing, College Entrance Examination Board, 2004, Septe

10126104 f rom http://www.writingcomm issi0n.org/p rod_down I

writin g-ticketto-work.pdf

II.lol

0l

siness

a Ticket

tingWriting

use poormuse

mrs-

ml

I

ng

d until

the cfiarri;e in yo$i' enrollment status during This letisr is about the change in yo

ir :iepiember 1, 1996. lf the change was due cJuring ihe perioil that begari on Sebeynnd youi"$ontrol, please notify us as Because af this change, we may har

thei'wise , you m{y be held responsible for an than you were due.

What 0ur Heeords $howYou reducecl :four credit l-r0urs i'rOnihours on Nc'rienri.rerr 5, lggii.

What We trld

aclditicnai overp[yment of benefits.

cne 0r. more coufses on November 5, 1996

rri har; heen iedufed effective December 1,

We reduced )/our layments an [e$2t)2.C0 per nicnth. YcLr vyill receiveabout this cnange, The letter vyill s

debt.

::Wei: sitri has lot$ of resoui'ces. llere's how to get them:2

i;ncrLia,qe.ctov

ollrrr t

y0

rnt1 996.m0re

!pir'i ;*ti '1,,"i$:.f irr g ir,r'3r

"IPeoplej don't t ink of wriiing as democratie craft, lthey] think o{ it as a fineart," says Roy

Florida. "lf weClark, senior s holar at the Poynter lnstitute, St. Petersburg,

ht writing mcre s a democratic craft, then all writers wouldwrite vrtith g civic clarity, wha ever the audience happens to be."

Clark will be ng 25 years ith the Poynter lnstitute in 2005, and he wantsto celebrate. So

Writing Clearl1,."

anel the lnstitut are considering declaring 2005 "The Year ofguidelines:

' Control the e of infornrationi

Lift the heavy rgo out of text hnd into images. For example, instead ofwriting a pa raph of directi0nF on getting to your h0use, use a map.

r lntroduce di ult concepts onCI at a time.

repeat-ihe mo$t impodant stuff.r Repeat, rep

r Unclutter sto , paragrauhs, ahd sentences.

r Engage the in a conversqtion.

r Make judici

give them the

p.rod*

Plain I-anguage

specictlizinr incart he rencled via

conversation

Use only the

Translate jarg

use of the secold person (you, your). lt turns language into

st important numbers.

ray water, write, 'lln times of drought you may be wateringtreated sewage."

Charl a chro 0gy: teli things i11 the order they happened. Use words likeetc.first, next, the

, Keep the bor"i striff shrtrt.

r Reward the r er...after a borirlg paragraph, bring the writing back to iife.

Find the inicr the small world that represents the bigger world. Forr writing about flowntown redevelopment after the hurri-one place vou think represents everything else that's going

Hochhauser and

. Look for the man example.

Reveal the ic imparl of thq thing you're writing about. For example, ifwriting aboutyour lawn wi

example , if yo

cane, take me0n.

lf it's hard io derstand, let the feader in on it. Use this sentence: "Here's

format to explairi.

how it works."

or by pharrc ar 703.7.

tran"cferring yourone institution tostudents plain lan'well turn thcnr

nb

r'{**F,:; *itE:*1College Board,sion on Writing. (

Wr"iting: A ticlcetottt: A survey ofbirieved Octr:berww.w.writingcom

ticket-tc-wori<.DuBay, B. (n.d.)

\t{ritin,u,.ketrifioit irttp://wwwnelwori<.c,;rglki

\\azttr,lj. (2000).ianguage. Techn

Supporl for the leo.

English. R.etr:ieved

frotnhttp:llv.rwv'r.About_l'JC'fE/Iss

idetr,"ork. (n.d.)glance. In Plainlafools. F.etrie,zed

frorn http://wr,wir.

I l.lot her real name.I As of press times, ildiscontirrueci. See h

potential r-rpdartes.

Thanirs to readabiliry

scholar l)r. Ro-r Peter

conti'ibutecl to this

loame Lozar Glennand eriuctttor hased irt

funds froming

mayveryniuses, and

. or a ticketRe-

http://

ofptainr9,2004,

ts.htmfor dollars,

rnalofLegal4,2A04,ge

1.pdf

ton.

teaching ofr 19,2004,rarylfileslity.pdf

[ormationhata

language2004,

.gov

Marksenior

also

wrtterVirginia,

Shecom

t)

sl

in

lrtngnge.Itetrifrornhttp:l lvswvr. for-maticrn.com/iin

KimL,le, I.0996-9writing to please.

l,]etrieved l.lovem , fromhttp ://w',r,'v;.plainrevisiting.htm

/hotstuff/

l.lCTE {}'Tatir-rnal hers ofEngiish). (ie81). : Concep-tions and.misco TE:

www.adler17,20A4, httpJl

l:i:t., :i'-.-l'.

0rganizations

lnternational Assoc

p rofess io n ai's g u !de to

York: Perigree Books (a

Strunk, Jt-., i/V., et al. (

Longman Publishing

Arlicles and Reports

Baenen, J. i2004. Oct

berj. Writinc ; A {icket taIeaders. Retrieved

of Business Commi.lnicators, www.iabc.com

iation

iting better letters, Snemos, and reparts.Newivision of Putnam).

The elements of,style (Arh ed.). Essex, UK:

trk . . . or a ticket Qut: A survey of business26, 20A4,from http://www.writingcom-

plain language. ftchnical Cammunicati0n4, f rom http:/wwlru.plainlanguage.gov/

1 4). 9/1 1 report is up for Nationai Book Veterans Benefits Administiation. in.d.), 6Award. [Vashington Retrieved Novemb0r 17, 2004, from and typagraphy t0 create effective emphasis.Rwww.washingtonpostlang uage=pri nter

p-dvniA31 08720040ct1 3? 2004, f rom http://v'rww.plainlanguag

College Board, The Na al Commission on MVriting. (20M, Septern-Veterans Benefits Administration . (n.d.j. Testing

The National Commi on Writing, www.

and lnformationThe Plain Language

language.gov

The Plain Language

network.org

The Poynter lnstitute,

Reference Books

poynter.org

Flatiey, M., & Lesikar, R.

Skills far empoweringMcGravu-Hill Publishing

Schwart, H. (197S). ta look good an p4per: The business

the world. Clarity 47. Retrieved I'Jovember 17,

mission.org www.adler.dem on.co. uli/clarityldownioads/47. pdf

, www.plain- How-To

Canada National Literacy Secretariat. (1994). Plain

, www.plainlanguage- t rai n i n g. Retrieved Novem ber 4, f rom http ://wwwnetwork.0rg/plaintrainiindex. html

Federal Register. (n.d.). Drafting legal documents.4, 2 A 04, tron http://www,archives.

d raft in g_legal_d ocuments/draft ing_legal_

Plain Language Action and lnformation Network. (

plain English. Retrieved 0ctober 10, 2004, fromlanguage.gov/

Wagneq E. (2002). Editor's note: Plain language ca

Plain Language Action and lnformation Network. (

at a glance. ln Plain language: Plain languageNovern ber 1 0, 2004, f rom http ://www. plainlang

Plain Language Action and lnformation Network. (n

friendl.v documenfs. Retrieved Novemi:er 4, 2004,www. plainlan g uage. gov/handbook/i ndex. htm

Retrieved November 4, 2004, f rom http://wv'rwhowto/test.htm

Technology Toolsl

Bullf ighte12

"Stripping the Buil Out cf Business"Deloitte Consulting - http://www.deloitie.co0,2332,sid%3D27374,00.htm1

GoToMeeting"The hlext Generation in 0nline Meetings"

Citrix 0nline - http://www.gotomeeting.coml

lnspiration

A tool for developing ideas and organizing thinkingI nspi ration Software, I nc. - www. insp iration. com

Markin

RefWorks

Web-based database and bibliography creatorRefworks - www. refworks.com

1 This list does not imply an endorsement by eitherNBEA,2 As of press time, Bullfighter has been discontinueddeloitte.com for potential updates.

mission.org/'prod_downl i ng-ticket-to-work.pdf

Kimble, J. i2003,50. Retrieved Novemberclarity/downloads/50. pdf

Kimble, J. (2003, Aprii 1 \. Answering the c\tics of plain languageRetrieved November 4,

kimble/critics.htm, f rom www.plainlanguagenetwork.orgi

Kimble, J. (1s96*97). g for dollars, wrifiing to please. Scribesrieved November]+, :004, from http://

Retrieved November'1 9,

hotstuff/revisiting. htm

NCTE iNationai Council Teachers of . i1981). ReadabiliU:Conceptions and mi, ions. SLATE: for the learning andteaching of English. November 1 9, , from http://www.ncte.or pdf

Skelton, L. (2003, May). to be streetwise the audienceClarif,v 49 Retrieved hl

J o u rnal of Legal W riti ng.

. org/kim ble/1#ritirl g 1 .pd{

Kinsman, l.il. (2004, 3). Gootl (and bqd)writing skills standout in wcrkplace. Ifiefrom http:/lwww.si

-Tri b u n e. Retrieved November 17, 2004,ie0o. com/news/birsiness/kinsman/ Software for marking student writing; saves "com

20041 003-9S99-1 b ran.html Creative Technology Ltd. - http ://www.cict.coindex.htm

Mazur, B. (2000). Revisil

lei"). The elements 0f plain language. Ctarity7, 20A1,f rom http:{www.adler.demon.co.uk/