Introduction to Plain Language

Federal Communicators NetworkApril 16, 2012

Dr. Annetta L. CheekPosted to Slideshare with the permission of the author

INTRODUCTION

Goals of this session

1. Understand what plain language is

2. Learn a few plain language techniques

3. Learn about the 2010 Plain Writing Act

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1. What is plain language?

What is plain language?

Material is in plain language if your intended audience can

• Find what they need• Understand what they find• Use it to fulfill their needs

And they should be able to do that the first time they read it!

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• The concept of audience is very important.

• Plain language is not the same for all audiences.

2. Benefits of plain language

• Plain language saves time and money for both the author and the audience. • Plain language also results in better compliance with instructions. • Plain language delivers better customer service. • Writing clearly makes you look smarter.

We have lots of information about bottom-line savings from plain language in the public and private sectors.

Canadian government

• An extensive project revising forms into plainer language and format.

• As a result, they saved time for their agencies and achieved a higher rate of compliance with requirements.

Name of Form Original Version

Plain Language Version

Operating Grant Application(Processing Time)

20 minutes 3 minutes

Grant Report(Submission Rate) 25% 50%

Order Form(Error Rate) 40% 20%

Veterans Benefits Administration

• Veterans Benefits Administration letter to all veterans, asking for an up-to-date beneficiary.

• The VA must find a valid beneficiary if none is listed.

• It costs several thousand dollars to find a valid beneficiary.

Response rate

Original letter

35%

Plain language letter

58%

Estimated savings

$8 mil every mailing

cycle

Higher response rate, lower costs

• Revised regulations about radio operations on pleasure boats to improve their clarity.

• A Washington-based firm studied the ability of users to find answers to questions in the old and new versions.

• The test groups included both new and experienced users.

Federal Communications Commission

Less time for users to solve a problem (in minutes)

Type of User Old Rule New Rule

Experienced 2.43 1.50

Inexperienced 3.51 1.73

FCC pleasure boat radio regulation

Private sector• Research project to study the effects of using

plain language on the performance of a financial services company, BANCO.

• The researcher translated scripts used by BANCO's service staff to answer customer questions over the phone.

• Two groups of 30 subjects – one used the original document, the other the plain language version. (Neither had experience with the topic covered by the document.)

• The plain language group was 61.2% more satisfied with their documents than the original document group.

• The plain language group preferred all aspects of their documents.

• The plain language group said their documents improved their ability to find, understand and use information required for their jobs.

• The plain language group was 61.2% more satisfied with their documents than the original document group.

• The plain language group preferred all aspects of their documents.

• The plain language group said their documents improved their ability to find, understand and use information required for their jobs.

Productivity ↑ 36.9%

Errors ↓ 77.1%

Number of calls to help desk ↓ 17.4%

Length of calls to help desk ↓ 10.5%

Predicted improvements based on the two sample groups

More info about benefits

• http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/kimble/dollars.htm

• http://www.plainlanguage.gov/whyPL/benefits/index.cfm

• http://www.plainlanguage.gov/whyPL/benefits/bottomline.cfm

• Watch for a new book from Prof. Joe Kimble next fall from Carolina Academic Press, updating the first reference above.

3. Plain language techniques

Use

1. Logical organization

2. Informative headings

3. Active voice and other strong verbs

4. Pronouns

5. Lists and tables

6. Common words

7. Well organized, reasonably short sentences

Use Logical organization

• Organize the material in the way the reader needs it.

• If you are discussing a process, often a chronological organization will work best.

•Headings help your reader navigate through the document.

•Avoid vague headings like “general” and “introduction.”

•Often question headings – if they are the reader’s questions – work best.

Use Informative headings

Use Active Voice • Verbs are the strongest words in English.

They give your writing power.

• Use strong ones – active voice and simple tenses.

• Passive voice makes your writing weak and confuses the reader about who is doing what.

Use Pronouns

• Using pronouns pulls your readers into the document.

• Use “you” for the reader

• “I” in question headings

• “We” for your organization

Lists and tables

• These devices help clarify complex information.

• Make sure your list items are parallel and follow the lead-in grammatically.

• If-then tables are the most useful table type.

Use Common Words

• Use words your reader is likely to know. Here’s a fun but not scientific way to check how common a word is –

http://www.wordcount.org/main.php

• I recommend you don’t go past 4 or 5000.

Use reasonably short sentences

• For written material, average sentence length should be 20 words or fewer.

• No sentence should be longer than 40 words.

• And these numbers should be smaller for web pages.

Avoid

1. Abbreviations, jargon, legal terms, Latin

2. Confusing constructions

3. Noun strings

4. Unnecessary words

5. Information the audience doesn’t need

Habits to avoid

• Abbreviations, jargon, legal terms, Latin – Readers hate abbreviations more than anything else. Jargon, legal terms, and Latin make your writing pretentious and hard to read.

• Confusing constructions – Avoid confusing readers by placing modifiers correctly; avoid slashes – apart from fractions, slashes have no good uses. (That means no “and/or”!!!)

Habits to avoid, 2

• Noun strings – These are 3 or more nouns sandwiched together. Readers find them very confusing. (Attention consumer notices)

• Unnecessary words – This is the big challenge of plain language. There are many factors that can indicate excess words:

Habits to avoid, 3 (excess words)

• Redundancies – instead of “at a later time” just say “later”

• Hidden verbs – These are verbs turned into nouns. Instead of “conduct an analysis” say “analyze”

Habits to avoid, 4 (excess words)

• Prepositional phrases. Many constructions that introduce excess verbiage involve prepositional phrases, so check every one and see if you can shorten it.

• For the purpose of • For, to

• Level of coverage

• Coverage

• In relation to

• About, in, with

• On the grounds that

• Because

• On a monthly basis

• Monthly

Instead of Use

Habits to avoid, 5 (excess words)

Habits to avoid, 6 (excess words)

• Excess modifiers – Avoid unnecessary modifiers such as “really” and “very.”

• Doublets and triplets – You don’t need both “knowledge” and “information.”

• Meaningless formal language – All that stuff at the beginning and end of your letters that no one reads. Why say “We are writing to tell you . . .” – they know you are writing, they’re holding your letter!

Habits to avoid, 7

• And one of the most insidious bad habits of bureaucratic writers– Information your reader doesn’t need, but you just have to tell them.

• This is a very hard habit to break—and you will meet lots of resistance.

General wordy phrase help

For a list of wordy phrases and suggested alternatives, see:

http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/wordsuggestions/simplewords.cfm

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Let’s look at a few samples

Veteran’s Benefits letter

Original: If you disagree with this disallowance and believe the evidence now of record is sufficient for us to award you benefits, please refer to the enclosed VA Form 1-4107, Notice of Procedural and Appellate Rights, which explains your rights to appeal.

Plain language: If you think we shouldn't have turned down your claim, you should write and tell us. We've attached a form, which explains your rights.

RegulationOriginal: The amount of expenses reimbursed to a claimant under this subpart shall be reduced by any amount that the claimant receives from a collateral source in connection with the same act of international terrorism. In cases in which a claimant receives reimbursement under this subpart for expenses that also will or may be reimbursed from another source, the claimant shall subrogate the United States to the claim for payment from the collateral source up to the amount for which the claimant was reimbursed under this subpart.

Plain language: If you get a payment from a collateral source, we will reduce our payment by the amount you get. If you get payments from us and from a collateral source for the same expenses, you must pay us back the amount we paid you.

Sign at a US Embassy entrance

Original:•In order to ensure everyone's safety and to ensure that security screening does not delay entrance in to the Consulate and planned interviews, no electronic devices, including cell telephones, may be brought into the Embassy or Consulate. Large backpacks, suitcases and glass containers are also not permitted. Security personnel will not store items for applicants and will confiscate all weapons. We therefore suggest that all such items be left at home, in a locked car, or with a friend or relative who remains outside the premises.

•Documents relevant to the visa and/or passport application are the only items that we encourage applicants to bring with them.

•Your cooperation will help to ensure everyone's safety and will help us to ensure that we are able to interview you as quickly as possible.

Plain language: To ensure everyone's security and speed processing, you may not bring the following items into the Consulate:

• electronic devices, including cell telephones

• large backpacks and suitcases

• glass containers

• weapons of any type

Staff at the gate cannot store any items for you.

Medicaid instructionOriginal: Apply if you are aged (65 years old or older), blind, or disabled and have low income and few resources. Apply if you are terminally ill and want to receive hospice services. Apply if you are aged, blind, or disabled; live in a nursing home; and have low income and limited resources. Apply if you are aged, blind, or disabled and need nursing home care, but can stay at home with special community care services. Apply if you are eligible for Medicare and have low income and limited resources.

Plain language: You may apply for Medicaid if you are:•Terminally ill and want hospice services; •Eligible for Medicare and have low income and limited resources; or•65 years old or older, blind, or disabled and have low income and few resources and

– Live in a nursing home; or– Need nursing home care but can stay at home with

special community care services.

Resources

• NIH plain language training on the web

• Plainlanguage.gov

• Federal plain language guidelines

• Center for Plain Language

annettalcheek@gmail.com

The Plain Writing Act

• Act was signed by President Obama on October 13, 2010.

What’s covered

Covered Document - means any document that--

• People need to get a Federal benefit or service or that provides information about those benefits or services.

• People need to file taxes.• Explains to the public how to comply with a

requirement the Federal Government administers or enforces.

Covered documents

• Include paper or electronic letters, publications, forms, notices, or instructions.

• Unfortunately, they do not include regulations.

What’s the public?

• The public includes an agency’s audience.• “Public” is not restricted to the general public.

Definition of “plain writing”

• `Plain writing' means writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience.

What the President’s office had to do

• By April 13, 2011, the Office of Management and Budget (the President’s extended staff) had to issue guidance on implementing the Act.

• Read the full guidance at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2011/m11-15.pdf

President’s office (2)

• The Director of OMB was allowed to designate a lead agency or interagency working groups to help with the guidance.

• OMB designated the federal plain language working group as the lead for guidance under the Act. See their site at www.plainlanguage.gov

OMB’s Guidance

• Besides reiterating the requirements of the Act, some important points in the guidance are that it--

OMB’s Guidance 2

• Designates PLAIN as the official interagency working group that will help with guidance.

• This made the group official—after 15 years of operation. It’s still unfunded. That’s not necessarily a bad thing--when no one funds you, no one gets to tell you what to do.

OMB’s Guidance 3

• Tells agencies to use the Federal Plain Language guidelines as the guidelines to be followed in implementing the Act – or if they write their own, to base them on those guidelines.

• Again, those unofficial guidelines from the voluntary federal group are now official federal guidelines. We’ll talk about them in a moment.

OMB’s Guidance 4• Tells agencies that the senior official

responsible for the program should have cross-cutting responsibilities within the agency; oversee agency programs, personnel, technology, regulations, or policy; and be involved in agency communications.

• This is an attempt to ensure that agencies

appoint officials with enough authority to make the program work.

What agencies had to do by July 13, 2011

• Designate 1 or more senior officials to oversee implementation.

• Tell employees about the requirements. • Train employees in plain writing.• Establish a process to oversee ongoing

compliance.

What agencies had to do by July 13, 2011 (2)

• Designate at least 1 person to receive and respond to public input.

• Create an easily-found section of the agency's website to tell the public about the agency’s program and to receive and respond to public input.

What agencies had to do by October 13, 2011

• Start using plain writing in every covered document of the agency that the agency issues or substantially revises.

So where are we now?

• Many agencies have a designated official.• Many agencies have started training

employees.• A few agencies have a written plan. • Some agencies haven’t even heard of the

Act yet. • http://www.plainlanguage.gov/plLaw/

fedGovt/index.cfm has a not-quite up-to-date list of agency websites and contacts.

Wrap up