Using Plain Language: 7 Tips to Make Your Writing Pop

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your writing right away, one of the best places to start is by using plain language.

So…What is Plain Language?

“Plain language” is a term often used by professional writers to describe writing that is easily understood by most people the first time they read it. In other words, it’s writing that isn’t unnecessarily complex, wordy, or full of terms and phrases that make people scratch their heads.

The idea of using plain language is to simplify: eliminate extra words, remove jargon and abbreviations, and use active verbs and phrases. Done well, using plain language can make your writing feel more conversational, engaging, and action-oriented. Basically, plain language is the opposite of legal language or dense technical writing.

While some writing may necessarily require more complex terms and phrases, in most cases you’ll want to aim for the plain language approach. It’s easier to understand and more enjoyable to read. It gives people what they want!

How do I write in Plain Language?

There are many different techniques you can use, but I have narrowed down the list to seven key areas where writing is strengthened with a simpler, plainer approach. Review the graphic here for examples or scroll below for a quick explanation of each of the seven areas.

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1. Use Simple Words and Phrases

Start by using words and phrases that aren’t hard to understand or that use extra words to make sense. For example, we often hear the phrase, “due to the fact that…” You’ll notice that phrase requires five words. Why not just say, “because”? They mean the same thing, but “because” is much easier to read and understand. Likewise, avoid words that people aren’t all that familiar with or rarely use. For example, “money” is a far easier word for most people to understand than “remuneration,” so stick with “money.” See graphic above for how to replace common complex phrases or words for simpler ones.

2. Avoid Jargon

“Jargon” is a word we use to describe industry-specific terms and phrases. We often use jargon to communicate complex ideas to people within our industry. While it makes sense in some cases to use jargon, if you’re communicating to a general audience, jargon can be difficult to understand and frustrating to read and listen to. Fancy, complex words won’t typically impress or clarify; they’ll just annoy. Replace words like “padagogical heuristic” with “hands-on learning tool” or “myocardial infarction” with “heart attack.” Don’t those second terms sound much better?

3. Modify Carefully

In grammar, we use the phrase “misplaced modifier” or “dangling modifier” to describe terms and phrases that accidentally create double meanings and ambiguity. A “modifier” is a word or clause that “modifies” the subject. For example, if you say, “I wore a green jacket,” the word “green” modifies the word “jacket.” That’s fairly straightforward and there isn’t really much ambiguity. But…what if you write a newspaper headline that says, “Miners Refuse to Work after Death”? The title meant to suggest that, after a death in the mine, other miners refused to continue working. But the phrase “after death” is placed in an awkward spot, making it sound like miners won’t work after they die! Fix that title by saying, “After Death in Mine, Miners Refuse to Work.” See graphic above for more ways to fix dangling modifiers.

4. Reduce Abbreviations and Acronyms

In general, abbreviations and acronyms become difficult for people to remember, especially if you use several in the same document. If you belong to an organization titled American Education Association of Teachers and Administrators, you might want to use the acronym AEATA throughout your document. But…what if you have an event in the same document—the International Gathering for Educational Fundraising Leaders (IGEFL). If you start putting these acronyms throughout your document, the reader will get frustrated, having to keep checking and trying to remember which acronym refers to which organization.

That said, sometimes it makes sense to use abbreviations, especially if they’re common. For example, we all know what the FBI is. No need to spell that one out. Follow these three guidelines:

• Use nicknames instead of acronyms. If you are discussing several organizations, consider referring to each by something meaningful. For the example above, instead of AEATA, you might say “The Association” and for the event, you might say “The Gathering.” These words actually mean something and they’ll make more sense than the acronym.
• If you must use an acronym, spell it out first. If you decide you absolutely must use an acronym in your document, make sure you write out the entire words of the acronym the first time you use it, then put the acronym in parentheses. Afterwards, just use the acronym. Fore example: “We collaborated with the Organization for Workplace Safety Policies (OWSP) to establish new protocols. The OWSP was incredibly helpful in gathering important research.”
• Don’t explain common abbreviations. If you’re discussing a topic or organization that has a familiar acronym (like FBI, NASA, DNA, PhD, p.m.) you don’t need to spell it out. Only spell out the ones that may be confusing or unfamiliar to your reader.

5. Get Rid of Noun Strings

Noun strings are collections of three or more nouns in a row, making it difficult to determine what is a noun and what is an adjective. For example, you name an organization the “Customer Improvement Relationship Program,” you’ve added four nouns in a row. That becomes difficult to read as people get hung up on which word is most important. If you rephrase to say, the Program for Improving Customer Relationships, it’s easier to understand that this program is about improving relationships, rather than improving customers.

6. Aim for Active Voice

“Active voice” refers to language that actively puts the verb by the subject, making it clear who is doing the action. Passive phrases like “it was determined that the data was inaccurate” don’t clearly define who did the action. Who, after all, determined that the data was inaccurate? Rather, if you put the subject next to the verb and say, “researchers determined the data was inaccurate,” the action becomes clearer. The sentence becomes active.

While writers sometimes use passive voice intentionally to shift action away from a specific person, active voice is usually preferred by most readers because it’s clearer and more direct. Aim for active voice whenever you can.

7. Remove Hidden Verbs

Lastly, avoid “hiding” verbs by turning the most important verb into a noun. For example, nouns that end in “-ment,” “-tion,” “-sion,” and “-ence” are often better used in their verb form. Saying, “Please fill out an application for a loan” turns the word “apply” into “application,” which requires more words (“fill out an”) for the sentence to make sense. Plus, it places the action on “fill out,” when you’ll likely want to place the action on “apply.” Rephrase to say “Please apply for the loan.” You’ll see that the second sentence is shorter, more action-oriented, and more clear. See more examples in graphic above.