What is plain English?

Over the last two decades, a ‘culture of clarity’ has been gaining ground in many large organisations around the English-speaking world. In the United Kingdom, government departments, banks, insurance companies, local councils and others have come to realise that clear communication is actually a good idea. Instead of writing to impress or confuse, they are now writing to inform and explain. They are using plain English to do this.

So what exactly is plain English?

Let's get rid of some myths first. Plain English is not abrupt, rude, ugly, ungrammatical or childish. Nor does it involve over-simplifying or 'dumbing down' the message so that it loses precision, force or effect.

Plain English is any message, written with the reader in mind, that gets its meaning across clearly and concisely so the reader can take the appropriate action.

How do you write it?

To write in plain English you first need to put yourself in your reader's shoes. Then you need to decide exactly what you want to say and what you want the reader to do as a result of your message.

There are a few simple techniques for writing clearly. Use:

• short sentences
• everyday words
• personal words (such as 'I', 'we', and 'you').

Then write as concisely and directly as you can.

So why doesn't everybody write in plain English?

A lot of people do. Most major banks, building societies and insurance companies use plain English. So do most local authorities and government departments. They've realised it's the modern way to write. Customers expect to be treated with respect, and part of that respect is to write to them in plain English.

Even these organisations don't manage to write every document in plain English. They can achieve this with high-profile ones such as product brochures, leaflets, and some of their standard letters. But every day their writers generate many thousands of one-off letters and emails that are nothing like as clear as their mainstream documents.

Creating a 'plain English' organisation doesn't happen overnight. But if you invest the time and effort to train your staff and improve your documents, the rewards are immense. Click here or on the 'business case' link to the left to find out more.

© The Word Centre 2005