Federal Plain Language Guidelines
I. Think about your audience
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I. Think about your audienceOne of the most popular plain language myths is that you have to “dumb down” your content so that everyone everywhere can read it. That’s not true. The first rule of plain language is: write for your audience. Use language your audience knows and feels comfortable with. Take your audience’s current level of knowledge into account. Don’t write for an 8th grade class if your audience is composed of PhD candidates, small business owners, working parents, or immigrants. Only write for 8th graders if your audience is, in fact, an 8th grade class. Make sure you know who your audience is – don’t guess or assume. a. Identify and write for your audienceYou have to grab your audience’s attention if you want to get your ideas across. Let’s face it, people want to know just what applies to them. The best way to grab and hold someone’s attention is to figure out who they are and what they want to know. Put yourself in their shoes; it will give you a new perspective. (Read Identify your users and their top tasks for more information.) Tell your audience why the material is important to them. Say, “If you want a research grant, here’s what you have to do.” Or, “If you want to mine federal coal, here’s what you should know.” Or, “If you are planning a trip to Rwanda, read this first.” Identifying your audience will do more than ensure that you write clearly. It will also help you focus on the audience’s needs. Start out by thinking about what your audience knows about the situation now. Then, think about how to guide them from their current knowledge to what you need them to know. To help you do this, try answering the following questions: Who is my audience? What does my audience already know about the subject? What does my audience need to know? What questions will my audience have? What’s the best outcome for my agency? What do I need to say to get this outcome? What’s the best outcome for our audience? What do I need to say to get this outcome?
Securities and Exchange Commission, Plain English Handbook, 1998, Washington, DC, p. 9. b. Address separate audiences separatelyAn important part of writing for your audience is addressing separate audiences separately. Many documents address more than one audience. Documents that mix material intended for different audiences may confuse readers. By addressing different audiences in the same place, you make it harder for each audience to find the material that applies to them. In regulations, this may make it difficult for each audience to comply with your agency’s requirements. The following example shows a regulation that treats each regulated group separately in its own subpart, rather than mixing all the groups together in the same subpart. For an example of a rule that does not address separate groups separately, see 5 CFR 1320 (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&rgn=div5&view=text&node=5:3.0.2.3.9&idno=5 this link takes a long time to load). Title 40 — Protection of Environment Chapter I — Environmental Protection Agency Part 745 — Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention In Certain Residential Structures * * *
Subpart E — Residential Property Renovation (Firms renovating structures) * * *
* * * Subpart F — Disclosure Of Known Lead-Based Paint And/Or Lead-Based Paint Hazards Upon Sale Or Lease Of Residential Property (Sellers/Lessors)
* * * Subpart L — Lead-Based Paint Activities (Training programs)
* * * Subpart Q — State And Indian Tribal Programs (States and Tribes) * * *
SourcesMurawski, Thomas A., Writing Readable Regulations, 1999, Carolina Academic Press Durham, NC, p. 4. Redish, Janice C., How to Write Regulations and Other Legal Documents in Clear English, 1991, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC, p. 17. Directory: howto howto -> Altiris Notification Server howto -> How To Write to the Display a quick nnansi tutorial The purpose of this tutorial is to illustrate the various ways programs can write to the display howto -> 3 Complete Business Forms and Approval Paperwork howto -> 8meh-r78bh-eyg8l-mlmva-z2rwy-gembr-aced 8meh-r9Q3v-zhn2T-92kcr-ayphr-yembr-aced howto -> How to prepare for an exam howto -> How to build a clock based program in Labview howto -> To Judge or Not to Judge Download 371.07 Kb. Share with your friends:
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