Federal Plain Language Guidelines
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- Navigate this page:
- Chronological organization
- General first, exceptions, conditions, and specialized information later
- Limit levels to three or fewer
- Address separate audiences separately
- Sources
II. OrganizeOrganization is key. Start by stating the document’s purpose and its bottom line. Eliminate filler and unnecessary content. Put the most important information at the beginning and include background information (when necessary) toward the end. a. Organize to meet your readers’ needsPeople read documents and visit websites to get answers. They want to know how to do something or what happens if they don’t do something and they want to gain this knowledge quickly-. Organize your document to respond to these concerns. Think through the questions your audience is likely to ask and then organize your material in the order they’d ask them. For regulations and other complex documents, create a comprehensive table of contents. Your table of contents should be a reliable road map that users can follow to quickly find the information they need. Chronological organizationRegulations frequently address processes. Chronological organization is best for process information: you fill out an application to get a benefit; you submit the application; the agency reviews the application; the agency makes a decision on the application. Present the steps chronologically, in the order your user and your agency will follow them. The table of contents below is organized in a logical sequence for a grant program.
General first, exceptions, conditions, and specialized information laterAnother useful organizing principle is to put general information first, with specialized information or exceptions to the general information later. That way the material that addresses most readers in most situations comes first. For some documents, this will work well along with a chronological organization. In others, it may be the primary organizing principle. Here’s an example of an administrative regulation that combines both organizing principles:
Limit levels to three or fewerCrafting documents with four, five, or even more levels makes it difficult for your audience to keep track of where they are in the structure of your document. You should address this problem in your initial structuring of the document. Dividing your document into more pieces at the top levels should allow you to limit subdivisions below the major level to two. The Office of the Federal Register recommends that regulations contain no more than three levels, noting that more than three levels make regulations hard to read and use. Address separate audiences separatelyIf you have more than one audience for your document, address each one separately. No one wants to have to wade through material meant for someone else. For more discussion of this issue, see the section Address separate audiences separately. SourcesKimble, Joseph, Lifting the Fog of Legalese, 2006, Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC, p. 70 (C). Murawski, Thomas A., Writing Readable Regulations, 1999, Carolina Academic Press Durham, NC, pp. 3-5. Office of the Federal Register, Document Drafting Handbook, 1998, §1-23, www.archives.gov/federal-register/write/handbook/ddh.pdf. Redish, Janice C., How to Write Regulations and Other Legal Documents in Clear English, 1991, American Institutes for Research, Washington, DC, pp. 12-21. Securities and Exchange Commission, Plain English Handbook, 1998, Washington, DC, p. 15.
b. Address one person, not a groupRemember that even though your document may affect a thousand or a million people, you are speaking to the one person who is reading it. When your writing reflects this, it’s more economical and has a greater impact. Singular nouns and verbs prevent confusion about whether a requirement applies to individual users or to groups. In the following example, the user might think that each applicant must file applications at several offices.
In addressing a single person, you can avoid awkwardness by using “you” to address the user directly, rather than using “he or she” or “his or her.”
SourcesGarner, Bryan A., Legal Writing in Plain English, 2001, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, p. 114. Murawski, Thomas A., Writing Readable Regulations, 1999, Carolina Academic Press Durham, NC, p. 70. Wydick, Richard, Plain English for Lawyers, 5th edition, 2005, Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC, p. 62.
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