Back on June 7, 2012 I blogged about Writing simply and clearly – brief and detailed advice. In that post I mentioned that the U.S. government has a web site on Plain Language. They have a web page with a download link to their 118-page .pdf of the 2011 Federal Plain Language Guidelines. I looked for a briefer description of this topic and found one, which can be applied to the process of speech writing.
The U. S. National Institutes of Health has a web page titled Plain Language: Getting Started or Brushing Up. There is a downloadable 13-page .pdf version. The document has five sections titled:
Before You Start Writing
Connecting with your Readers
Presenting Your Information
Formatting and Visual Clarity
Testing and Revising
It concludes with A Plain-Language Checklist for Reviewing Your Document:
Do I know my audience?
Consider your potential readers.
Evaluate the needs of your readers.
Engage your audience.
Did I organize my document or product for my reader?
Provide a clear take-away message.
Put your main message first.
Answer their questions.
Have I used an easy-to-read style?
Use first-person and second-person pronouns when appropriate.
Use familiar, concrete, non-technical words.
Consider whether each adjective and adverb adds meaning.
Have I written this as concisely as possible and kept the message?
Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
Write sentences focused on one idea.
Have I used the right visuals?
Use Illustrations or visuals.
Use typography and white space appropriately.
Have I written in the active voice?
Use the active voice wherever possible.
Did I make my document ‘skimmable’?
Use headings.
Use vertical lists (numbers or bullets).
There also is a useful Plain Language Word List which can be downloaded elsewhere as an 18-page .pdf file.
A cartoon of a busy businesswoman is from Wikimedia Commons.
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