1. We spoke about Plain English writing in class. Please answer the following in detail:
a. How would you explain to someone what “Plain English writing” is? (4 Marks)
Based on what we discussed in class, this is how I would explain plain English writing to someone:
Plain English allows readers to understand our message quickly and easily by being clear, concise and correct (Briscoe, W8 – A – Plain Language Writing (W25).pdf, Slide 3). It is writing for the modern consumer so that they understand message as quickly as possible without getting lost. Plain English writing is not about “dumbing it down”, it’s about respecting the reader and getting them from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible. The goal of plain English writing is to allow readers to:
1. Find what they need
2. Understand it
3. Use it to fulfill their purpose
(Briscoe, W8 – A – Plain Language Writing (W25).pdf, Slide 18)
In marketing, we use this to write everything from emails to web content. The point is not to “shorten” the text, it is to remove the fluff and express exactly what we need to express in as little words as possible that will take as little time as possible for our readers to process and understand. Plain English writing is written specifically for the audience and medium (which will vary), but it still fulfils the same purpose, which is to respect the reader. To write effectively in plain English writing, we must first take the time to deeply understand our audience. You need to know:
- Who is your audience
- What do they already know
- What do they still need to know
- What are you going to write to get them there
(Briscoe, W8 – A – Plain Language Writing (W25).pdf, Slide 29)
Once we’ve answered these questions, we can write to fit the needs of our audience and help them find what they need, understand it, and use it to fulfil their purpose.
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