OUR PLAIN ENGLISH APPROACH

SOME OF OUR FAVORITE PLAIN ENGLISH INSIGHTS

"There is a time and place for elaborate, complicated language that is open
to interpretation; the kind of language more typically found in literature.
Business documents, on the other hand, should always aim for clarity.

And I do not appear to be alone in being frustrated by documents that
overcomplicate because there’s a rapidly growing interest in the business
world in what’s called “plain language,” or “plain English.” Plain English
doesn’t mean language that “dumbs down” the message though; plain
English means using language that clarifies meaning."

From Financial Post article by Dr. Sandra Folk, The Language Lab.

"Plain language, also called plain English, is language that everyone in your
audience can easily understand. Clear writing in plain language saves time,
money, and lives. You need plain language whether you're preparing a legal
brief, writing a procedure, designing a brochure, running a business,
publishing a newsletter, managing a department, maintaining a
Web site, or training workers."

Plain Language Association International (PLAIN)

"Writing in plain language is hard work. ... it’s far easier for writers
to trot out pages and pages of turgid writing. The web is full of it. It is
much harder to turn this into something that is clear and concise,
informative and precise. Ask any writer who has tried."

4 Syllables

“It is much harder to simplify than to complicate. Anybody can take
the sludge from books, thicken it with a few more provisions, and leave
it at that. Only the best minds and best writers can cut through. In short,
writing simply and directly only looks easy. It takes skill and work
and fair time to compose . . .”

Joseph Kimble. “Answering the Critics of Plain Language.”
Article from Vol.5 of The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing (1994-1995).
http://www.blm.gov/nhp/main/regtest/kimble.html
http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/kimble/

"... contrary to prevailing wisdom, increasing the complexity of a text
does not cause an essay’s author to seem more intelligent. In fact, the
opposite appears to be true. ...write clearly and simply if you can, and
you’ll be more likely to be thought of as intelligent"

Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective
of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly
Daniel Oppenheimer, Associate Professor, Princeton University
http://personal.stevens.edu/~ysakamot/730/paper/simple%20writing.pdf

"Executives and managers at every level are prisoners of the notion that
a simple style reflects a simple mind. Actually a simple style is the result
of hard work and hard thinking; a muddled style reflects a muddled
thinker or a person too dumb or too lazy to organize his thoughts."

William Zinsser. On Writing Well, An Informal
Guide to Writing Nonfiction, Third Edition, page 154.

"If you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well.
Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and
may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone.
Everything should be as simple as it can be, yet no simpler."

Albert Einstein
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/quotes/science.cfm

"Any darn fool can make something complex;
it takes a genius to make something simple."

Pete Seeger

“Whatever can be said, can be said clearly."

Ludwig Wittgenstein