Overview
We serve our communities best when we communicate clearly, directly, and without frills. We owe it to the public to make it as easy as possible to understand and access government services. Dense, confusing text is one of the simplest obstacles to remove.
Problem
Government websites, forms, and other publications are often difficult to understand. Key information gets buried under technical details and jargon. This reinforces perceptions of government as opaque and inefficient.
Unnecessarily complex text creates barriers to public services for everyone, but especially for those with limited language skills, education, resources, and time. It also increases the workload for public servants due to time spent explaining and correcting misunderstandings.
Solution
Write in a way that your intended audience can easily understand. This means speaking directly, plainly, and leading with the most important information.
By taking the time to break complex policies and processes down to their essential parts and communicate them clearly, we show respect for the public and make it easier for everyone to access government services.
Context
Most government improvements are expensive and time consuming. Taking care to write simply costs nothing. Re-writing existing content to be more clear can be done iteratively, quickly, and at low or no cost. It does not require extensive prototypes, a large team, or specialized study. Everyone can — and should — learn to write more clearly.
In an era of growing expectations and increasingly constrained resources, communicating using plain language principles is low-hanging fruit that today’s government agencies should not ignore. A public policy, program or service is only as useful as how well (or not) it is communicated to that public.
Speaking plainly benefits everyone
Clear, simple writing is especially important when serving people with cognitive disabilities, those using assistive technology, people with low literacy skills, and English learners. But the dividends are not limited to those with special needs. These practices make government more accessible to everyone.
All of us have too much to read, too much to do, too much information coming at us on a daily basis. Just because someone has the education or ability to parse dense writing doesn’t mean they want to or have the time to do so. Surveys have shown that those who spend the most time dealing with complex information have the strongest preference for plain writing.
Less is more
Often, we try to preempt questions by providing as much information as possible.
This may manifest in lengthy technical definitions, detailed background explanations, or attempts to address every issue or objection. It backfires. Documents that strive to be comprehensive are usually too dense to be useful. When faced with “information overload,” most readers simply shut down.
It is our responsibility to distill the complexities behind our programs to their actionable core. It is crucial for people writing these documents to understand what information is immediately relevant and what is not. When we give people only the information they need to complete a task, we reduce support requests while increasing satisfaction and confidence in government.
Focus on impact
When deciding what information to include and what to leave out, focus on impact. Most people don’t need or want to know the reasoning behind every rule or the full backstory of a program, only how it affects them.
Consider why someone would seek out and read your document. What goal are they trying to accomplish, and what do they need to know to be successful? Put the most important information first. Omit unnecessary details.
Be conversational
Another common instinct is to convey authority by writing in a formal or bureaucratic tone. In practice this creates distance between ourselves and the people we serve. We show the most respect by communicating in a straightforward, conversational manner.
Speak directly to your audience, addressing them as “you.” Write in the active voice. Use a friendly, helpful tone: imagine you are speaking to your reader face-to-face. Read your draft out loud before publishing, and revise any parts that don’t sound natural. Remove acronyms or jargon that may be familiar to you but not to someone who doesn’t work for the government.
Make text scannable
Make it easy for people to find what they’re looking for and then take action.
- Use headings and bulleted lists to make content easy to scan.
- Stick to one idea per sentence.
- Keep paragraphs short.
- Use the simplest words possible to convey your message.
Mantras
- Opening up, not dumbing down
- Simple writing takes hard work
Checklist
- Put the most important information first.
- Make text scannable with clear headings and bulleted lists.
- Leave out information that does not help the reader complete their task.
- Keep sentences short and structure them simply.
- Use a conversational tone.
- Avoid acronyms, jargon, and technical language.
Questions to ask
- What is the person reading this trying to accomplish?
- Are we sharing this information because it is necessary or because we find it interesting?
- When we read this out loud, does it sound natural? Is it easy to follow?
- Are we using a two dollar word when a five cent word will do?
- Is there a way to say this more simply?
