A Handbook for Writers In the U.S. Federal …

1 1 A Handbook for Writers In the Federal Government Richard Lauchman Plain Language 2 Plain Language A Handbook for Writers in the Federal Government Copyright 2001-2009 Richard Lauchman Lauchman Group 1324 Wild Oak Rockville, MD 20852 301-315-6040 Because Writing Clearly Matterssm This Handbook is intended to be used in conjunction with live instruction. Any other use is expressly encouraged, however, because better writing benefits everyone.

2 Feel free to download it, borrow from it, paraphrase it, and pilfer it. 3 Table of Contents Preface and Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 7 What Plain Language Is .. 7 What Plain Language Isn t .. 7 How does Plain Language Differ from Ordinary Good Writing? .. 8 What Should I Write in Plain Language? .. 8 1. How People Read Government Writing 9 The Geologist s Trousers .. 9 Summary .. 17 2. Organizing Your Ideas 18 Before you write, answer six essential questions .. 18 Put yourself in the reader s shoes.

3 18 Let the reader know what she s looking at .. 18 Walk the reader through the writing .. 19 Prepare the reader for what to expect .. 19 Deliver what you promise .. 20 Use the single-sentence technique .. 21 Answer a question as soon as you raise it .. 21 Let the reader dictate the scope of the document .. 23 Weigh the importance of every idea .. 24 Use plenty of transitional words and phrases .. 24 Put supporting ideas in notes .. 25 3. Creating a Reader-Friendly Format 26 Isolate something to emphasize it.

4 26 Supply lots of headings and subheadings .. 26 Don t hesitate to use headings in any document .. 27 Highlight the lead sentence in a paragraph .. 27 Keep your paragraphs relatively short .. 27 Use block style .. 28 Leave the right margin ragged .. 28 Leave plenty of white space .. 28 Use lots of bulleted lists .. 28 Use tables to present comparisons .. 29 Provide If .. Then tables .. 30 Use numbers in a sentence to separate ideas .. 32 Use footnotes (and endnotes) for explanatory information.

5 32 Adjust established formats when necessary .. 33 Use RE and REF in letters .. 33 Use different fonts for text, headings, and other sections .. 34 Vary pitch .. 34 If your reader isn t Tiny Tim, don t use tiny type .. 34 Use italics or quotation marks to show the reader that certain words are terms . 35 Avoid writing in ALL CAPS .. 35 4 Use boldface and italics to direct the reader s attention .. 35 Use a text box to isolate a particularly important idea .. 36 Give the document a clear title.

6 37 Provide a Table of Contents .. 37 Use format to reinforce good organization .. 38 4. On Choosing Words 40 Call things by their right names .. 40 Use familiar words .. 41 Use the same term consistently to identify a particular idea .. 42 Prefer the specific to the general .. 42 Use you to engage the reader .. 42 Use we, our, and us .. 43 Try to avoid using Latinate words .. 45 Avoid legalisms and foreign words .. 45 Use living words .. 46 Eliminate shall from your writing.

7 47 Don t use five words when one will do .. 48 Don t use one word when you need two .. 48 Avoid yanking words out of their ordinary grammatical use .. 49 Use words in their everyday sense .. 50 Avoid impact and minimize the use of affect (as verbs) .. 50 Avoid euphemisms .. 51 Use contractions when they re appropriate .. 51 Use the idiom .. 52 Use gender-neutral language .. 52 Distinguish jargon from matrix .. 54 5. On Tone in Correspondence 55 Vary tone according to purpose and occasion.

8 56 Respect the difference between text and subtext .. 56 Pay attention to the echoes of words .. 56 Use speakers words to foster a personal tone .. 57 Avoid robotisms .. 57 Refrain from using obvious and obviously .. 58 Use but don t overuse the reader s name .. 58 Avoid using you in a negative context .. 59 Come to the point .. 59 When the occasion demands an apology, give it up front .. 60 When delivering bad news, use We regret or Unfortunately .. 60 Reserve the Thank you for the end of correspondence.

9 60 Express sympathy when the occasion demands it .. 61 Use I and me except in very particular circumstances .. 62 Be careful with exclamation points .. 64 Try to minimize the use of abbreviations .. 65 How all this stuff works in concert .. 66 5 6. On Being Clear 67 Prefer the active voice .. 68 Define you when writing to multiple audiences .. 69 Keep your sentences relatively short .. 69 Pay attention to your phrasing .. 71 Minimize the use of not .. 72 Put lengthy conditions after the main idea.

10 72 Address the individual, not the group .. 73 Write of the singular, not of the plural .. 73 Use common sense when introducing abbreviations .. 73 Give examples .. 75 Use in other words and that is .. 75 Use as many words as you need .. 76 Use the question-and-answer format .. 76 Be precise in the SUBJECT line .. 77 Observe the mechanics of English .. 78 Beware the limitations of readability formulas and style checkers .. 79 Audience-test the document .. 80 7. On Being Concise 81 State what the subject does, not what it is.