Welcome back to the Plain Language Series, where we are exploring plain language as it is used across a variety of settings and in the context of supporting students with specific learning and literacy needs. 

Part 1 offered some context and background for plain language, and in Part 2, we will be taking a closer look at how plain language works in principle. We will also take a look at some of the potential limitations of those principles, or how the broadest plain language concepts might not necessarily be enough for some readers.

This can be the case for a variety of reasons, from certain designs being overstimulating to certain texts and writing styles being especially difficult to comprehend. We’ll take a look at how we can go beyond the basic guidelines in Part 3, but in the meantime, let’s dive into some foundational plain language ideas.

Active voice prioritizes the subject of a sentence performing the action of the sentence, rather than the action of the sentence happening to the subject (passive voice). Active voice tends to be a cornerstone of plain language guidelines as part of a focus on direct language. In theory, these changes can help focus sentences and make the logic easier to follow for an average reader compared to writing that uses more roundabout language. Some classic examples of active voice versus passive voice can include:

• “The furniture was moved by us.” vs. “We moved the furniture.”

• “Society was impacted by their actions.” vs. “Their actions impacted society.”

• “The game was won by the team’s extraordinary effort.” vs. “The team’s extraordinary effort won the game.”

Sentences where the subject performs the action on the whole tend to be easier to read than passive sentences where the action is performed on the subject. Plain language advocates a consistent active voice to make ideas in the text more straightforward to comprehend.

Active voice is a great way to make plain language more direct, but it does not necessarily account for the complexity of a topic or the number of ideas presented in a given sentence. 

Plain language guidelines do place some emphasis on layout, as we will cover later, but it can be a more involved process to break down complex ideas for some readers, even when the active voice is being employed. There are further strategies a writer can apply when seeking to write specifically for readers with high support needs.

“Jargon” is used to describe words that are less commonly known by the majority of readers and could easily be replaced by simpler words. Likewise, “common words” refers to words that are more commonly known than their more complicated counterparts. 

Some examples of “jargon” words and their common counterparts on the above linked guideline include “facilitate” versus “help,” “endeavor” versus “try,” and “commence” versus “start.” Also lumped into this category are some wordy connector phrases that can be easily simplified. Wordy phrases like “in an effort to” can often be shortened to simpler wordings like “to” and deliver the same meaning with a lot less effort on the reader’s part.

The fundamental challenge pertaining to jargon and common words is that everyone’s definition is a little different. As helpful as using more widely understood language can be in many cases where it is applicable, there are some cases where using more basic language can come at the cost of a fully accurate description. 

Some complicated topics aren’t made any easier by using common words, and sometimes taking the time to define more complicated concepts can go a long way toward comprehension than relying on everyone treating the writer’s version of plain language as universally readable. To use the above example, the word facilitate sometimes means something very specific that the word “help” cannot capture! 

These same guidelines often advise against using terms that are too generalized as well, which can be confusing for someone trying to figure out what is applicable in their unique situation. Even if we might use the word help to replace it in some circumstances, we might consciously have to decide when we need to do more work to explain exactly what we mean.

A clear organization and layout are often cited as crucial components of plain language. Not only should the words we use be accessible, but they should also be organized in such a way that we can read them without too much special effort and laid out on a page that is easy to read and follow. 

It stands to reason that strong organization is important both to communicate a full complex idea in plain language and to avoid the traps that might get us away from our plain language principles in the first place.

There are clear organizations and layouts, and there are organizations and layouts specially designed for readers with higher support needs. When considering the latter, it may require a more specific organizational focus that adheres to more strategies accounting for a broader set of reader needs. We will go over some of the ways we can do that in Part 3!

With that, we are wrapping up for the week, but we still want to hear from you! Let us know about your experience reading or writing with plain language or any suggestions you might have for covering this topic more in depth at hello@autismgrownup.com, and we will see you soon with Part 3, which will focus on plain and simplified language for readers with higher accessibility needs.