Plain English Writing Handbook

8/10/2019 Plain English Writing Handbook

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Plain English at a Glance

Plain English means creating a document that is

visually inviting,

logically organized, and

understandable on the first reading.

You create a plain English document by

knowing your readers, and

presenting information your readers need in an order theyll understand.

Summary of the plain English rules

Clear, concise, and understandable

short sentences whenever possible

bullet lists whenever possible

descriptive headers and sub-headers

avoid relying on glossaries and defined terms

avoid legal and highly technical business terms

Avoid:

legalistic, overly complex presentations

vague boilerplate

excerpts from legal documents

repetition

Cover and Back Pages, Summary, and Risk Factors

Use plain English principles in the organization, language, and design of documents

Substantially use:

short sentences

definite, concrete, everyday words active voice

tables and bullet lists

no legal jargon, highly technical business terms


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no multiple negatives

Design

In designing: may use pictures, logos, charts, graphs, or other design elements

encouraged to use tables, schedules, charts, and graphics for financial data

must draw graphs and charts to scale

cannot use misleading design and information

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Documents

Plain English Writing Handbook