By Dana P Skopal, PhD
Writing means good planning and generating a document that is clearly understood by its readers. When applying the principles of plain English, the first rule is ‘write for your reader’. Similarly, Dr Gopen and Dr Swan wrote about ‘writing with the reader in mind’ for communicating in the science fields.
Pragmatically, a document is good if a reader can understand what to do with the information. So the question is: how can a writer be sure that they know what the readers need to understand? To understand the readers’ requirements a writer first needs to know the purpose of the document. Is the message to inform, or to analyse all the risks and then advise or persuade the reader?
A writer is usually familiar with the content and may make assumptions about how a reader should digest the information. These assumptions can make the document difficult for a reader to follow, and any problems can surface during usability testing if you are writing for a broad audience. Once a writer understands the content, it is then important to match the document’s macro-structure or logical placement of information to suit the document’s purpose.
If you can interact with your reader you can learn more about their requirements. Ask yourself if you should place your key message at the beginning of your document as that is when you have the reader’s attention. Further, select headings (and topic sentences) or information layout that can act as clear road-signs for your readers. Aim to make the document easy to navigate, especially if a reader may need to refer back to relevant data.
From a reader’s perspective – that is the message receiver – they need to read, comprehend and use the relevant information. The reader needs to use the information, and if they cannot follow the content or steps, a writer has arguably failed in making the document fit for purpose. Writers should take a step back and understand the purpose of their message and its overall objective, and only then plan the order of information for their reader. After that, a writer can focus on clear sentence structures.
Gopen, G. D. & Swan, J. A. (1990).The Science of Scientific Writing. American Scientist, 78 (6), 550-558.
Plain Language Action and Information Network. (2011). Federal Plain Language Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.plainlanguage.gov/howto/guidelines/FederalPLGuidelines/FederalPLGuidelines.pdf