By Dana P Skopal, PhD

Writing in plain language means writing clearly for your reader so that they can act on the message. We have previously covered plain language and plain English, but though the focus is writing for your reader there are many things to consider.

The International Standards Organization (ISO) standard for plain language was officially released on 20th June 2023 – ISO 24495-1:2023(en). See https://www.iso.org/standard/78907.html

The ISO Standard defines plain language as communication that puts readers first, relates to their literacy skills, and considers the context in which they will use the document. How do you break that down when writing a document?

Last year the Victorian Government released their accessible communication policy, which sets out standards for accessible content that all Victorian Government staff must follow. See https://www.vic.gov.au/victorian-government-accessible-communications-policy/standards-accessible-content

Staff are to adopt the international plain language standard as well as follow the government’s style guide. This is a great step forward, but the onus is on managers to ensure staff do not fall back into using complex bureaucratic language or gobbledygook.

Writing in plain language goes beyond just grammar. First, a writer needs to understand their key message and what their reader needs to do once they have read the document. Next, it is writing with clear sentence structures, using appropriate simple words, and using pronouns to speak directly to the readers. The following step is ensuring that the document is coherent. Once the text is complete, the final writing step is checking the information design of the document to ensure readability. After that, it then is editing and proofreading.

Writing involves many steps, but by breaking up the stages of planning, drafting, writing in plain English, editing, and proofreading, you can produce a clear readable document.

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