Plain Language Communication

Organize to serve the audience

• Know your audience and purpose before you begin
• Put the most important message first
• Present other information in order of importance to the audience
• Break text into logical chunks and use headings

Choose words carefully

• Write in the active voice
• Choose words and numbers your audience knows
• Keep sentences and paragraphs short
• Include “you” and other pronouns

Make information easy to find

• Use headings and text boxes
• Delete unnecessary words, sentences, and paragraphs
• Create lists and tables