Plain Language Communication
Communication your audience understands the first time
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
Page last reviewed: October 17, 2019
Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention