Writing & communication · Business & strategy · Operations & workflows
Plain language.
Writing organized and expressed so its intended readers can find, understand, and use what they need.
Useful when a message is accurate but unnecessarily hard to act on.
“Rewrite this policy in plain language for first-time applicants, preserving the eligibility rules.”
A closer look
Start with the reader’s task, choose familiar words, and organize the information around the decisions they need to make. Explain necessary technical terms. Simplification should not remove an important qualification or alter a rule.
Put it to work
“Put the required action first, then explain the exception in a separate sentence.”
A useful distinction
Plain language is audience-dependent. It does not require avoiding every technical term or stripping a complex topic of its necessary detail.