Garbl's Plain Language Writing Guide
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Writing clear, simple sentences
Short sentences|
Active voice
|
Pronouns
|
Punctuation
The simple, declarative sentence is the easiest to understand
: Someone (or
something) does (or
is) something. Sentences that differ from that simple structure may cause readability problems.
Be logical, literal and precise in your use of language. Especially for readers who may have limited English
proficiency, pay close attention to
the literal meaning of each sentenceyou write and the words in them. But one important reference book on writing to meet
the needs of nonnative speakers and translators provides this Cardinal Rule of Global English: "Don't make any change
that will sound unnatural to native speakers of English." So, either improve the sentence in a different way or leave it
alone.
Readers can only take in so much new information at once. Short, simple sentences are less likely than long,
compound and complex sentences to include ambiguities that hinder translation and reduce readability. Make the average
sentence length in your document
20 words. Readers can understand some longer sentences (up to 30 words) if they are well written and use familiar
terms.
Try to limit most sentences to one idea. Break long sentences with more than one idea into two or more
sentences.
-
Instead of:
The parameters of your responsibility are included in the job description you received on your initial day of work at
the association.
-
Use:
Your job description lists your responsibilities. You got your job description the first day you worked here.
Also, link your ideas by correctly using words such as
that, which, whoand
whom. See the
that, which, who, whom
entry in Garbl's Editorial Style and Usage Manual.
The next section,
Using Suitable Words
, provides advice on shortening verbose sentences by cutting out unnecessary, useless words; redundant ideas,
words and phrases; and weak, abstract and wordy noun phrases.
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Use active voice verbs--unless there's a strong reason to use passive
Putting the "doer"--the person or thing doing the action in a sentence--in front of its verb will
usually ensure the verb is in the active voice. The "doer" in active sentences is
usually named or described at the start of the sentence. The active is more direct; it helps drive home the message.
Active verbs usually suggest that someone is doing something:
collapse, confuse, jump. The passive can obscure the message.
Active voice is usually more concise than passive voice. Sentences that are passive instead of active usually
contain forms of the verb
to be:
am, are, is, was, were, be, been, being. And those verbs usually come before verbs than end in
-edor
-en:
carried, taken.
-
Instead of:
The fund-raising campaign
was approvedby the Executive Committee.
-
Use:
The Executive Committee
approvedthe fund-raising campaign.
-
Instead of:
Complaints
are taken seriouslyby the Parks Department.
-
Use:
The Parks Department
takescomplaints seriously.
Passive voice
may be suitablefor one of these reasons: when you don't know the doer or actor, when the doer or actor is
unimportant to the point you're making, or when the emphasis is clearly not on the actor but the acted upon.
Also see
active vs. passive verbs
in Garbl's Editorial Style and Usage Manual.
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Avoid pronoun ambiguity
When you use a pronoun, make sure readers can identify the noun it represents. Pronouns like
it, its, theyand
themcan be confusing if readers can't figure out what
itor
itsis or who
theyand
themare.
Especially for readers with limited English proficiency, try
repeating nounsinstead of referring to them with pronouns like
she, they, thisor
these.Also, avoid using the pronouns
this, that, theseand
thosealone; instead, use them as adjectives before a noun:
-
Instead of:
Please send them to us.
-
Use:
Please mail those identification forms to the Licensing Office at ...
-
Instead of:
Michelle researched and wrote the speech herself, which everyone thought was impressive.
-
Use:
Everyone was impressed with the speech that Michelle researched and wrote herself.
Also, avoid using ambiguous double negatives. See
negativein Garbl's Editorial Style Manual.
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Use correct punctuation consistently
Punctuation shows how words and strings of words are related, separated and emphasized. Its main purpose is to
help the reader understand the structure of the sentences you write. Punctuation also replaces the voice inflection, pauses and
hand gestures we use when we talk.
Consistent, accurate use of punctuation marks is important. But excessive use of commas, parentheses, semicolons
and dashes may signal long or complicated sentences.
The periodis the most effective punctuation mark in clear, concise writing. It should be the most common mark on the
page. But consistent, correct use of other marks also is important. Excessive use of commas, parentheses, semicolons and dashes
may signal long or complicated sentences.
Inserting optional
commasafter introductory phrases and before conjunctions (
and, but, or) in a series of things can help, especially to language translators and readers with limited English
proficiency.
Similarly,
hyphensare not needed after most prefixes, but they can reduce confusion when used in similar or unfamiliar words:
She recovered her health. She re-covered the torn seat. Avoid using hyphens to divide a word at the end of a line in
unjustified text. Use of hyphens in compound words can aid reader understanding:
He is a small-business man. He is a foreign-car dealer.
Also, avoid using
quotation marksto highlight words or phrases; save them for enclosing quotations and identifying certain composition
titles. To highlight terms, use boldfacing, italics, color, font size or font type,
For more guidelines on using punctuation, see
punctuation
and entries for specific punctuation marks in Garbl's Editorial Style and Usage Manual:
period
,
comma
,
hyphen
,
quotation marks
.
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Using Suitable Words
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