When it comes to plain language, every subject matter expert has an opinion. They may worry the methods oversimplify their work and will lower their professional reputation. Or they may feel the word choices are less precise or too general and will cause doubt about their research results.
Guest blog
How Plain Language Could Help Reduce Scams
By Tanner Call I’ve recently been the target of a clever direct mail scam. It involves convincing the potential victim that their vehicle’s warranty is about to expire and that they need to renew it soon. The letter includes “official” components such as a barcode, logo, reference number, and even a chart with a summary […]
Bridging the gap between plain language and user expectations
In so many areas of our lives, things are way too complicated. Applying for a job? Awesome, if you have 45 minutes to fill out a form with the exact same information from the resume you already uploaded. Buying a car? It’s a cinch, as long as you’ve got an afternoon to spend reading the fine print. Going to the doctor? It’s easy, once you’ve filled out these ten new patient forms.
Making field testing easier makes a difference
Ensuring that written materials are easy to understand and use often starts with plain language best practices and includes field testing to “test” the content, format, and messages with the intended audience. Developers agree that user-centered design and feedback from intended audiences are critically important to developing clear, understandable, and useable information. However, there are often challenges to soliciting meaningful input from the “right” audience members, specifically, those with low literacy or low health literacy.
“Rise up! I’m not throwing away my shot!”
In the Broadway musical Hamilton, with these words, Alexander Hamilton, the “ten dollar Founding Father without a father” commits to fight for freedom for the American colonies. Now three U.S. Congressmen are taking their shot, committing to fight for freedom from bureaucratic language for American citizens.
On Friday, March 16, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA), Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), and Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) announced the introduction of the “Too Long; Didn’t Read” Act.
Research review finds most readability formulas outdated and overrated
Does your organization rely on readability formulas? A research review by Dr. Karen A. Schriver—“Plain Language in the United States Gains Momentum: 1940–2015”—takes a hard look at readability formulas. Schriver finds that readability formulas are often unreliable and invalid methods of evaluating text quality.