Question 1 – a

1.We spoke about Plain English writing in class. Please answer the following in detail:  

a. How would you explain to someone what “Plain English writing” is? (4 Marks)  

Plain English writing is the process of writing content for specific audiences using the right tone and voice for the message to be: 

1. Clear 

2. Concise 

3. Direct/Correct 

The goal is to help readers quickly and easily understand what your message is about without using additional words or complex vocabulary/information that may be confusing or unclear. Plain English Writing is the process of clearly breaking down your message in a way that is easily digestible to respect the specific audience’s time and needs. This is especially important because people do not want to waste their time reading something that is scattered, unordered, overly informational, and unclear. Doing so results in frustration, uninterest, confusion, and misunderstanding. 

For example: 

Not using Plain English Writing 

Prior to proceeding to the fitting room at Garage, it is imperative that you organize the quantity of garments in your possession to help facilitate an efficient and effective retrieval from store associates in the designated area. Kindly state your name and quantity of garments that you intend on trying on. After this, you must follow directions and instructions given to you by the associate. Only then are you able to try on your clothes in a fitting room assigned to you. 

Using Plain English Writing 

To use the fitting rooms at Garage: 

1. Organize the items of clothing 

2. State your name and number of items 

3. Follow the associates’ directions 

4. Try on your clothes 

As you can see, Plain English Writing is not about dumbing things down, it’s about respecting and speaking to your specific audience/reader in a way that makes them feel like they matter! With the above example, the audience and readers (at Garage) do not have the time to read all the above information, as they want to get in and out of the fitting room as quickly as possible. To respect their time and ensure that the message is being communicated in an effective manner, we use Plain English Writing. This way, when people at Garage are ready to try their clothes on, they know exactly what is expected from them and what they need to do to fulfill their purpose (trying on clothes seamlessly) (Briscoe, Lecture, February 26, 2025). 

Altogether, Plain English Writing all comes down to your audience. By understanding who you are specifically speaking to you can: 

1. Find what they need 

2. Understand it 

3. Use it to fulfill their purpose 

It is appropriate for the medium and is consistent with the way people behave online (Briscoe, W8-A-Plain Language Writing (W25).pdf, Slide 18). In simpler terms, plain English writing is used to communicate your message in a clear, concise, and direct tone. This helps your specific audience to stay engaged, interested, valued, and welcomed, making it much easier for them to act on the message (Briscoe, Lecture, February 26, 2025).