Question 1

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) 

b. What makes plain English writing different? (4 Marks) 

c. What is plain language writing for the web and in detail and in your own words, why is it important? (4 Marks)

Plain English writing is the process of simplifying text to create a clear and concise message for the viewer. The text is simplified as much as possible because viewers don’t like to read. Plain English writing makes reading easy for viewers by dumbing down sentences and using short words so as not to confuse readers. What makes plain English writing different is its focus on brevity; the writing is straightforward and designed for readers who don’t want to spend much time reading. When writing in plain language, you’re writing for a particular audience in mind, which means that you have an idea of this audience’s reading habits and capabilities. If you are aware that this audience can’t read well or won’t read a lot, plain English writing is the way to speak to them. For the web, plain English writing is the process of shortening copy on a website and using words and terminology that visitors can easily understand. If the copy on a website is hard for visitors to read or too wordy, visitors will bounce from the site. The goal of plain English writing is to give visitors as much information as possible in as few words as possible.