Federal Plain Language Guidelines: Table of Contents
Download the Word or PDF version of the full Guidelines.
Introduction
Think about your audience
Identify and write for your audience
Address separate audiences separately
Organize
Organize to meet your readers’ needs
Address one person, not a group
Use lots of useful headings
Write short sections
Write your document
Words
Verbs
Use active voice
Use the simplest form of a verb
Avoid hidden verbs
Use “must” to indicate requirements
Use contractions when appropriate
Nouns and pronouns
Don’t turn verbs into nouns
Use pronouns to speak directly to readers
Minimize abbreviations
Other word issues
Use short, simple words
Omit unnecessary words
Dealing with definitions
Use the same term consistently for a specific thought or object
Avoid legal, foreign, and technical jargon
Don’t use slashes
Sentences
Write short sentences
Keep subject, verb, and object close together
Avoid double negatives and exceptions to exceptions
Place the main idea before exceptions and conditions
Place words carefully
Paragraphs
Have a topic sentence
Use transition words
Write short paragraphs
Cover only one topic in each paragraph
Other aids to clarity
Use examples
Use lists
Use tables to make complex material easier to understand
Consider using illustrations
Use emphasis to highlight important concepts
Minimize cross-references
Design your document for easy reading
Write for the web
How do people use the web?
Write for your users
Identify your users and their top tasks
Write web content
Repurpose print material for the web
Avoid PDF overload
Use plain-language techniques on the web
Avoid meaningless formal language
Write effective links
Test
Paraphrase Testing
Usability Testing
Controlled Comparative Studies
Testing Successes
Paraphrase Testing from the Veterans Benefits Administration
Usability Testing from the National Cancer Institute