Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 What is Plain
Language? Plain English is clear, straightforward expression, using
only as many words as are necessary. It is language that avoids
obscurity, inflated vocabulary and convoluted sentence
construction. It is not baby talk, nor is it a simplified version
of the English language. Writers of plain English let their
audience concentrate on the message instead of being distracted by
complicated language. They make sure that their audience
understands the message easily. (From plainlanguage.gov.)
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Why is Plain Language
Important? Plain language is the current movement in government and
business writing. The plain-language movement arose as a reaction
against the bureaucratic style. Prose in the bureaucratic style is
needlessly difficult to read, uses archaic words and phrases, and
is generally inaccessible to the average citizen. The movement away
from bureaucratic style emerged in the 1970s. Plain language
advocates argued that the large volume of inaccessibly bureaucratic
documents produced by the federal government was not appropriate in
a democratic society.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Why is Plain Language
Important? Thus, plain-language reform began as an effort is to
make government communication readable and understandable. In the
70s and 90s, a series of executive orders mandating plain language
in the federal government. The Plain Writing Act of 2010, signed by
President Obama, requires heads of federal agencies to use plain
language in documents produced by their agencies. According to the
textbook, corporations have also embraced this communication style.
So what does plain language look like?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Bureaucratic Style
Before we discuss the elements of plain language, lets look at what
it isnt to give you a sense of what the plain language movement is
struggling against. The following is a before and after from
plainlanguage.gov. The National Oceanic and Atmosphere
Administration (NOAA) published a quick reference document for boat
operators skippers who are required to participate in training
workshops put on by the NOAA.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Before and After
Before: Huh???
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Before and After
After: What are the differences?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 What are the Elements
of Plain Language? We are going to talk about the following
elements of plain language: Audience Paragraphs Sentences Our
discussion is from the textbook and borrows a good deal from the
Federal Plain Language Guidelines. A document published at
plainlanguage.gov.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Audience Documents
written in any context are usually directed toward one or more
audience, whether real or imagined. An audience may be one
particular person or a group of people. Your boss A client
Accountants A government agency Identifying your audience and
writing for that audience and their expectations will enhance
clarity and increase your ability to be persuasive. Decisions about
word choice and presentation of material will depend upon your
audience.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Audience We have
already talked about the role of audience in persuasive
communication. This concept applies to writing plain language. The
idea is to write in a way that is clear and understandable to your
audience. What is understandable varies from one audience to
another and requires adaptation. One example of such adaptation is
the use of jargon. Jargon is the vocabulary, peculiar to a
particular trade, profession, or group. (dictionary.com). When you
are writing in a plain-language style, is it ok to use jargon?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Audience Answer: it
depends on your audience. If you are writing to members of a group
that has a unique jargon, they may expect to see it. If you are
writing to the general public, you should seek to minimize it. In
fact, you may need to understand and use an audiences jargon in
order to establish your own credibility with a particular
profession or other group. Jargon can include Technical vocabulary:
The company has installed two electrostatic precipitators. Terms of
art: consideration has an everyday meaning and a completely
different legal meaning. Acronyms: LIFO, NPDES, etc. Consider the
following manual published by the EPA.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Audience An
electrostatic precipitator is a piece of pollution-control
equipment used in various industries. It removes fine particles
called particulate matter from an emission source (a smoke stack).
Particulate matter is a form of air pollution. Who is the likely
audience for a training manual on industrial pollution control
equipment? Notice the document use of terms like particulate
matter, coal-fired utility boilers, and electrostatic precipitator
without any explanation. If the audience is already familiar with
these terms, is the previous page written in plain language for
that audience? Would an ordinary member of the public consider this
document to be written in plain language?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Paragraphs The
Guidelines list four elements of clear paragraphs: Have a topic
sentence. Use transition words. Write short paragraphs. Cover only
one topic in each paragraph. We will talk about each of these in
turn.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Have a Topic Sentence
The Guidelines provide: If you flood readers with details first,
they become impatient and may resist hearing your message. A good
topic sentence draws the audience into your paragraph. You have to
be intentional about writing topic sentences because it is contrary
to the way we think. often we think about a topic in a haphazard
way. or we start with a conclusion, and then think of the reasons
or necessary background information later. The topic sentence is
not your conclusion. Rather, it is the general subject-matter to be
developed in the paragraph. The ultimate conclusion of the
paragraph may be near the end.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Have a Topic Sentence
Also, the Guidelines point out that readers want to be able to skim
the document and gather the essential information. Suspense,
allusion, and metaphor are not valued in professional writing.
Clear topic sentences help your readers get the information they
need quickly. They also help the mind understand and process
technical information.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Topic Sentence
Example
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Topic Sentence
Example Notice how the topic sentence orients us to the subject. We
are talking about B&E Concrete. They manufacture construction
materials. That is the preliminary information we need to
understand this paragraph concerning their operation. The last
sentence expresses a conclusion that is based on this topic and
additional facts.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Topic Sentence
Example If the conclusion were placed first, the paragraph would be
harder to read. It would introduce too much information to process:
the idea of this B&E company feedstock reports EPA enforcement
Also leading with the conclusion is frustrating for the reader. The
reader must take it as true and read the entire paragraph. The
reader has to maintain that trust until the end of the paragraph.
At that point, the reader might have to go back to the first
sentence, read it again, and decide if your conclusion makes sense.
Dont require your reader to put in this extra effort. Use a topic
sentence that logically leads to a conclusion so the reader can see
how you got there on the first reading.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Use Transition Words
Often topic sentences serve another purpose: they link one
paragraph to another. Use transition words to show the reader you
are linking ideas. The Guidelines discuss the following types:
Pointing words: this, that, etc. Echo links: words or phrases that
repeat previous ideas. Explicit connectives: therefore,
accordingly, thus, etc. Lets look at how they are used in topic
sentences.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Use Transition
Words
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Use Transition Words
Transition words also apply within paragraphs. A well-constructed
paragraph makes it easy to see the logical connection between
ideas. When dealing with cause and effect, organize sentences so
that they develop the idea of the previous sentence and ultimately
reach your conclusion. Think of a paragraph as a chain of
reasoning. Use transition words that refer back to a previous idea
or show that you are constructing a chain: this, that, therefore,
etc. Consider the example paragraph we have been using. Notice two
things about: The logical development of ideas based the prior
sentences. The use of transition words to signal this
development.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011
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Other Paragraph Styles The text discusses a number of other
typical paragraph styles. Illustration Comparison and contrast
Classification Problem and solution It is helpful to see how these
systems of organizing paragraphs function. Move away from
constructing paragraphs randomly by whatever thought pops into your
head. Move toward paragraphing intentionally.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Other Paragraph
Styles Illustration paragraphs: Topic sentence states a claim.
Subsequent sentences illustrate, showing that the claim is true.
What parts of the topic sentence are not supported by the body
sentences?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Other Paragraph
Styles Classification paragraphs: Topic sentence divides the topic
into sub-parts or species. The body paragraphs explain and contrast
each one. Sometimes the topic sentence will list all the
species.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Other Paragraph
Styles Classification: Notice how the paragraph is also organized
on the basis of the size of each group, from largest to smallest.
Notice also the author prevented the paragraph from being to
monotonous: First group is this; second group is this; third group
is this. The third group is introduced by how they are
treated.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Write Short
Paragraphs Short paragraphs are easier to understand. They ask
readers to process the text is smaller, bite-sized chucks.
Accordingly, short paragraphs are more likely to actually be read.
Business and accounting messages can be interpreted as boring.
Especially by non-accountants. Thus, your subject-matter itself
means you are starting with the distinct disadvantage in keeping an
audiences attention. This problem is shared by those who must write
for the government. Look at the following example. Do you want to
read this?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Write Short
Paragraphs Me neither! But the hard reality is that professional
writers must deal with tedious and boring information. And often
they have to communicate it to an audience that is distracted, has
a short attention span, or doesnt care. Use short paragraphs to
make tedious writing less painful. Short paragraphs can mean as few
as two sentences, or sometimes even one. (Yes, one.) Then use
subject headings to break up the material into identifiable parts.
Notice the short paragraphs and subject headings in the following
guidance document on public drinking water systems.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Write Short
Paragraphs What would the same document look like without the short
paragraphs and subject headings?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Cover One Topic per
Paragraph The Guidelines also suggest limiting the subject-matter
of paragraphs to one topic. For example: If you are discussing a
procedure one must follow, make paragraphs based on each step. Dont
combine steps in one paragraph. It is easier for readers to skip a
step. If you are discussing a subject that has many alternatives,
treat each alternative as a separate paragraph.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Sentences Lets talk
about five elements for writing clear sentences: Write short
sentences. Keep subject, verb, and object close together. Place the
main idea before exceptions. Avoid action-verb separation and
character-subject separation Be careful with the passive
voice.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Write Short Sentences
This seems like pretty straight-forward advice. But it is often
more difficult than it sounds. Professional writers have the
challenge of conveying complicated information. Suppose a writer is
tasked with explaining a series of requirements. This is made
difficult by the fact that each requirement has different
exceptions and other nuances. Consider the following sentence that
tries to cover too much ground.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Write Short Sentences
That is one sentence. Notice how hard it is to understand. What
exactly is a public water supply system? How could this sentence be
split into several?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Write Short Sentences
That is much easier to read. Use of bullet points also helps.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Keep SVO Close The
subject, verb, and direct object of a sentence usually convey the
essential meaning. Other phrases and modifiers limit or qualify
that essential meaning. When writers insert modifying phrases
between subject and verb, the sentence becomes harder to read. The
investigator, after climbing to the roof-top of the refinery,
observed at or near the time the suspect valve was opened an
explosion. Consider the example given in the Guidelines:
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Keep SVO Close What
did they do to the sentence? If all the modifying information is
important to the writer, how could the sentence be reworked?
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Keep SVO Close How
could you rework the example about observing an explosion? The
investigator, after climbing to the roof-top of the refinery,
observed at or near the time the suspect valve was opened an
explosion. Assume all the information is essential to the writers
purpose.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Place the Main Idea
First Technical information is often structured in a way that
includes a general idea or requirement, and then a number of
exceptions to that requirement. Sentences that put the exceptions
first are difficult to read. Such sentences ask you to keep in your
mind an exception to something which has not yet been revealed.
Anytime you ask a reader to understand something you have not yet
explained, you have lost clarity.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Place the Main Idea
First About mid-way through the exceptions, you are probably
wondering what this sentence is about. This is a very common fault
in policy and government writing. A textbook example from Texas
solid waste regulations:
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011
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Losing the essential meaning We discussed this plain-language
issue last week: Avoid action-verb separation: the activity of the
sentence is not the main verb. Ex: Niles Eldrege and Stephen Jay
Gould made the observation that the history of the book is marked
by long periods of stability in format alternating with periods of
radical change. What is the main activity? The observation. Niles
Eldrege and Stephen Jay Gould observed that
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Losing the essential
meaning We discussed this plain-language issue last week: Avoid
character-subject separation: The actor in the sentence is not
stated as the subject. Ex. Complaints by freshmen about the
cafeteria food have been frequent. Who is the actor? The freshmen.
Freshmen have frequently complained
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice There
is a great deal of confusion over the passive voice. Some people
vaguely remember that it is bad. This is not true. It is an
important tool in the English language. Good writers know when to
use it and when to avoid it.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice What is
the passive voice? It is best explained by comparison to its
alternative, the active voice. Active voice: The subject performs
the action. Passive voice: The subject is acted upon. In a passive
sentence, the actor is either left unstated or is named in a by
phrase after the main verb.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice
Examples: Active: The motorcyclist hit the pedestrian. Passive: The
pedestrian was hit by the motorcyclist. Passive: The pedestrian was
hit. The motorcyclist is the actor in this sentence. It is the one
doing the hitting. In the first sentence, it is the subject. Thus,
Active. The subject of the second two sentences is the thing being
acted upon, not the actor. Thus, passive.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice How can
you recognize the passive voice in a sentence? The passive is
constructed using a form of the verb to be + the past participle of
the verb. Present: Pass Past Participle: Passed Present: Destroy
Past Participle: Destroyed
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice Is
there a way to recognize the passive voice without the grammatical
jargon? Ask the question by whom or by what? If the answer isnt the
subject of the sentence, its in the passive voice.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice Active:
I destroyed the enemy. Passive: The enemy was destroyed. Active:
Congress passed the bill. Passive: The bill was passed by
Congress.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice The
passive voice can be problematic because it buries or obscures the
actor. This is especially true in professional writing that
concerns obligations and responsibilities. If a sentence imposes an
obligation on someone, you should always be clear about who that
someone is.
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Advanced Business Communication Fall 2011 Passive Voice The
passive voice is appropriate in situations where you want to
de-emphasize the actor or when the actor is unknown. The store was
robbed six times last year. Robbed by whom? We might not know. Or
the identity of the robbers might not matter in the context. Moral
of the story: dont avoid the passive voice. Use it wisely.