Writing Plainly
How to Write Plainly
Not too long ago, writing was the primary means of communicating so writing plainly was more than just important, it was imperitave. People sent letters to family, friends, lovers, and others. Writing was also used to conduct business, from initial introductions to finalizing a deal. How to write plainly was taught in all schools and was considered a key to education.
When the telephone was invented, writing gave way to the spoken word as the primary means of communicating, though it still remained important, especially when dealing with contracts, instruction manuals, technical writing, policies and procedures, and other things.
Then along came email (and texting) and the focus shifted. How to write plainly was not longer central to learning, but by this time, millions of books had been written.
Nowadays, there are billions of emails sent every day, and of those, I can assure you that hundreds of millions could be worded better. I’m not talking about simple spelling mistakes or even capitalization mistakes. I’m speaking about clarity. When communicating—whether it’s speech or writing—clarity is of the utmost importance.
When You Talk about Writing Plainly, Clarity Is King
Let’s take a look at something to show my point.
- Thsi is a smpile tset to shwo yuo that splleing is nto the prbloem ppeole thnki it is.
My guess is that you were easily able to read that sentence even though almost every word was misspelled. Even though many readers complain about typos and misspelled words, the bigger problem is clarity, not spelling. Here are a few examples from a site dealing with plain English. 
The above sentences and ones that follow show why it’s key that education teaches how to write plainly. The examples below show the sample as originally written followed by the improved version. Mind you, this is only a simple sentence, so you can imagine how bad it could be with a long paragraph.
Before
For young adults to learn, high-quality learning environments are a necessary precondition for facilitation and enhancement of the ongoing learning process.
After
Children need good schools if they are to learn properly.
Before
If there are any points on which you require explanation or further particulars we shall be glad to furnish such additional details as may be required by telephone.
After
If you have any questions, please phone.
I don’t think anyone would have a problem understanding the improved examples, but the original sentences may take some thought.
Clarity is what makes reading a pleasure—or a chore. Most people enjoy books and writing that are simple and easy to understand. It makes learning much easier. If people enjoyed complex, difficult-to-understand writing, they would read insurance policies or legal contracts for pleasure. But I don’t know anyone who does.
How to Write Plainly and Clarify Your Writing
The tricks to writing clearly are simple.
- Do not try to impress.
- Do not use big words.
- Do not make complex sentences unless you are certain of your grammar.
- Use simple, plain English and try to convey one thought at a time.
While it’s true that education is key, it doesn’t mean that education must be learned from a formal institution. Anyone can educate themselves with a little effort.
Summary
If you are as frugal with your words as you are with your money, your writing will be much clearer.
You also have to make sure you use the appropriate word. In future posts, we’ll look at some of the more commonly confused words and how you can remember which one to use.
My book Simply Put: The Plain English Grammar Guide, will help to clarify not only grammar, but parts of speech, misused words, and punctuation.
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