Transcript Clear Language

Clear Language
Jan Chappel, MHSc
Canadian Centre for Occupational
Health and Safety
What is “Clear Language”?
“Clear (or plain) language writing presents
information in ways that make sense to the
reader. It uses straightforward, concrete,
familiar words, organized in a way that
makes sense to the reader. Research shows
that clear language has benefits for readers
at all levels”
(Workers’ Compensation Board
of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut)
Clear Language is writing that is:
Direct
Well organized
Friendly
Respectful
Clear Language is not...
• ‘Talking down’
• Over simplification
• Too short can be just as bad as too long
Language may be a problem at
work if ...
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Safe work procedures are not followed
Few requests for hazard information
Reluctance to participate
Low or little hazard reporting
High injury rates
Miscommunication between management
and shop floor
Cost of Unclear Language
In 1988, the estimated cost “to Canadian
businesses was $1.6 billion for industrial
accidents alone. This does not include the
cost of illiteracy from lost productivity in
other areas.”
-“Clear Language and Design” web site
Value of Writing Clearly
• By revising its forms, Citibank reduced time spent
training staff by 50% and improved the accuracy
of the information that staff gave to customers.
• A maker of programmable controllers found that
customer service calls shifted from 50/day to
2/month after they redesigned their documents
using plain language and readable formats.
Clear Writing will improve...
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Task time
Number of errors
Memory and retention
Overall satisfaction / impression
How many people have trouble reading?
Four Levels of Literacy
1. Difficulty with print material.
– Most likely to identify themselves as not being
able to read
2. Use print material but only in a limited
way.
– Recognize themselves as having difficulty with
common reading tasks
Four Levels of Literacy
3. Use reading materials for a variety of
situations provided the material is simple,
clearly laid out, and tasks not too
complicated.
– don’t see themselves as non-readers, but tend to
avoid reading.
4. Meet most of everyday reading demands.
What does this mean?
22% of Canadians are
baffled by any printed
text
– have trouble when they
shop, bank, fill in
forms or job
applications
– pick out words/phrases
– use strategies to cope
– most have excellent
memories
26% have basic reading
skills
– can read but they don’t
enjoy it
– tend to read one
syllable at a time
52% of Canadians can
read
– can follow print
instructions, shop,
bank.
– this group is generally
well educated.
Plain speaking: A Guide to Clear
Communications for Health and Social
Service Workers in Halton, 1999
Clear Language is for everyone.
A reader should never have to try to figure out
what is happening on the page -–
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the focus,
the organization of material,
the purpose,
the flow of information
all should be recognized instantly with a
single glance.
Planning for Clear Language
1 Know your audience
2 Know the purpose or objective of the
document
3 Presentation of information
1. Audience
Know who you are writing the document for:
Workers
Management
General Public
Audience Profile
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First language?
Education level?
Age range?
Size of audience?
Other demographics:
– geographic location
– faith, race, and
ethnicity
– health status
• How much
information do they
need/want?
• How do they feel
about the topic?
• Is there more than one
audience?
Recommended Audience Levels
• General public audience
– Grade 6
• For the public or general workforce but
information introduces new terms, concepts
or specialized subject matter
– Grade 7- 9
• Specialized information for target audience
– Grade 10 - 12, College level
For Grade 6 - not “like” Grade 6
“Like” Grade 6 would be:
• Use a lot of words such as:
– ‘like’, ‘you know’,and ‘stuff’
• Make the sentences really really short or
incomplete.
• Don't forget to repeat yourself many, many
times and yet at the same time remain vague
2. Purpose
The “Why”
• Why are you writing the document?
• What the readers will do with the
information?
• What do you want to happen as a result?
3. Presentation of Information
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Organization
Paragraph and Sentence Structure
Language/Word choice
Design
Graphics/Colour
A) Organization
• Place the most important information first
• Emphasize what you want the reader to do
or learn
– do not “bury” instructions
• ie: use 1,2,3,4 to label steps
– do not “bury” the facts
A) Organization
• Use headings and subheadings
– explain the text that follows
– be consistent in style and design
– be logical
• Use tables
– useful when comparing or matching items
A) Organization
• Use lists
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group similar ideas or actions together
list in terms of relevance or importance
label the list
each item should begin in the same way
• same tense of verb
• noun
Short term memory can hold from 5 to 9
terms (7 ±2 items)
A) Organization
• Always left justify.
Right justification is
hard to read
In addition, full justification is also hard to
read.
When reading, the eye uses white space as a
marker to help keep its place on the page.
B) Language/Word Choice
Use
• active voice
• positive messages
• respectful
• friendly
• direct
• inclusive language
Avoid
• passive voice
• negative messages
• bossy, patronizing
• formal, impersonal
• vague
• assumptions, bias
B) Language/Word Choice
• Passive voice usually lacks a subject, and
hides responsibility
Active: Jack hit the ball.
Passive: The ball was hit by Jack.
B) Language/Word Choice
Watch out for:
• “-tion” words
• needless words
• other tips
“-tion” words
Use
• apply
• specify
• consider
• investigate, look in to
• assume
Avoid
• application
• specification
• consideration
• investigation
• assumption
“Needless” Words
Use
• now
• without
• during
• near
• if
• to
• after
Avoid
• at this point in time
• in the absence of
• in the course of
• in the neighbourhood of
• in the event of/that
• for the purpose of
• subsequent to
Other Word Choices
Use
• speed up, hasten
• make easier, help
• try
• work out, devise, form
• best, greatest, most
• plan
• start
Avoid
• expedite
• facilitate
• accomplish
• formulate
• optimum
• strategize
• operationalize
Other Tips
• Watch the use of slang as well as technical,
specialized or legal language
• Appropriate to use acronyms and short
forms as long as they are understood by
everyone.
– “avoid or explain”
• Avoid Latin forms of words
– residence VS house
C) Paragraph & Sentence Structure
Organize your paragraph
• State your point
– define any necessary terms
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State your evidence
Explain your evidence
Provide a summary
Transition, if necessary
C) Paragraph & Sentence Structure
• One idea per paragraph
– about 4 or 5 sentences per paragraph
• Use transitions between two or more parts
of your writing
• Use “parallel” structure
– verb tense
– similar construction
C) Paragraph & Sentence Structure
Use
• vary sentence length
• one idea per sentence
• bullets with parallel
construction and
grouped for
relevance
Avoid
• sentences over 30
words
• many clauses
• run on lists
• “inverted” sentences
Example
Injuries may range from minor bruising and
cuts to injuries like loss of teeth and, in
some cases, death.
• Injuries may be minor such as bruises, cuts
or lost teeth. In rare cases, death may occur.
D) Design
• Use mixed case
– ALL CAPS IS HARD TO READ.
• Use bold rather than a different font
to make something stand out
• Use fonts with proportionate spacing
– Times New Roman VS Courier
• Use “fancy” fonts and italics sparingly
– Isn’t this hard to read?
D) Design - Font Styles
Print
• use a font that is
“shapely”
Web
• shapes are too hard to
read when combined
with background
colour, pixels, etc
Serifs:
San Serifs:
– Arial
– Tahoma
– Verdana
– Courier New
– Palatino
– Times New Roman
D) Design - White Space
• Break text into units
• Use consistent headings
– leave more space above the heading than below
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Use 2 spaces after each period
Double space between paragraphs
Indent to set text or lists apart
Lines should be 50-70 characters long
Do not hyphenate words at the end of the
line
E) Graphics & Colour
• Pictures and words together can have
greater impact
– but only when the pictures are relevant and
meaningful to the message
• Make sure pictures are meaningful to
audience
• Label graphics clearly
• Do not place graphics where they will
interrupt normal reading patterns
E) Graphics & Colour
• Keep good contrast between text and
background
– Black text on white or a pale colour is best
– Red and yellow are highly visible
– Blue and green are less so
• Superimposing type on a graphic or
complicated background slows reading
• Readers often miss the message when the
page is “too flashy”
Web Tips
• Reading from computer screens is 25%
slower than from paper.
– Web content should have 50% of the word
count of its paper equivalent
• Write clear, short headings
– people “scan” web documents
– use the “inverted pyramid” style
Web Tips
• Include links to other parts of a longer
document
– if document is longer than two screens,
consider using a table of contents or similar
• Use a font size of HTML 2 or 3 (12 pt)
• Do not use underline on web documents
unless it is a hyperlink
Web Tips
• People may not read the material in a
specific order.
– May need to explain concepts more than once
or provide links to related pages
– May need to re-define acronyms or definitions
• Date the publication or document
• State authorship
E-mail Tips
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Meaningful subject line
Tell the reader what you want
Limit the use of attachments
Use a signature file for business
Include only enough of the previous
message to give context
– use the arrow “>” to indicate old text
Examples
Example
Work in extreme heat presents a potential
health hazard.
• Working when it is very hot can be
dangerous to your health.
Example
Medical attention should be sought
immediately.
• Get first aid immediately.
• Go to a hospital right away.
Example
Fatal exposures to cold among workers have
almost always resulted from accidental
exposures involving failure to escape from
low environmental air temperatures or from
immersion in low temperature water.
(2000 TLV booklet, p171)
• Any Suggestions?
Possible solution
In most cases, workers died from cold
exposure because they accidentally stayed
outside too long when it was very cold, or
they fell into cold water.
Assessment Tools
• SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledegook)
• http://www.nlhp.cpha.ca/smog.htm
• Reading Effectiveness Tool
• http://www.Eastendliteracy.on.ca/ClearLanguageAn
dDesign/readingeffectivenesstool/
• Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index
– in Microsoft Word:
Tools > Options > click on “Spelling & Grammar” tab
> check “Show Readability Statistics”
Resources
• Clear Language and Design (CLAD)
• http://www.Eastendliteracy.on.ca/ClearLanguageAndDesign/
• The Plain Train
• http://www.web.net/~plain/PlainTrain/
• National Adult Literacy Database
• http://www.nald.ca/index.htm
• Canadian Public Health Association - National
Literacy & Health Program
• http://www.nlhp.cpha.ca/
• EvB Communications (web tip sheet)
• http://infoweb.magi.com/~evb/hand.html
Thank You!
Writing clearly is not easy.
“I would have written you a short letter,
but I didn’t have the time”
- Winston Churchill