- 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)
Plain English writing is a writing technique that is used to more effectively communicate with audiences. Plain language makes use of simpler everyday words that can be understood by most people. Content must be organized in a way that allows readers to easily find what they need, understand the knowledge and finally apply that knowledge to their specific situation. Plain English writing also makes use of an active voice rather than a passive one to emphasize the purpose of the content whether it be to create conversions or move customers down the sales funnel. Content is not being re-written “dumber” it is being re-written to make it easier to understand and digest. Plain English writing is the act of reorganizing and structuring content to make the end user experience easier and swifter. Proper use of plain English writing improves tangible elements such as on page time, conversion rates and bounce rates.
B) What makes plain English writing different? (4 Marks)
When compared to traditional writing, plain English writing is shorter, simpler and more concise. Plain English writing removes unnecessary topics and unneeded words making the content shorter and more useful per sentence to the reader.Plain language writing main aim is to make traditional writing easier to understand, Plain English also simplifies traditional writing by using simpler and more widely used and understood words as well as making the use of an active voice and instructions to make the content easier to digest for readers. Finally plain English makes content more concise for readers by removing complicated words and more importantly removing content that doesn’t serve a purpose to the user or is unimportant to the purpose of your written content.
C) What is plain language writing for the web and in detail and in your own words, why is it important?
(4 Marks)
Plain language writing for the web is the gold standard for web content and is widely used in all forms of online content. Plain language is important for writing for the web because of the tangible benefits it provides to your business and the end user experience. The majority of web content from videos to articles makes use of plain language writing and has been for some years.This has created an audience of users that are used to Plain language and expect it from professional online content. In the fast paced environment of web content the simple and easily digestible content plain language helps create understandable content that users are less likely to skim over.
Plain language writing’s importance comes from the measurable benefits it provides. Proper playing language content will better engage readers making them more likely to spend more time on your page lowering bounce rates. The more time people spend on your website the greater chance to create conversions.
Leave a Reply