There are many approaches to plain language, but one central goal: clear communication. Professor Joe Kimble was introduced to the basics of editing legal writing for plain language from a 1970's book and was hooked. Professor Kimble does not use editing software—he prefers direct human feedback for his own writing. In any case, we share something important: a passion for serving readers and consumers through clear communication.

You’ve spent most of your career teaching legal writing. What brought you to this field?

I tell this story in Part 1 of Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law. It never occurred to me during law school that anything was wrong with legal writing. And I was an English-lit major in college. Then in the mid-70s (ages ago), I was working on drafting court rules for the Michigan Supreme Court. I had no training for this during law school, so I went to the law library and discovered Reed Dickerson’s Fundamentals of Legal Drafting. I noticed several pages with a list of words and phrases on the left side under the heading “Instead of.” Then on the right side were the plainer, simpler equivalents. It finally started to dawn on me. Why pursuant to instead of under? Why prior to instead of before? And so on. I soon became a convert, although my education was just beginning.

Plain language is innovative. Every time a writer decides to place their reader first, they embark on a new way to communicate. For Professor Michael Blasie, the need for clear communication sparks passion and creativity. He shares his journey from young lawyer imitating the jargon of the past to plain language expert and inventor in celebration of International Plain Language Day.

What is your role and how is it connected to plain language?

I am a researcher, inventor, and teacher driven by one goal: a world where everyone can understand legal documents.

Plain writing isn't boring or simple: it's writing with compassion and creativity. Whether you're composing a letter, advertising a hot new product, or creating instructions for applying to a government program, you want to keep your readers engaged. Copywriter Sara Rosinsky has dedicated her career to creating copy that reaches people with the information they need. She offers her insights on how to write for your reader's benefit.

What is your role and how is it connected to plain language?

I’m an advertising copywriter. So my writing always needs to clarify what my clients are offering—the benefits of buying their products or services. I never want to confuse, bore, or exhaust my readers. I need to pull them in and transmit ideas to them quickly and painlessly.

Nothing is more unpleasant to read than a long, humorless, convoluted technical document filled with jargon and run on sentences. For technical writer Paul Stregevsky, plain language is not simply a matter of using short words and phrases. Paul advocates human writing, creating documents that engage and inform the reader. After years of fighting for his reader's right to clear, memorable communication, he shares his journey with us.

Why did you pursue a career in technical writing?

My fifth-grade teacher asked the class, “What is democracy?” My classmates began, “It’s when—” or “It’s people—”. Mr. Griffin cut them off, “It’s not a when”; “It’s not people.” I began, “A form of government in which—” “Hear that, class? A form of gov-ern-ment …” I could explain things.

Maybe you’ve heard folks complaining about how young people tend to verb their nouns—adulting comes to mind. These new word constructions come from the need to make a static thing dynamic. In the case of adulting, the fact of living an adult life isn’t just a state of being, but takes constant and active maintenance. Verbing your nouns shows this constant state of motion.

If your job requires you to write regularly, consider your readers and today’s changing exposure to words when drafting your work. With every day’s onslaught of content from emails, text messages, social media, and meetings—both on and offline—modern office workers don’t have the time or patience to read unnecessary words to get to your point. Wordy writing is a great way to get someone to close an email or dump a proposal without finding out what it’s about.

As paralegals, time is money. Our days are filled with multitasking and responding to attorney and client demands. We appreciate the latest and greatest software that helps us perform with speed and accuracy. It’s necessary to pick software that fits our writing needs and expedites the process of producing legal documents. But we must also know how to use our software to its full potential so we can get the most benefit from it, in turn benefiting our clients.

Nominalizations—verbs or adjectives that have been converted into nouns—are common sources of obscurity, wordiness, and needless complexity in professional writing. While nominalizations may seem more formal when they appear in phrases like “reach a decision” or “make an assumption,” that requires equating formality with stodginess.

Effective business communication relies on clear, concise, specific, and meaningful writing. Clichés fail all four requirements. In your first draft, a cliché may feel so easy and familiar to write that it seems irreplaceable. But, upon revision, you’ll see that clichés are unoriginal, broad generalizations—and often redundant. Delete them. Replace them. Your readers will reward you with their attention.

A major advantage of eliminating clichés from your business writing is the clarity and precision it brings. Without the clutter of overused phrases, your writing will be more persuasive and impactful, and you’ll be seen as more authentic, authoritative, and trustworthy.

Being understood in writing can be complex. The words we use express our expectations and tone, but readers often misinterpret the intention the author wishes to convey. In this edition of our business writing education series, author and book coach Anne Janzer explores how our expression of authority can unintentionally derail teamwork, and what to do about it.

Antonio manages a distributed team with people in different time zones. The team interacts daily through emails or messaging.

Antonio is frustrated that the team doesn’t collaborate well unless they’re all in a room together. When he tosses out an idea over email, either everyone agrees, or no one responds.