Editing is at its base feedback, which many people struggle to take without feeling it's a reflection on their being. As writer and educator who specializes in teaching others how to write well, Erin Lebacqz has given and received more feedback than most. Here's what she wants you to know about working with an editor, and some things to consider as you reflect on your own work.

What are the qualities of good writing? Does it differ depending on genre?

To me, good writing evokes a response in a reader. Most genres of writing do include the reader in some ways—their interpretation, their ability to visualize a scene, their emotions and hopes and fears. By thinking about our readers, we can typically make our writing better. Good writing of any genre also allows the author’s intention to come through—including subtext. The ability to create meaning and an authentic exchange of ideas… to me, that’s good writing.

Daphne Gray-Grant has words in her blood. Born to a newspaper family, she started editing in school and never stopped. She took the time to share her experience with us and shine a light on why even the best need editors, and how the field is evolving with new technologies.

What prompted your interest in editing?

I was a “born” editor. I started doing it in high school and continued in university, primarily for my own essays. But when friends discovered I was pretty good at the job, they asked me to help them with their writing, too. And I did, because I thought it was fun! I think I gravitated to editing because I’d been a high school debater and “making sense” and being persuasive were attributes that came naturally to me. My parents owned a struggling weekly newspaper and I started working there in high school (doing admin) but once I entered university, I officially began editing part-time. I started working there full-time after graduation and then moved to a large metropolitan daily paper when I was in my late 20s, where I became Books Editor and then Features Editor.

Learning any language is hard, and English is no exception. Professor Stephen Horowitz has lived and worked abroad, and brings the lessons he learned from his time teaching in Japan to his instruction of Legal English. For him, clear communication with English as a Second Language (ESL) students is a matter of teaching what they need to know, while eliminating cultural jargon from his own speech. His nuanced view of plain language shed a light on how important it is to tailor communication for your target audience.

What is your role and how is it connected to clear communication?

I’m a Professor of Legal English at Georgetown Law School. I help international masters of laws (LLM) students improve their ability to comprehend and communicate in a US legal environment.

The decision to write in plain language is usually a simple matter, but is it always the best choice? Professor Daniel Edelson of Seton Hall University School of Law is a proponent of plain English, but he cautions that it may be more difficult for professionals who have learned English as a second language to understand. He shares his tips for communicating clearly with non-native English speakers in this interview for International Plain Language Day. 

What is your role and how is it connected to clear communication?

I teach legal writing and academic skills to J.D. and LL.M. students at Seton Hall University School of Law. In addition, I teach legal English and US law online to students around the world. I am responsible for teaching students to communicate in a way that will meet the expectations of the US legal profession.

Plain language isn't all about word choice and sentence structure: it's also about design. Where does information sit on a page or website? Are your graphics adding information and function, or just clutter? Information designers and plain language experts like Annie Burger are constantly thinking about how to make important content accessible and usable. She shares her experience with creating clear content with us  for International Plain Language Day.

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

I am an information designer and a plain language practitioner at Hey Plain Jane. Basically, we help create clear communication and use any means to achieve that, including words and visuals. I am also a postdoctoral fellow at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. In my research I focus on plain language and how it is experienced in the real world.

We've all run into technical instructions for a product that flew way over our heads. This is annoying when it's something for fun, but when it comes to things like medication and medical devices, those confusing documents can be life threatening. That's why scientists like Kathy Walsh and her company Quality Systems Now work with the companies producing these products to make their information as clear as possible. Kathy shares the importance of plain writing in the sciences in her Q&A for International Plain Language Day.

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

I am the founder and Managing Director of Quality Systems Now (QSN), an Australian consulting company that helps pharmaceutical and medical device companies gain or maintain compliance accreditations or meet the manufacturing quality expectations required to make therapeutic goods.

If you've never specifically written in plain language before, it can be difficult to know where to start. Most of us were taught that big words and complex sentences would make us sound smart and trustworthy. Once you realize that your work gains more credence when you write for your audience's needs, it can be hard to break the highfalutin habit. Fortunately, professional writing coach Leslie O'Flahavan has some concrete advice for how to communicate clearly.

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

For 27 years, I’ve been the owner of E-WRITE, a writing training consultancy. My mission is to help people write well at work, and plain language provides the framework. I help people understand their relationship with their readers and develop writing skills, so they can meet readers’ needs.

What do you do if you work for the government and need to learn how to communicate clearly and concisely with the public? You go to the annual Communication School, organized by Education Director Michael Hughes of the National Association of Government Communicators! Having dedicated his life's work to honest, direct communication, Michael takes time to share his experiences in this International Plain Language Day interview.

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

I am the Education Director with the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). In my role, I organize and plan our association’s annual Communication School, where hundreds of professionals in the fields of public affairs, media relations, internal communications and external government affairs come together to network and learn best practices on how to effectively speak, write, and deliver information.

Even with 20 years of writing, reporting, and government communications experience under her belt, National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) President-Elect Leslie Gervasio finds legalese difficult to understand. Since the average American reads at a middle school level, Leslie knows how important it is to produce clear, readable public facing documents, and shared her thoughts with us for International Plain Language Day.

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

I am a senior public engagement specialist who collaborates with state and local government clients in the transportation industry. My primary goal is to educate elected officials and the public about complex transportation projects that affect their communities and explain why they are important. Transportation is sometimes challenging to write about (who understands what an accelerated bridge construction project is, for example?!), so writing in plain language can limit frustrations and boost credibility.

Everyone needs access to certain information from their governments and service providers. Those tasked with creating those documents have a responsibility to use language that their citizens and customers can understand. Plain language consultant Fraser Buffini points out the importance of clear communication: if you don't know what a set of instructions mean, you're not going to follow them. He shares his strategies for making sure folks can access their rights and fulfill their responsibilities in the interview below.

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

I run The Clear Writing Lab, my little online consultancy where I work on commercial plain language projects. I mainly work with international organizations like the EU and the UN, but enjoy working on legal projects too. I also spend a lot of my time as a Plain Language Consultant for Write Ltd. They have done so much to advocate for the plain language movement – and they essentially pioneered plain language as a commercial product. It’s such a joy to work with them. I get to work with a large team of plain language experts on a big mix of projects, and they all have seriously deep knowledge. Because plain language is such a new and evolving industry, it’s hard to find someone experienced to bounce ideas off and to talk with about what works and what doesn’t. Being able to have that sort of exchange at places like Write is crucial for the collective health of the industry.

Diplomacy requires clear communication, and empathy for the needs of allies and strangers alike. Jeremy Lang has spent his career cultivating that sense of connection and use of plain language communication as a diplomat, a plain language consultant, and an educator. He shares his insights on the importance of considering others' needs whenever you have information to share.

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

I am the lead on non-formal education in the British Council in the Wider Europe region, which spans a number of countries east of the EU. I also still teach a little English and work with a friend in running a clear language consultancy. My British Council role isn’t directly connected to plain language, but I believe that using plain language is critically important in all that I do.

You can write your documents in short sentences with small words, and they may still not qualify as "plain language." As Center for Plain Language board member Casey Mank explains, plain language is about usability as much as readability. Learn more below as Casey describes what makes a document successful, and how to integrate plain language into your own writing and design.

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

I serve on the board of directors at the Center for Plain Language. We are a nonprofit that helps government agencies and businesses write clearly. I’m currently serving my second term on the board and have previously been the Head Judge for the Center’s annual ClearMark Awards. The ClearMarks recognize the very best Plain Language work across industries and in 3 languages.

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.

Your firm knows they must implement a knowledge management system to be competitive, and they have a plan for how it’s going to happen—but why are there still so few materials in the database and why does it still seem so hard to use? When a firm’s knowledge management system is not allowed to reach its full potential, the company loses value through wasted time searching for or recreating what already exists. An important part of lawyers’ work is applying knowledge to the documents they create and retrieving knowledge stored within those documents; effective knowledge management and efficient, high-quality document creation go hand-in-hand. In this interview, knowledge management and innovation expert Jordan Galvin helps us understand the barriers law firms face when building knowledge management systems and how a firm’s knowledge management execution can set its innovation initiatives up for success.

There are many barriers to effective knowledge management in law firms, but human emotions around ownership and workplace culture can be some of the hardest to overcome. In this interview, knowledge management expert Marlene Gebauer sheds light on the barriers to knowledge management, including the need to rethink teamwork between people and between technologies. She also details how knowledge management and technology can affect document creation, and who will make a good fit to enter the dynamic knowledge management field. Read on to learn more.

Legal documents are full of valuable knowledge. They are also the easiest source of knowledge to improve the firm’s future document creation and strategies. But a sea of data is useless unless what you need can be easily found—good knowledge management is the difference between time wasted and time saved. Legal tech has made incredible advances for knowledge management, but its reputation as a silver bullet can actually make legal work harder rather than easier, unless we know how to harness its power. Knowledge management expert and former lawyer Jack Shepherd warns against assuming tech can automatically improve legal practices, and explains the importance of defining goals, determining realistic strategies, and putting in the work when implementing knowledge management technologies. Read on to find out why knowledge management is essential to improved document creation, and how the barriers, and solutions, to reaping these benefits are not what (or who) you thought they might be.

Are there moments at work that make you think, “There has to be a better way to do this”? Everyone has had this thought at some point, but it takes significant time and coordination with coworkers and experts to investigate these workplace inefficiencies which slow everyone down. There may be pushback against changing existing systems from “the way it’s always been,” but making the investment in knowledge management systems can have substantial payoff beyond relieving your pet peeves. In this interview with lawyer and knowledge management expert Bárbara Gondim da Rocha, learn how knowledge management can develop solutions that keep your company profitable and keep clients satisfied, even with a competitive market and added difficulties of remote work in the pandemic.

The purpose of knowledge management is to collect, organize, and enable the effective use of knowledge across an organization. The most successful law firms understand that knowledge is an asset and rely on knowledge management professionals to turn it into a competitive advantage. Someone can take a firm to the next level when they have a deep understanding of what constitutes valuable knowledge and the ability to anticipate when and how others will need to use that knowledge. If that person can create an industry-wide map of that knowledge, then she can create a paradigm shift. That’s exactly what Nicola Shaver is doing as lawyer-turned-founder of Legaltech Hub. In this interview you’ll learn how Nicola views document content as unstructured data and how that insightful approach allows her to create long-term value.

Technology is constantly evolving, and it’s up to every company to stay relevant and competitive in their field by adopting technology to improve their practice. Lawyers are knowledge workers, and their valuable knowledge, from knowing local rules and precedents, to partner capabilities and judge preferences, must be recorded to be readily usable and make litigation more affordable and accessible to clients. Knowledge management expert and former litigator Evan Shenkman sheds light on how tech has propelled legal knowledge management to new heights, to the point it has become a necessity to attract and retain clients.

When a law student graduates from law school, they quickly realize there is more to learn than what law school taught them. WordRake recently spoke with Michael Bloom, founder of Praktio, an online learning platform for lawyers. Michael is a former lawyer and law school professor turned tech entrepreneur.

When it comes to writing, learning from others and then practicing what you have learned can be of immense help. In this interview, WordRake speaks with Adam Eckart, Assistant Professor of Legal Writing at Suffolk University Law School, who teaches legal writing and has written extensively on teaching writing to law students, including through using tech in both litigation and transactional settings.

We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” - Joan Didion, writer and journalist

Many dream of becoming a published author and turning writing into a full-time job. Others simply strive to capture their thoughts, experiences, and stories in writing to share with a few friends and family members.