Plain style. Let’s keep it clean and
simple, right? The fewer words used, the better off we all are. Writing needs to be understood by
everyone. It shouldn’t exclude anyone based on class or education. Nor should
it be confusing to readers, no matter what their levels of ability may be. That
is the general idea behind the plain style. Everyone deserves to understand
what they are reading. Minnesota’s Office of the Secretary of State recently
rewrote their document entitled “Absentee Ballot Instructions for Unregistered
Voters.” It was originally considered to be too difficult for the average person
to understand, so the Office of Secretary of State attempted to create a more
readable document for their citizens. The document goes through step by step on
how unregistered voters can fill out and send in their absentee ballots as well
as their voter registrations. All in all, the plain style has become
increasingly popular, and it is easy to see why. People enjoy understanding
what they’re reading, but does writing plainly leave something behind? Within
“Absentee Ballot Instructions for Unregistered Voters,” there are plenty of
strategies and examples to demonstrate that the text is written in plain style
and also why writing in the plain style can be so important but also why it can
become problematic.
The document was tested for
readability by “Visible Thread Readability” in several categories. Overall, the
tests demonstrated that “Absentee Ballot Instructions for Unregistered Voters”
more or less contains the plain style. This readability calculator first tests
for “long sentences” which are defined as being twenty words or longer. This
document consisted of 17.14% “long sentences,” which is about 12% higher than
the recommended amount. It also tests for passive voice and the goal is to have
4% or less in a text. The document analyzed contains 8.57% passive voice. A
readability score also exists, and when tested, the document scored 55 out of
100. Anything over 50 is considered to be a decent level of readability for the
general population. Finally, the readability calculator gives the text an
average grade level. Since the text is split into many different parts, each
section consists of a more specific grade level. The levels for this text
ranged anywhere from Grade 1 to 15.3. When averaged, this calculated out as an
8.8-grade level. To reach the general population, readability advocates
recommend that writers aim for an average grade level of 8 or lower. However,
elements aside from readability also contribute to the plain style.
To obtain
the plain style, writers use different strategies. The readability calculator,
“Visible Thread Readability” recommends splitting apart long sentences into
smaller ones, eliminating passive voice, turning hidden verbs (is, are, were)
into obvious verbs and eliminating unnecessary adverbs. Seems easy enough,
right? “The Center for Plain Language” created five steps to achieve plain
language when writing. They first advise identifying the audience, in order to
understand their needs. Next, create the content in a way that leads readers
through the information. Then, write plainly and simply. Keep sentences and
ideas short and to-the-point. In addition to this, the document’s design should
help and guide the readers. Reading block text creates trouble for readers, so
using other ideas or strategies may help them. Finally, “The Center for Plain
Language” suggests working with the intended audience to ensure that they
understand the text. Many authors or creators of documents intentionally use
strategies to make the writing sound plain. The Minnesotan Office of Secretary of
State is no exception to this, within the document they used various strategies
including:
● Personal language
● Second person (you form)
● Shorter sentences
● Simple phrases and sentences
● Bullet points
● Blocking, spacing, separating out
sections of writing
● Pictures
● Whitespace
● Conduplicatio (repeating the same
keyword)
Given all of these different strategies, it is easy to see
that plain language helps readers understand documents. Most of the bullet
points start with verbs and clearly describe that action necessary to complete
the steps of the process. The document uses personal language such as “you will
need” and “you must submit the voter registration.” Pictures alongside the
directions demonstrate what the voters must do. The document creators also
appear to use conduplicatio, for example using “ballot” consistently rather
than “record of the vote” or “poll.” The
language appears very simple, readable and user-friendly. However, readers must
consider more than solely strategies when analyzing documents.
The spheres
of activities revolved around the document must also be considered. This refers
to the types of people and situations that engage with and use the text most
often. For this particular document, the audience is large. It is safe to
assume that the vast majority of the citizens of Minnesota have access to this
document. In its entirety, the population contains roughly 5.577 million
people. For that reason, it is rather likely that the writers and creators of
this text wrote plainly because of the number of people that have access to
this document. Steve Simon currently holds the position of Minnesota Secretary
of State. The website available for his office contains several different links
to information about voting. In fact, elections and voting is the first tab on
the website next to the home tab. Clearly, voting and providing information
about voting is a priority for the office of
Minnesota Secretary of State and Steve Simon. Large sections also
highlight both registering to vote and voting via absentee ballot They want
people voting, and to do that, they need to provide clear, simple and accurate
information about how to register for voting.
However, if
citizens cannot read the document with ease, it causes tension between the
general population and the politicians in office. If the citizens are not able
to get necessary information, such as simple voting directions, they may decide
to vote for someone else in an election. Of course, this serves only as a
speculation, but it holds valid ideas about the general public. If someone in
power does not meet the needs of their citizens, why keep that person in
office? Therefore, providing clear information remains in the Minnesota
Secretary of State’s best interest. Additionally, the Minnesota Secretary of
State’s clarity in their writing could potentially avoid legal issues, such as
lawsuits. For that reason, writing plainly and portraying the voting process as
straightforward and transparently as possible remains an important
consideration and goal for the Minnesota Secretary of State.
Plain style
poses some potential issues, despite its simplicity. As readers, we are forced
to question if plain style is leaving out information that we might need.
Simplifying everything is not always best, as details and relevant content may
be lost when trying to make the information less wordy and complicated. For
example, the section entitled “Options for proof of where you live” likely does
not contain all possibilities that one could use to prove their home address. Those
who created the document presumably included only the most common “options for
proof” because a full list would be too extensive. Small details can make a
large difference in our understanding of texts and documents. While “Absentee
Ballot Instructions for Unregistered Voters” seems clear and to the point, it
is possible that readers have questions that are not being answered. For a
process as important as voting, don’t citizens deserve as much information as
possible? Don’t they have a right to know and understand exactly what happens
with their information and their vote? Certainly the “Absentee Ballot
Instructions for Unregistered Voters” reads easily, but writing plainly leaves
out other vital considerations. Who has access to the information after it is
sent in? How can citizens be sure that no one takes advantage of their privacy?
Many citizens likely believe they deserve to know this information, but the
document mentions nothing related to what happens upon the completion of the
absentee ballot. Considering what plain style leaves out by eliminating
complicated or additional information is important to acknowledge. The style,
while it has its uses, is not appropriate in all scenarios.
Plain style
continues to gain popularity among many government offices and businesses. This
document, “Absentee Ballot Instructions for Unregistered Voters” serves as an
excellent example for not only what plain style might look like, but also how
it can be implemented and used. Strategies appear throughout the text to make
it easier to read and user-friendly to anyone in Minnesota who is over the age
of 18 and qualifies as a citizen. Many reasons exist for using plain style, but
in the case of this particular document, it appears that the creators of the
document use plain style to allow more people to access and read the document
without confusion or legal disputes. Anyone who may need to read this document
was accounted for in its creation. Of course, one document creates an
incomplete and insufficient understanding of both the benefits as well as
drawbacks of writing plainly. In order to gain a full understanding of the
plain style, both the positives and negatives deserve consideration. Is the
price of easy reading worth losing additional information? Is it truly fair to
omit details simply to make the text more accessible? It’s difficult to say,
but clearly, the plain style is powerful while simple, because the more
readable it is, the more people can be included in understanding and accessing
the text.
Emily Guenther
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