Plain Language: Improving Communications from the Federal Government to the Public


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How To/Tools>Guidelines> Federal Plain Language Guidelines> Cover only one topic in each paragraph

Cover only one topic in each paragraph


Limit each paragraph or section to one topic to make it easier for your reader to understand your information. Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence that captures the essence of everything in the paragraph.

Don’t say Say
  1. Notice of a bid advertisement shall be published in at least one local newspaper and in one trade publication at least 30 days in advance of sale. If applicable, the notice must identify the reservation within which the tracts to be leased are found. Specific descriptions of the tracts shall be available at the office of the superintendent. The complete text of the advertisement shall be mailed to each person listed on the appropriate agency mailing list.
  1. Thirty days before the sale, we will publish a notice advertising bids. The notice will be in at least one local newspaper and in one trade publication. It will identify any reservation where the tracts to be leased are located.
  2. We will share information about this process in two other ways. We will mail the advertisement to each person on the appropriate agency mailing list. We will also provide specific descriptions of the tracts at the superintendent’s office.

Putting each topic in a separate paragraph makes your information easier to digest.


AUDIENCE

• Identify your audience and write to them
• Address separate audiences separately

ORGANIZATION

• Organize to meet your audience's needs
• Address one person, not a group
• Use lots of useful headings
• Write short sections

WRITING: Words

verbs
• Use active voice
• Use the simplest form of a verb
• Don't turn verbs into nouns
• Use "must" to convey requirements
• Use contractions when appropriate
nouns and pronouns
• Avoid noun strings
• Use "you" and other pronouns to speak directly to readers
• Minimize abbreviations
other word issues
• Use short, simple words
• Omit unnecessary words
• Dealing with definitions
• Use the same term consistently for a specific thought or object
• Avoid legal, foreign, and technical jargon
• Don't use slashes

WRITING: Sentences

• Write short sentences
• Keep subject, verb, and object close together
• Avoid double negatives and exceptions to exceptions
• Place the main idea before exceptions and conditions
• Place words carefully

WRITING: Paragraphs

• Have a topic sentence
• Use transition words
• Write short paragraphs
• Include only one issue in each paragraph

WRITING: Other

• Use examples
• Use vertical lists
• Use tables to make complex material easier to understand
• Consider using illustrations
• Use emphasis to highlight important concepts
• Minimize cross-references
• Design for ease of reading

TESTING

• Testing your Document
 
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