Exercise 2-4B: Plain Language Act
On its website, the Small Business Administration asks for readers to submit examples of documents on its website that do not use plain language effectively. (According to the Plain Language Act of 2010, all government communication must be easy for readers to understand).
Take a look at the SBA website, and then see if you can find any information or documents that could use plain language more effectively. With your group, find a page that could use improvement and then write a list of your observations to share with the class. Use the checklist below for revision ideas.
Bonus: Write a professional email to the plain language coordinators of the Small Business Administration (Plain.Language@sba.gov.) in which you share your findings. Consider how you can use positive language and a “you-centered” attitude to provide these suggestions effectively.
Checklist for Plain Language
(from https://plainlanguage.gov/resources/checklists/checklist/)
Use this checklist to see if your document meets plain language standards. (If you’re writing for the web, here’s the web checklist.)
- written for the average reader
- organized to serve the reader’s needs
- has useful headings
- uses “you” and other pronouns to speak to the reader
- uses active voice
- uses short sections and short sentences
- uses the simplest tense possible—simple present is best
- uses base verbs, not hidden verbs
- omits excess words
- uses concrete, familiar words
- uses “must” to express requirements; avoids the ambiguous word “shall”
- places words carefully (avoids large gaps between the subject, the verb and the object; puts exceptions last; places modifiers correctly)
- uses lists and tables to simplify complex material
- uses no more than two or three subordinate levels
For an editable Google doc of this exercise that you can download, click here.