Key Concepts
Plain Language Writing
Advantages of Plain Language Writing
Points to consider with Plain Language Writing
Learning Activities
Looking at Readability
Analyzing Writing
Applying a Readability Formula
Making Simple Sentences
Improving Messages
Auditory Communication Efforts
Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice

Key Concepts

• "Plain language" writing is a strategy of expressing information in a straightforward, simple manner so as to reduce the time and skills demanded of the reader.
  
  
• Staff can ensure that written materials are accessible to the broadest possible range of parents by using a plain language approach in their print communications.

Background Information

Any time writers put pen to paper, they have choices in the way they express themselves. For example, they can choose to include a great deal of information, just the basic facts, or some amount in between. They can choose to use academic language, jargon, or everyday speech. They can choose to use a conversational tone or to speak "officially." What is important is that the writer expresses himself or herself in a way that best matches the intended readers.

"Plain language" writing means making choices in the way you write in order to communicate information quickly and efficiently. It is a very useful way to communicate critical, important information to a diversity of people.

Head Start programs have very important things to say to parents. At the same time, Head Start parents vary a great deal in terms of interests, available time, education, and skills. For these reasons, a plain language approach is often the best strategy for staff to use when communicating in print.

Here are some of the advantages of plain language writing:

• It reduces the reading burden on parents and staff who have limited amounts of time.
  
  
• It makes program information easier for everyone to understand.
  
  
• It makes print materials more accessible to parents who have reading skills below the high school level.
  
  
• Likewise, it makes print materials easier to read for parents whose native language is not English.

Parents are more likely to read and use printed information that is in plain language. They also are more likely to respond as requested. When reports and other internal communications are in plain language, staff can more easily share useful information with each other, too.

Another benefit of having print materials for parents in plain language is that they are much easier to translate into other languages.

It often happens that a staff member finds something in print that he or she would like to share with parents, but the text is at a high reading level. Staff that are familiar with plain language techniques can use them to "translate" these kinds of materials into easier-to-read versions.

Plain language writing requires that you consider the following:

Context: Does the reader have the background knowledge to understand what is being said?

Concreteness/Abstractness: Is the language clear and familiar to the readers? Are examples relevant? Can people really picture in their minds what is being said?

Clarity of Style: Are main ideas stated up front, with other information following in logical order?

Design: Is the material easy on the eyes, in fairly large type, with some white space?

Readability: Are the materials written at a level that matches the reading skill of the intended audience?

A good "rule of thumb" is to have written materials at a 6th-8th grade reading level. That makes them accessible to a broad range of people, yet not so simplified that content is sacrificed.

There are a few things that "plain language" writing does not mean. It does not mean throwing grammar out the window. In fact, sloppy grammar and poor sentence construction can get in the way of clear communication.

Plain language writing does not mean communicating less information. Rather, it requires that you state your message in clear, uncluttered language, and that you get rid of redundant or unneeded text, so that all the real information gets across.

Finally, plain language writing does not mean avoiding every long or difficult word. Sometimes there are important words you want to use that aren't themselves easy to read. With plain language writing, readers are more able to focus on and comprehend these more difficult words, because the document as a whole is so simple and direct.

Looking at Readability Purpose: Participants will learn how to use a "readability" formula to check whether a given piece of writing will be easy to read for the parents who are the intended readers.

Materials
Handout 9, Overhead 2, Overhead 3, overhead projector.

Process
Introduce the activity by explaining that the FOG index is a tool you can use to get a general sense of the reading ease or difficulty of a text. Continue by stating that the reason that Robert Gunning called this formula FOG is because it can help to take the "fog" out of writing, that is, to make written materials more clear and concise.

Introduce the FOG index using the information below.

What readability formulas do:

Readability formulas provide a rough estimate of the reading level of written material. They can be a useful tool for predicting whether a given piece of writing will be accessible to, or present difficulties for, intended readers.

The value of this readability formula:

The FOG index can be used to get a general sense of how hard or easy something is to read. It also can be used to compare two drafts of the same manuscript.

This formula can be used on texts that are at least 100 words or more. It is based on the following assumptions:

• Longer words are harder to read than shorter words.
  
  
• The shortest way of saying something is the easiest to read.

While these assumptions are not always true, they can be useful as a guide when writing in plain language. How this readability formula works:

The FOG index assigns a fixed numerical score that indicates a "reading level" for the text. It measures the reading level of a text in terms of:

• The number of words per sentence; and
  
  
• The number of long words (words with three or more syllables).

Readability formulas provide a general sense of readability. They should be used as a guide but not as an absolute indicator of reading level. Distribute Handout 9, Sample Reading Passages. Explain to the participants that these samples have been taken from program descriptions given to parents at actual Head Start centers.

Trainer Preparation Notes:

This exercise will be easier to do if you provide a calculator for each group.

Ask participants to look over the four passages and think about which one they prefer to read and why. After five minutes, ask them to give you feedback to these questions:

• Which passage do you prefer to read?
  
  
• Why do you prefer that passage? (i.e., it was clear, personal, easier to read...).

Explain that one of the reasons more people prefer Passages #1 and #2 is that they are easier to read than Passages #3 and #4

Instruct participants to turn to page 3 of their handout, Instructions for Using the Fog Index. As you review the instructions, model the use of the readability formula by applying it to Passage #1. Use an overhead projector and Overheads 2 and 3 to do so.

Next, divide the participants into two groups.

Direct one group to work together to apply the Fog Index to Passage #2. The other group should apply the Fog Index to Passage #3.

Debriefing

Ask for a volunteer to read aloud Passage #1. Restate the reading level of that passage.

Ask a second volunteer to read aloud Passage #2. Ask the group that worked on this passage for its readability level.

Finally, ask a third volunteer to read aloud Passage #3. Ask the group that worked on this passage for its readability level.

Ask participants whether they find any relationship between how each passage sounded as it was read aloud and the reading level it was measured at.

Ask participants to restate the key variables measured by the FOG readability index (sentence length and word length).

If time permits, and the group is willing, apply the FOG index to Passage #4. This passage is taken through a complete rewrite Activity 3-5.

Trainer Preparation Notes:

Some participants may say that they already have too much paperwork to do and won't ever have time to use a readability formula. Let them know that by comparing the four reading passages in this exercise, they have had a chance to "see" what different reading levels look like. They also have learned some of the variables (sentence and word length) that can make materials more difficult to read. Even if they never use a readability formula again, participants have gained experience that can help them create plain language materials in the future.

Analyzing Writing Purpose: Participants will review the factors that can make a piece of writing difficult to read or, conversely, easy to read

Materials
Handout 10, Handout 11, chart paper

Process
Distribute Handout 10, Plain Language Writing. Discuss each item briefly and answer any questions as to meaning.

Trainer Preparation Notes:

Be prepared with examples from actual materials used in your Head Start program to support each point on the handout.

Ask for a volunteer to reread aloud Passage #1. Using Handout 10 as a guide, have participants suggest some of the factors that give this passage a low reading level. The answers may include:

• Short sentences
  
  
• Use of bullets to break up information
  
  
• Directly addresses the reader ("you")
  
  
• Friendly conversational style
  
  
• Simple vocabulary

Ask for a new volunteer to reread aloud Passage #4.

Note that according to one readability formula (the FOG index) Passage #1 is at a 3rd grade reading level and passage #4 is at a 22nd grade reading level.

Tell participants that since many, if not most, Head Start parents do not have post-graduate degrees, their goal for this activity will be to revise Passage #4 into plain language.

Instruct participants to analyze this passage, sentence by sentence. Do this by having a volunteer read aloud the first sentence. Then ask for comments on what makes that sentence relatively hard to understand and how that sentence could be restated more clearly. Write suggestions on chart paper. Repeat this process for the other three sentences.

Trainer Preparation Notes:

Participants will make a variety of suggestions, some modifying other suggestions. Write all of the suggestions on the chart paper. This shows that making meaning clear can take a lot of drafting and rewriting. It also demonstrates that there is no "one way" to say
something.

To help facilitate this exercise, the four sentences from Passage #4 are analyzed, with some suggested rewording, below.

Sentence 1
The overall goal of the Head Start program is to bring about a greater degree of social competence in children.

What makes the sentence hard for a reader to understand:

• Reader may not know what is meant by the term "social competence."

How the sentence could be restated more clearly:

The main goal of Head Start is to help children learn and grow through their experiences with other people — with family members, friends, schoolmates, teachers, and everyone else in their lives. This ability to have successful relationships with other people is called "social competence."

This suggested rewording shows that sometimes the use of more words can make things clear, by defining terms that may be unfamiliar.

Sentence 2
Social competence takes into account the inter-relatedness of cognitive and intellectual development, physical and mental health, nutritional needs, and other factors that enable a developmental approach to helping children achieve social competence.

What makes the sentence hard for a reader to understand:

• Very long sentence (32 words)
  
  
• Jargon ("inter-relatedness," "enable a developmental approach")
  
  
• Redundancy ("cognitive and intellectual")
  
  
• Heavy reliance on general terms ("physical", "mental", "nutritional", "developmental")
  
  
• Circular sentence (begins and ends with "social competence")

How the sentence could be restated more clearly:

For children to develop social competence, they must have learning opportunities, healthy bodies and minds, and good nutrition.

Note that it is difficult to reword the last part of the sentence ("factors that enable a developmental approach....") without knowing more about what the writer was attempting to say. This is important. When material is written at a very high level, it can hide the fact that the meaning is actually unclear.

Sentence 3
To the accomplishment of this goal; Head Start objectives and performance standards provide for the improvement of the child's health and physical abilities, including appropriate steps to correct present physical and mental problems and to enhance every child's access to an adequate diet.

What makes the sentence hard for a reader to understand:

• Very long sentence (43 words)
  
  
• Wordy
  
  
• Too much information in one sentence

How the sentence could be restated more clearly:

Therefore, Head Start is committed to:

• Helping children improve their health
  
  
• Helping children develop their bodies
  
  
• Helping children overcome any existing health problems
  
  
• Making sure that every child has a good diet

Note that by rewording the sentence, it becomes apparent that the writer has left out the fact, inferred by the previous sentence's definition of social competence, that Head Start is also committed to "helping children leam."

Also note that in the suggested rewrite, we have left out reference to "objectives and performance standards." Some participants may feel those particulars are too important to compress into "Head Start is committed to." That's a valid opinion — have them suggest their own restatement.

Sentence 4
The performance standards also provide for the improvement of the family's attitude toward future health care and physical abilities.

What makes the sentence hard for a reader to understand:

• Not clear what is meant by "future...physical abilities"
  
  
• Wordy
  
  
• Do they really mean "attitude"?

How the sentence could be restated more clearly:

Head Start is also committed to helping parents build on the skills and knowledge they can use to ensure the healthy development of their children.

Debriefing
Distribute Handout 11, A Rewrite of Passage #4. Have a volunteer read it aloud. Ask for comments on the two versions of Passage #4.

Trainer Preparation Notes:

This may be a good opportunity to discuss the concern that making things "too easy" to read will offend fluent readers. How do the participants respond to the two versions? Do they find either one condescending, unfriendly, too complex, or overly simplistic? Chances are that the more difficult passage is more off-putting to people than the easy-to-read passage. Good readers may enjoy the complex and literary language of scholarly works and fiction. But when it comes to need-to-know information, good readers are like everyone else: they want it straight and simple.

Applying a Readability Formula Purpose: This activity is designed to help participants evaluate whether a print sample is written at a level that will successfully communicate information to the intended readers.

Coach Preparation Notes:

This coaching activity should be used with staff who have reading skills at or above the high school level and who are comfortable with basic math computations such as division and averaging.

Materials
Handout 9
Head Start writing sample (selected by facilitator)

Process
...

Note that Head Start staff need to ensure that written materials they supply to parents match the reading abilities of those parents. To reach the broadest possible range of parents, staff may want to aim for a 6th-8th grade reading level.

Distribute Handout 9, Instructions/or Using the FOG Index. Using a sample from the Head Start program that you have collected yourself, walk participants through the steps of applying a readability formula.

Direct participants to collect a sample of writing that their Head Start program uses with parents. This sample should contain narrative writing of 500 words or more. Instruct them to apply the readability formula to at least two, and preferably three, different 100-word sections.

Coach Preparation Notes:

Encourage participants to do this exercise in pairs so that they can check each other's math work. Also, see that participants have access to a calculator and know how to use it to compute averages and do division.

Debriefing

Have participants describe the subject matter of each writing sample, its intended audience, and the reading level according to the FOG index.

Ask participants:

• Was there any relationship between how the passage sounded as it was read and its reading level?
  
  
• Do the writing samples appear to be written at an appropriate level for parents?
  
  
• What impact on communication may occur if writing samples that measure at a high reading level are distributed to parents?

Making Simpler Sentences Purpose: This exercise helps participants build a "plain language" vocabulary that they can draw from as needed in communications with parents.

Materials
Handout 10, Handout 12

Process
Distribute to participants Handout 12, Making Simpler Sentences. Explain that this exercise will help participants become conscious of the vocabulary choices they have when speaking or writing. Choosing the "plain language" way to express oneself is often the best means of ensuring that the broadest spectrum of parents will be able to receive the message accurately.

Walk participants through the first few substitutions on the list. Then direct them to complete the exercise by themselves. If they get stuck, they can ask co-workers or family to help them.

Debriefing
Review the answers that participants came up with for the exercise. Note that each sentence has several possible "plain language" solutions.

Give participants a copy of Handout 10, Plain Language Writing, and review together. Encourage participants to think about words or phrases commonly used in their Head Start program that could benefit from a "plain language" translation (for example, frequently used jargon or academic language). Have them add these words, and plain language substitutions, on the back of the handout. Encourage participants to keep this list handy as a reference tool.

Improving Messages Purpose: Participants will use plain language writing strategies to revise a writing sample and explore ways to have parents review the material for readability.

Materials
Writing sample (selected by facilitator), chart paper, pens, paper.

Process
To prepare for this activity, you will need to select a writing sample to analyze. You should select a sample used at Head Start such as a program description, parent manual, or brochure. This sample should be on a topic or from a source that is relevant to parents in Head Start. It also should be at least 100 words long.

Trainer Preparation Notes:

To select an appropriate writing sample, ask parents who are active in the program, or former parents who are now on staff, what kinds of information they feel needs to be made more accessible.

Ask participants to think about specific ways that their program might benefit from a plain language communications approach. Have them describe the advantages for both staff and parents. Write their ideas on chart paper.

Next, divide participants into small groups of three to five. Give each participant a copy of the material you have pre-selected. Ask for a volunteer from each group to read the sample aloud to his or her group. Then direct each group to analyze the sample in terms of the following questions:

• What are the important messages?
  
  
• Would many Head Start parents be interested in this information? Why? How can the material be adapted to their particular interests?
  
  
• How could this information be restated in "plain language" so that the broadest range of parents could understand it?

Put these questions on separate pieces of chart paper at the front of the room, as a guide for the small groups.

Have participants spend at least 10 to 15 minutes on the third question, developing specific ideas for restating the message.

Debriefing

Reform the group at large. Repeating each question above, have volunteers summarize their respective group's findings. Using revisions suggested by the participants, write up a plain language version of the sample on chart paper.

Emphasize that in order to tailor their communications to parents in their program, staff need:

• To know their parents — their interests and concerns, background knowledge, and reading and language abilities.
  
  
• To consult with others as test readers in the drafting, revising, and rewriting process.

Solicit suggestions for involving more parents in the planning of written and spoken communications. Ideas may include:

• Invite parents to attend idea meetings on program materials and presentations.
  
  
• Have parents and staff co-author or co-edit print materials.
  
  
• Form a team of parents and staff to review print materials from outside sources.

Auditing Communications Efforts Purpose: Participants will use an audit form to determine whether various print materials used in their programs match the interests and reading skills of parents served. They will use the information collected by the audit to consider improvements that can be made to their program's print communications.

Materials
Handout 13

Process

Give participants Handout 13, Audit Worksheet. Instruct participants to locate three or more print samples that are used in the Head Start program. These samples should (1) have at least 100 words in them and (2) be used with parents.

Some ideas for print samples are: policy manuals, parent handbooks, orientation materials, parent newsletters, and information on child and family development. Direct participants to read and analyze each sample according to the questions on the Audit Worksheet. They will need a copy of the handout for each sample they will be analyzing.

Debriefing

Ask participants to report the findings from their audit. Ask them:

• Based on your audit, is the program tailoring its print materials to the interests and reading skills of the parents?
  
  
• What improvements could be made?
  
  
• How could parents be involved in making those improvements?

Next Steps: Ideas to Extend Practice

• Interview parents to gain their perspective on the accessibility of the program's print information to parents as a whole and to different groups of parents.
  
  
• Select one or more print materials used by the program to revise for readability. Work with parents to ensure that the material successfully communicates.
  
  
• Form a staff/parents committee to review and recommend programwide revisions to materials.
  
  
• Tape a meeting with parents. Analyze the tape to determine whether the staff communicated using a language level and tone appropriate to the parents in the program.
  
  
• Network with literacy professionals, such as staff at the local library or community literacy programs, to obtain resources and assistance in revising program materials to better communicate to parents with limited literacy skills.