Plain Language Writing IS Rocket Science!
- Pia Windelov
- Nov 29, 2022
- 2 min read
If you have never been tasked with authoring information from technical or scientific language into plain, everyday language, you probably don't realise how difficult it is. How hard can it really be to 'dumb down' a text, right? Well, if this is your baseline, let's kill that myth right away!
Audience, Audience, Audience
Plain language writing is anything but 'dumbing down' content. It is about knowing your audiences and creating your content based on their needs and their levels of knowledge and skills. One challenge with plain language communication is that your audience(s) may be very heterogeneous whereas technical or scientific audiences tend to be homogeneous because they are trained in a specific communication style and jargon within their communities. This is why you need to plan for your audience, create for your audience and disseminate for your audience.
A Content Agnostic Model
There are several guidelines available on how to write in a simple language intended for non-scientific audiences. Often, these recommendations are written for specific purposes, industries or professions with good reason. Or, they are text heavy and resource demanding.
Ironically, I am yet to find a 'plain', one-page infographic that captures the process for plain language writing from a content-agnostic perspective and that provides core considerations from a general, plain language perspective. Therefore, I created my own. Whether you are a rocket scientist, a medical researcher, a legal or other professional, this model may be a quick reference for you when producing plain language content.
If you want to know more about 'zombie nouns' listed in the figure, please refer to this blog.
Bridging Science & Life
Sealion Consult is on our own grant mission to make life sciences understandable for all. Therefore, we also launch trainings for non-scientists which are available here.
Commentaires