clear language jan chappel, mhsc canadian centre for occupational health and safety
TRANSCRIPT
What is “Clear Language”?
“Clear (or plain) language writing presents information in ways that make sense to the reader. It uses straightforward, concrete, familiar words, organized in a way that makes sense to the reader. Research shows that clear language has benefits for readers at all levels”
(Workers’ Compensation Board
of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut)
Clear Language is not...
• ‘Talking down’
• Over simplification
• Too short can be just as bad as too long
Language may be a problem at work if ...
• Safe work procedures are not followed
• Few requests for hazard information
• Reluctance to participate
• Low or little hazard reporting
• High injury rates
• Miscommunication between management and shop floor
Cost of Unclear Language
In 1988, the estimated cost “to Canadian
businesses was $1.6 billion for industrial
accidents alone. This does not include the
cost of illiteracy from lost productivity in
other areas.”
-“Clear Language and Design” web site
Value of Writing Clearly
• By revising its forms, Citibank reduced time spent training staff by 50% and improved the accuracy of the information that staff gave to customers.
• A maker of programmable controllers found that customer service calls shifted from 50/day to 2/month after they redesigned their documents using plain language and readable formats.
Clear Writing will improve...
• Task time
• Number of errors
• Memory and retention
• Overall satisfaction / impression
Four Levels of Literacy
1. Difficulty with print material.– Most likely to identify themselves as not being
able to read
2. Use print material but only in a limited way.– Recognize themselves as having difficulty with
common reading tasks
Four Levels of Literacy
3. Use reading materials for a variety of situations provided the material is simple, clearly laid out, and tasks not too complicated.– don’t see themselves as non-readers, but tend to
avoid reading.
4. Meet most of everyday reading demands.
22% of Canadians are
baffled by any printed text – have trouble when they
shop, bank, fill in forms or job applications
– pick out words/phrases
– use strategies to cope
– most have excellent memories
26% have basic reading skills– can read but they don’t
enjoy it
– tend to read one syllable at a time
52% of Canadians can read – can follow print
instructions, shop, bank.
– this group is generally well educated.
Plain speaking: A Guide to Clear Communications for Health and Social Service Workers in Halton, 1999
Clear Language is for everyone.
A reader should never have to try to figure out what is happening on the page --– the focus,– the organization of material,– the purpose,– the flow of information
all should be recognized instantly with a single glance.
Planning for Clear Language
1 Know your audience
2 Know the purpose or objective of the document
3 Presentation of information
Audience Profile
• First language?• Education level?• Age range?• Size of audience?• Other demographics:
– geographic location
– faith, race, and ethnicity
– health status
• How much information do they need/want?
• How do they feel about the topic?
• Is there more than one audience?
Recommended Audience Levels
• General public audience– Grade 6
• For the public or general workforce but information introduces new terms, concepts or specialized subject matter– Grade 7- 9
• Specialized information for target audience– Grade 10 - 12, College level
For Grade 6 - not “like” Grade 6
“Like” Grade 6 would be:
• Use a lot of words such as:– ‘like’, ‘you know’,and ‘stuff’
• Make the sentences really really short or incomplete.
• Don't forget to repeat yourself many, many times and yet at the same time remain vague
2. Purpose
The “Why”
• Why are you writing the document?
• What the readers will do with the information?
• What do you want to happen as a result?
3. Presentation of Information
a) Organization
b) Paragraph and Sentence Structure
c) Language/Word choice
d) Design
e) Graphics/Colour
A) Organization
• Place the most important information first• Emphasize what you want the reader to do
or learn– do not “bury” instructions
• ie: use 1,2,3,4 to label steps– do not “bury” the facts
A) Organization
• Use headings and subheadings – explain the text that follows– be consistent in style and design– be logical
• Use tables– useful when comparing or matching items
A) Organization• Use lists
– group similar ideas or actions together– list in terms of relevance or importance – label the list– each item should begin in the same way
• same tense of verb• noun
Short term memory can hold from 5 to 9 terms (7 ±2 items)
A) Organization
• Always left justify.Right justification is
hard to readIn addition, full justification is also hard to
read.
When reading, the eye uses white space as a marker to help keep its place on the page.
B) Language/Word Choice
Use• active voice • positive messages• respectful• friendly• direct• inclusive language
Avoid• passive voice • negative messages• bossy, patronizing• formal, impersonal• vague• assumptions, bias
B) Language/Word Choice
• Passive voice usually lacks a subject, and hides responsibility
Active: Jack hit the ball.
Passive: The ball was hit by Jack.
“-tion” words
Use• apply• specify• consider• investigate, look in to• assume
Avoid• application• specification• consideration• investigation• assumption
“Needless” Words
Use• now• without• during• near• if• to• after
Avoid• at this point in time• in the absence of • in the course of• in the neighbourhood of• in the event of/that• for the purpose of• subsequent to
Other Word Choices
Use• speed up, hasten• make easier, help• try• work out, devise, form• best, greatest, most• plan• start
Avoid• expedite• facilitate• accomplish• formulate• optimum• strategize• operationalize
Other Tips• Watch the use of slang as well as technical,
specialized or legal language
• Appropriate to use acronyms and short forms as long as they are understood by everyone. – “avoid or explain”
• Avoid Latin forms of words– residence VS house
C) Paragraph & Sentence Structure
Organize your paragraph
• State your point– define any necessary terms
• State your evidence
• Explain your evidence
• Provide a summary
• Transition, if necessary
C) Paragraph & Sentence Structure
• One idea per paragraph– about 4 or 5 sentences per paragraph
• Use transitions between two or more parts of your writing
• Use “parallel” structure– verb tense– similar construction
C) Paragraph & Sentence Structure
Use• vary sentence length• one idea per sentence• bullets with parallel
construction and grouped for relevance
Avoid• sentences over 30
words• many clauses• run on lists• “inverted” sentences
Example
Injuries may range from minor bruising and cuts to injuries like loss of teeth and, in some cases, death.
• Injuries may be minor such as bruises, cuts or lost teeth. In rare cases, death may occur.
D) Design
• Use mixed case– ALL CAPS IS HARD TO READ.
• Use bold rather than a different font to make something stand out
• Use fonts with proportionate spacing– Times New Roman VS Courier
• Use “fancy” fonts and italics sparingly– Isn’tIsn’t this hard to read?
D) Design - Font Styles
Print • use a font that is
“shapely”
Serifs:– Courier New– Palatino– Times New Roman
Web • shapes are too hard to
read when combined with background colour, pixels, etc
San Serifs:– Arial– Tahoma– Verdana
D) Design - White Space • Break text into units• Use consistent headings
– leave more space above the heading than below• Use 2 spaces after each period• Double space between paragraphs• Indent to set text or lists apart• Lines should be 50-70 characters long • Do not hyphenate words at the end of the line
E) Graphics & Colour
• Pictures and words together can have greater impact – but only when the pictures are relevant and
meaningful to the message
• Make sure pictures are meaningful to audience
• Label graphics clearly• Do not place graphics where they will
interrupt normal reading patterns
E) Graphics & Colour• Keep good contrast between text and
background– Black text on white or a pale colour is best– Red and yellow are highly visible– Blue and green are less so
• Superimposing type on a graphic or complicated background slows reading
• Readers often miss the message when the page is “too flashy”
Web Tips
• Reading from computer screens is 25% slower than from paper.– Web content should have 50% of the word
count of its paper equivalent
• Write clear, short headings– people “scan” web documents– use the “inverted pyramid” style
Web Tips
• Include links to other parts of a longer document– if document is longer than two screens,
consider using a table of contents or similar
• Use a font size of HTML 2 or 3 (12 pt)
• Do not use underline on web documents unless it is a hyperlink
Web Tips
• People may not read the material in a specific order.– May need to explain concepts more than once
or provide links to related pages– May need to re-define acronyms or definitions
• Date the publication or document
• State authorship
E-mail Tips
• Meaningful subject line
• Tell the reader what you want
• Limit the use of attachments
• Use a signature file for business
• Include only enough of the previous message to give context– use the arrow “>” to indicate old text
Example
Work in extreme heat presents a potential health hazard.
• Working when it is very hot can be dangerous to your health.
Example
Medical attention should be sought immediately.
• Get first aid immediately.
• Go to a hospital right away.
Example
Fatal exposures to cold among workers have almost always resulted from accidental exposures involving failure to escape from low environmental air temperatures or from immersion in low temperature water.
(2000 TLV booklet, p171)
• Any Suggestions?
Possible solution
In most cases, workers died from cold exposure because they accidentally stayed outside too long when it was very cold, or they fell into cold water.
Assessment Tools
• SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledegook)• http://www.nlhp.cpha.ca/smog.htm
• Reading Effectiveness Tool• http://www.Eastendliteracy.on.ca/
ClearLanguageAndDesign/readingeffectivenesstool/
• Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index– in Microsoft Word:
Tools > Options > click on “Spelling & Grammar” tab > check “Show Readability Statistics”
Resources• Clear Language and Design (CLAD)
• http://www.Eastendliteracy.on.ca/ClearLanguageAndDesign/
• The Plain Train• http://www.web.net/~plain/PlainTrain/
• National Adult Literacy Database• http://www.nald.ca/index.htm
• Canadian Public Health Association - National Literacy & Health Program
• http://www.nlhp.cpha.ca/
• EvB Communications (web tip sheet)• http://infoweb.magi.com/~evb/hand.html