What is Clear Writing?

"Clear Writing" is a way of presenting information so that it is easy for everyone to read and understand. Clear Writing considers how the material looks, as well as what it says. Clear Writing prevents misunderstanding between you and your reader by avoiding jargon and technical terms.

How Do You Write Clearly?

Ask yourself these questions before you begin to write:

Who is my audience? What are the needs and abilities of my audience? What do I want to tell my reader?

Use the following guidelines on language and organization to help you write clearly. Language Write directly to your reader All staff employees are asked to submit their reports by the end of the year. Have your work reports in by December 31.

Incorrect Correct

Don't change verbs into nouns Incorrect Correct Immunizing will be done twice a year. We will immunize children each January and June.

Use the active voice - the subject does this action Incorrect Correct The coffee pot must be washed. You must wash the coffee pot.

Use a positive tone Anyone not wearing a bathing cap will not be allowed in the pool. You must wear a bathing cap while in the pool.

Incorrect Correct

Avoid using jargon or acronyms. The new OMAFRA office has a boardroom that rural stakeholders can use. The new office of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA)

Incorrect Correct

Explain difficult words in their context. Incorrect Every season, your sprayer should be calibrated. Every season, calibrate your sprayer by measuring the output of each nozzle to make sure that each one is putting out the same amount of spray.

Correct Organization

Use headings that summarize the text. Incorrect Correct Attention! Information on New Government Grants

List instructions in order - first step first, second step second, etc. Write complete sentences only when it makes sense to do so. List critical points apart from the text.

Incorrect The Annual Fall Clean-Up Day will be held on Saturday October the 20th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Anyplace Township Dump. Garbage must be brought in pick-up trucks or cars. No hazardous materials will be accepted at this time. All garbage must be unloaded by hand. Organize your garbage with wood on top, then metal objects, then tires on the bottom. This dump is open to Anyplace Township Residents only. Dumping charges will be $10 per vehicle. Correct ANNUAL FALL CLEAN-UP DAY ANYPLACE TOWNSHIP RESIDENTS ONLY Date: Saturday, October 20, 20XX Time: 9:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. Place: Anyplace Township Dump Cost: $10 per vehicle Load your vehicle in the following order from bottom to top: 1. Tires 2. Metal Objects 3. Wood * No hazardous materials will be accepted!

Avoid long, complicated sentences. A viable agricultural base strengthens the rural community and likewise, agriculture benefits from close ties to community, business, education, social and recreation facilities. A viable agricultural base strengthens the rural community. Agriculture benefits from close ties to community, business, education, social and recreation facilities.

Incorrect

Correct

Use parallel construction in lists - phrase each item using the same grammatical form. The volunteer survey had the following suggestions: planning meetings should be held in the spring. Do all recruiting through the newspaper. We should conduct two fundraisers every year. The volunteer survey had the following suggestions:

Incorrect

Correct

Hold planning meetings in the spring. Recruit through the newspaper. Hold fundraising events twice a year.

How Do You Present Material so People Want to Read it?

"Clear Writing" refers to more than just the way you write. The next step is to design the material so that your message stands out. You don't have to be a professional graphic designer. Many of these techniques can be done using a basic word processor and a little common sense. Type Size and Style Use serif type for text. Serif type has "feet" on the ends of the letters that move the reader's eye along the line, making it the best choice for paragraphs of text. Garamond is an example of a serif font. Use sans-serif type for short headings. Sans-serif type is suitable for headings and signs. Franklin Gothic is an example of a sans-serif typeface.

Do not use all capital letters in body text.

Using all capital letters makes text look too dense. People identify words and letters by shape.

Use bold type for emphasis. Italics are difficult to read. Use a legible size of type for body text. Some fonts are hard to read at small sizes than others. Choose a combination of point size and font that makes your body text easy for everyone to read.

Use graphics that enhance text. Graphics should help to break up the text, however, do not over-use graphics and clutter up your page. Use a simple design. Do not try to add too many different fonts and styles over-design your material. Simple is best! It is easier to read and more effective. Text Justification Left-justified text (with uneven right margins) gives the reader's eye a rest at the end of each line and a point of reference to begin reading the next line.

Justified text (text with even left and right margins) can save room on the page and looks neater, but appears dense and is difficult to read. Bullets and Boxes Graphic elements such as bullets () and boxes can be used to organize text and draw attention to certain areas. Be careful to be consistent in how you use these or else they can be more confusing than helpful to your reader. White Space Too much text gives a dense appearance and sends two messages to the reader: "This is going to be hard to understand. This is going to be boring." Columns and wide page margins make your text easier to read.