Plain language is the writing approach preferred by the AER. It is defined as communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it. What’s plain to one audience may not be plain to another.
Effective writing is an act of empathy. It requires you, the author, to spend time thinking about who your audience is and what they need from you. It influences everything from how you structure your document to the words you choose. It does require a little more effort on the front end, but that effort more than pays off on the back end by preventing the wasting of resources answering questions or redrafting the document to clarify.
The drafting approach we recommend is simple: think, then write, then edit, in that order.
Before you actually start writing your document, take the time to think through your approach. In this phase you should produce three things:
A list of critical audiences in priority order (e.g., directives are always for industry first, decisions are for the participants first, bulletins are for the general public, etc.)
A clear and relatively detailed statement of the purpose of your document
A linear outline
Writing is about momentum, so try to minimize distractions and dedicate large blocks of time solely to writing. See the “Tools of the Trade” section for ideas on how to make the writing process as painless as possible.
The most important thing to do in this phase is give yourself enough time! This phase is often the longest. There are three main types of editing you need to do:
Self-editing – You should never inflict your first draft on anyone. Put your first draft in a drawer for as long as you can afford to, then do at least one editing pass on your own.
Compare it to your audience list. Can they understand the document? Can they find what they need?
Compare it to your purpose statement. Did you say everything you meant to say? Is it clear to the reader what you want them to do?
Compare it to your outline. It’s OK to deviate, but double-check and make sure that your deviation is actually an improvement. If not, edit the document to more closely line up with your initial outline.
Peer review – You should never be the only set of eyes on a document you yourself wrote. Ever! Make sure at least one other person reads through it before you send it further up the chain.
Publications Process – The document will now be reviewed by lawyers, editors, and decision makers. This can be a lengthy process that involves many iterations and hard questions. Plan for it.
The editors offer different writing courses. Check the course calendar for details or contact the editors directly.