Why we prefer plain English writing

When delivering important messages to a wide audience, keep it simple so we all understand...and you gain new clients.

During my career as a journalist and writer, I often grew irritated when editors would ask me to rewrite my copy because it was written at a level above the national reading age.

Now I see my frustration was because I did not understand why this was so important – as well as a dash of ego bruising, if I’m being honest.

Right now, in Australia, 44 per cent of us have the same reading age as a child in year 10 or lower. Less than 40 per cent of us read at a year 12 level, and only 15 per cent read at a post-high school education level.

While this may seem alarming, our literacy age is beaten only by a handful of Scandinavian countries and Japan, and we have better literacy levels than Canada, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.

For writers who want to express themselves through nuanced ideas, innuendos, and uncommon synonyms, the pressure to write to the national reading standard can sometimes feel like a barrier to their creativity. However, most writers want their work to be read and understood widely and there are ways of simplifying copy without damaging the creative expression.

In creative writing, we can still capture the feeling, the atmosphere, the suspension, and the intent without using complex sentence structures or words. It just involves a plain English edit from an editor who completely understands what the author is expressing. A skilled editor will simplify creative copy while retaining the integrity of the book.

Of course, writers can continue to write in their elaborate and creative styles and have their work published and devoured by their niche audience, but many of us want everyone to be able to enjoy our work. It makes sense financially (sales of books or clicks on ad copy) and for the purpose of inclusivity.

It's vital that newspapers and government departments use plain language so that nobody is missing important news, messages, or access to services. What is important here – and in business copy – is delivering clear and concise messaging.

Even if your literacy level is above the national standard, we all like to read simple copy when we are being given an important message or instruction, so plain language also makes sense for web and social media content.

Writers and business owners are often too close to their own writing to take a fresh look at it for complexity. Taking a step back is especially difficult for academics and scientific content editors.

If you would like to discuss a plain English edit of your written material, book in a chat with me on the “book a call” tab above.

Sources: Reading level statistics are from ABS and the OECD Survey of adults' skills first results.

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