What is Plain English? (Martin Cutts)

What is really meant by plain English? Is it anything more than a slogan used by campaigners to publicise themselves and their favourite cause, and by businesses selling editing and document design services?

Undoubtedly plain English is a woolly term. As no formula can genuinely measure the plainness of a document, I would rather describe plain English than define it. In my view, plain English refers to:

This means pitching the language at a level of sophistication that suits the readers and using appropriate structure and layout to help them navigate through the documents. It does not mean always using simple words at the expense of the most accurate words or writing whole documents in kindergarten language – even if, as some adult literacy surveys claim, some seven million adults in the UK and about 70 million adults in the US cannot read and write competently.

‘Plain’ has connotations of honesty, or should have. Essential information should not lie or tell half-truths, especially as its providers are often socially or financially dominant. For example, insurance policies should not hide management charges beneath a mass of detail and doublespeak.