Plain English focuses on being a flexible and efficient writing style that readers can understand in one reading. It uses only as many words as are necessary. It combines
- clear, concise expression
- an effective structure
- good design.
It tries to avoid obscurity, inflated vocabulary, and convoluted sentences. Proponents say that plain English lets readers concentrate on the message instead of complicated language.
History
Before the 20th century, it was fashionable for English-language writers to use a very bloated, rambling style. A sentence could take up half a page, with its subordinate clauses following several tangents. In some other European languages, such as German, sentences that were even more extensive were also frequent; the philosopher G. W. F. Hegel was known for writing sentences that easily occupied three pages.
It is not clear where this tradition came from, but it may have originated with classical Latin, in which such prose was perfectly acceptable.
United States
In the late 19th century, several gifted writers (e.g., Abraham Lincoln) demonstrated that plain English could be elegant when executed properly (e.g., the Gettysburg Address); but they were ahead of their time.
During the 1920s, such style guides as William Strunk Jr.'s The Elements of Style actively promoted the idea of writing in plain English. However, it would take over fifty years for Strunk's ideas to become widely accepted.
The plain English revolution finally penetrated the fields of law and government during the 1970s, as shown by the passage of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1976, and the popularity of books like Plain English for Lawyers (1979).
See also
References
- Strunk, William Strunk Jr. & White, E.B. (1918) The Elements of Style, ISBN 020530902X (paperback 4th ed., 2000)
- Wydick, Richard C. (1979) Plain English for Lawyers Carolina Academic Press, ISBN 1594601518 (paperback 5th ed., 2005)
External links
