Plain-language editing

What plain-language editing is

Plain-language editing is the rewriting of a document so that the person it is meant for can find what they need, understand it the first time they read it, and act on it. It works on words, sentences and structure together: everyday vocabulary, one idea per sentence, the point stated before the background, and headings that answer the reader's questions in the order they ask them.

It is not "dumbing down", and it is not the same as readability editing, which lowers the effort of a single page, usually a sales page, without restructuring it. Plain-language editing is deeper and is applied to documents that people must understand: a policy, a contract summary, a benefits guide, a set of instructions, a letter that tells a customer something has changed. Nor is it a plain-language rewrite, which starts a page from scratch; here I keep your document and its meaning and change how it is said.

Who this is for

Any organisation whose documents carry obligations: a financial institution explaining a fee, a health provider explaining a procedure, a utility explaining a rate change, an employer explaining a benefits plan, a software company explaining a licence, a municipality explaining a bylaw. In some sectors and jurisdictions plain language is required; in every sector, a document the reader does not understand generates a phone call, a complaint, or a customer who does the wrong thing and blames you.

It is also for the business whose "about" page, service pages or proposals were written by an expert for other experts and are being read by buyers who are not. That is the commonest case, and the most fixable.

It is not for a document that is already clear and just needs correcting; that is a copyedit. And it is not a legal service. Where a document has legal effect I edit the explanation, not the operative text, and I ask you to have your lawyer confirm the edited version says what the original said.

What gets looked at

The whole document, from the reader's side. I start by writing down who the reader is and the three things they came to find out, and every decision after that serves those three things.

Structure. Does the document answer the reader's first question first? A benefits guide that opens with the history of the plan is rearranged so it opens with what is covered. Headings become questions or plain statements so a reader can scan to the part they need.

Sentences. Long sentences are split. Passive constructions that hide who does what are turned around: "the form must be submitted" becomes "send us the form". Conditions buried in the middle of a sentence are moved to the front or made into a short list.

Words. Jargon is replaced or, where a term must stay because it is the legal or technical name, explained the first time it appears. Nominalisations ("make an application", "effect a cancellation") become verbs ("apply", "cancel"). Abbreviations are spelled out.

Tone. The document addresses the reader as "you" and the organisation as "we". This is where the "condescending" worry gets settled: plain language written to an intelligent adult sounds respectful, not simple.

Meaning. Every change is checked against the original for anything lost or added. Where a sentence in the original was genuinely ambiguous, I do not guess; it goes on the query list.

What you get

The edited document. Clean, in your original format, plus a marked-up version. For a heavily restructured document the mark-up is hard to read, so I also provide a two-column comparison of the old and new versions, section by section, which is the version your lawyer or compliance officer will want.

The query list. Every place where the original could be read two ways, with the two readings written out and a request for you to choose. On a policy document this list is often the most valuable thing produced, because it shows where your own people have been interpreting the document differently.

A short reader guide. Two pages. The reader profile I edited for, the terms I kept and why, and the conventions used, so the next document your team writes can follow the same approach.

A worked example

An illustration, not a client. A strata management company sends a nine-page letter to the owners of a 120-unit building explaining a special levy for roof replacement. The draft was written by the property manager with the strata's lawyer looking over it. It opens with two paragraphs on the relevant section of the provincial act, gives the amount per unit on page four, and describes the payment options across pages six to eight in three sentences averaging sixty words each.

The plain-language edit reorders it. Page one: what is happening, why, what each owner will pay, and when. Page two: the three ways to pay, as a short table. Page three: what happens if an owner does not pay, in short sentences that say who does what. The legal references move to a final section headed "Where this authority comes from". The letter goes from nine pages to four. The query list has six items, one of them a payment deadline stated two ways. The property manager reports that the calls to the office after the mailing are about the roof, not about the letter.

How it runs

1. A half-hour call. What the document is, who must understand it, what they do after reading it, and what has gone wrong with the current version. No charge.
2. A fixed price in writing. Based on length, on how far the document is from plain language now, and on whether it needs legal or compliance review at your end.
3. The reader profile. One page from me, agreed by you, before editing starts. It states who the reader is and what they need. Everything else is judged against it.
4. The edit. Structure first, then sentences, then words. One to two weeks for a document under 5,000 words.
5. Your review. You, and where relevant your lawyer or compliance officer, read the comparison and answer the queries. I make the final changes.
6. Delivery. Clean copy, comparison, query resolutions and the reader guide.

What it costs

Plain-language editing is quoted as a fixed price in CAD after the half-hour call. The price depends on the word count, on how heavily the document must be restructured, and on how many rounds of review your organisation needs before sign-off. A short customer letter is a small job; a full policy manual is a project with milestones. The pricing page explains how edits are quoted.

What happens next

Most clients have more than one document that needs this, and the reader guide makes the second and third faster. If the document is going online, accessible document copy makes sure the headings, structure and link text also work for a screen reader. If the edit showed that the document raises questions it does not answer, an FAQ page written from the query list is the usual follow-up. And where a whole website speaks to buyers in the language of experts, that is usually a set of page rewrites rather than an edit.