From the course: Writing in Plain English
Why is writing in plain English important?
From the course: Writing in Plain English
Why is writing in plain English important?
- [Instructor] Plain English is simple, straightforward language designed to reach a broad audience and meet your readers' needs. It avoids inflated bureaucratic language full of jargon and complexities such as passive voice and sentences that go on forever. But plain English isn't about dumbing things down either. Instead, it means writing concisely while still being able to get across complex issues. The goal is for your audience to easily understand your message, not just for you to always use the shortest word possible. It's about respecting your audience's time and intelligence. In fact, studies show plain language actually makes content more accessible even for highly educated readers. Writing with plain English has big business benefits too. It improves your readers' comprehension and satisfaction, and it enhances your credibility by showing you value clarity. A study by Daniel Oppenheimer, a psychologist at Princeton, has even shown, contrary to what you might expect, that using big words and grandiose sentences makes readers view you as less intelligent, not more.
Practice while you learn with exercise files
Download the files the instructor uses to teach the course. Follow along and learn by watching, listening and practicing.
Download courses and learn on the go
Watch courses on your mobile device without an internet connection. Download courses using your iOS or Android LinkedIn Learning app.