The objection I hear most often
"Our audience is experts. They don't need plain language."
I've heard this from lawyers, engineers, policy analysts, university communications teams, and government directors. Sometimes they say it apologetically, as if they know they're wrong but feel a professional obligation to say it anyway. Sometimes they say it firmly, as if complexity is a form of respect.
They're not trying to be difficult. They genuinely believe that specialized language signals expertise, and that simplifying it would insult their audience. But this belief is backwards — and decades of research into reading comprehension, cognitive load, and user experience have confirmed it.
What plain language actually is
Plain language is writing that your reader can understand the first time they read it. That's the whole definition.
It isn't:
It is:
Plain language is a reader-centered practice, and for public-sector teams it also supports accessibility and readability standards that many jurisdictions now require. The default of most organizational writing is writer-centered — organized around how the author understands the topic, not around what the reader needs to do with the information.
Why experts prefer plain language too
This is the part that surprises people. Research consistently shows that even subject matter experts read and comprehend plain language faster than technical language, and they prefer it.
A frequently cited study from the American Bar Foundation found that experienced lawyers preferred plain language contracts over jargon-heavy ones, found them easier to understand, and were more likely to agree with their terms. This held even when the substantive content was identical.
The reason is cognitive load. Your brain can only hold so much at once while reading. Every unusual word, every long sentence, every passive construction adds a small processing cost. When those costs accumulate, comprehension slows. Plain language reduces those costs, which frees your reader to actually engage with the ideas rather than just decoding the text.
The most common plain language problems on web content
Nominalizations (turning verbs into nouns)
This is one of the most common patterns in organizational writing. When you turn an action into a thing, you drain the energy from a sentence.
Before: "The implementation of the new process resulted in cost reduction."
After: "The new process cut costs."
The noun form ("implementation," "reduction") adds syllables and distance between the actor and the action. The verb form is faster and clearer.
Passive voice that hides responsibility
Passive voice isn't always wrong, but it's overused in organizational writing, and it often obscures who is doing what.
Before: "Applications must be submitted by the deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted."
After: "Submit your application before [date]. We won't accept late submissions."
The passive version sounds official. The active version tells the reader what to do. For web content where you want readers to take action, clarity beats formality.
Jargon that isn't shared
Jargon is only efficient when reader and writer share the same definition. When they don't, it creates confusion without saving time.
Before: "Leverage synergistic alignment across stakeholder verticals to facilitate cross-functional outcomes."
After: "Work with different teams to get results that benefit everyone."
The first version sounds authoritative. It also communicates nothing. The second version says the same thing in words a reader can act on.
Long sentences that require tracking
A sentence you have to re-read isn't saving time. Long sentences that contain multiple subclauses, qualifications, and parenthetical exceptions force readers to track relationships between ideas over a large span of text, which is cognitively demanding, especially when those sentences appear early in a paragraph before the reader knows what the main point is.
(Like that one.)
The fix is to break the logic into smaller steps, lead with the main point, and add qualifications after the core claim is established.
A practical plain language rewrite process
This process works for any web content: service descriptions, about pages, policy summaries, process instructions, FAQs.
Step 1: Identify the reader and their purpose
Before rewriting a single word, answer: who is reading this, and what do they need to do with it? Most content has a primary reader and a primary task. Write for that reader and that task first.
Step 2: Read the content aloud
Everything that feels awkward when spoken aloud is a candidate for revision. If you stumble, repeat yourself, or lose track of a sentence mid-way through — your reader will too.
Step 3: Cut the hedges and qualifications
Government and organizational writing accumulates qualifications for legal and professional reasons. Some of them protect the organization. Many of them just confuse readers. For each qualification, ask: does a typical reader need to know this? If not, cut it or move it to a secondary section. Documenting these decisions in a style guide editors actually follow ensures consistency across authors.
Step 4: Replace nominalizations with verbs
Search your content for "-tion," "-ment," and "-ance" word endings. Many of these are nominalizations. "Implementation" → "implement." "Assessment" → "assess" or "evaluate." "Establishment" → "create" or "set up."
Step 5: Shorten sentences to an average of 15-20 words
This doesn't mean every sentence must be short. It means the average length should allow readers to process ideas in manageable chunks. Short sentences create rhythm and emphasis. Longer sentences work best when the relationship between ideas is complex and needs to be tracked.
Step 6: Test with a real reader
Give the rewritten content to someone who hasn't seen the original version. Ask them to read it and tell you what they understood, and what action they'd take. Their answer will tell you more than any readability formula.
Plain language and SEO
Plain language correlates with better SEO performance, because:
You're not choosing between writing for readers and writing for search. Writing clearly for your reader IS writing for search.
If you have content that needs a plain language rewrite and you're not sure where to start, get in touch and we can prioritize the highest-impact pages together.