Plain Language: A Brief Introduction KATIE ALLEN: Welcome to our accessibility tutorial on plain language. My name is Katie Allen, and I'm a program associate from the Vera Institute of Justice. This video is about using plain language in our written communications for survivors with and without disabilities. In this video, I'll define plain language and discuss why it's accessible for survivors with and without disabilities. I'll discuss how to use plain language in our written materials, share some examples of plain language, and demonstrate how to use the readability statistics tool in Microsoft Word. Plain language is writing that readers can understand quickly, easily, and completely. We want all survivors to understand our written materials. Survivors should not have to read and reread our materials over and over again to understand the information, especially when we're sharing critical information that survivors need to know. Plain language is more accessible and engaging for everyone. We remember information better when it's written in plain language. Survivors with disabilities that impact attention, reading, and visual comprehension, mental processing, and language, especially can benefit from plain language. Before we talk about the characteristics of plain language, I want to discuss a few myths about it. Plain language is not condescending. It is not an insult to anyone's intelligence. Research shows that plain language is preferable to everyone, regardless of education level. Plain language is not boring. In fact, it's generally more engaging and memorable for the reader. It's more relatable, familiar, and personal. Plain language is not just for people with disabilities. Plain language is for everyone. You should expect that most survivors will skim your materials rather than read them word for word. However, your target audience also includes people with disabilities. 15% of people in the United States have a learning disability. 6 1/2 million people in the U.S. have intellectual disabilities. And 36 million adults in the U.S. cannot read or write above a third grade level. What does plain language look like in practice? I'll discuss some features of plain language next. Plain language involves using short sentences with one idea per sentence. This is instead of using run on sentences with many ideas and semicolons and commas. We want to avoid jargon and figures of speech that only others in our specific fields will understand. We often use unnecessary and technical words and phrases in our writing. When we write in plain language, we try to use common, simple words and phrases. If you're using an acronym, spell it out the first time you use it even if you think everybody knows it. Plain language involves using friendly, conversational tones. This is like writing how you talk. It's informal. We want to speak directly to survivors by using language like you, we, and I. And it's generally best to avoid using if- then statements. But when we must write in comparisons or if- then statements, it can be helpful to use tables with columns. I'm sharing an example on the slide. If you're sharing information about what to do if someone's assaulted, you might say: "after sexual assault, if you want to talk to an advocate anonymously, then you can call our 24-hour hotline to speak to a counselor". In our specific fields and industries, we have some common language or jargon that we use and come to understand based on working in these spaces. Each profession has jargon, from restaurants to retail to lawyers and medical doctors. But unless you've worked in the field, you will not likely understand the jargon. When we use plain language, we want to avoid using jargon. In non-profits, these are a few examples of what I mean by jargon: "We work in silos here". "Let's take this conversation offline". "Let's circle back about that later". These phrases might not make sense to everyone. What does plain language actually look like in our materials? Next, I'll talk about how to use plain language and I'll share some concrete examples. Before we set out to develop new materials, the first question we can ask ourselves is "who is my audience?". Survivors of violence are diverse. And it may be difficult to know exactly where they're coming from in terms of education, background, literacy, age, et cetera. So it's important to consider the following. What does my audience already know? You want to share information in a relatable way to meet your audience where they are. Most importantly, what does your audience need to know. We don't have unlimited time or space to share information. Even online, we want to expect that survivors are not reading our fact sheets and websites word for word. Filter out the information that survivors don't need. It's most accessible to share the most important information first. This is the information that survivors need to know most immediately like how to contact a crisis hotline, how to reach a shelter, or when to go to the hospital. In the next few slides, I'll share some examples of plain language. Keep in mind plain language is not just for emergencies. In fact sheets, trainings, or resources where we share data, we want to use plain language also. Consider this example of complex and plain language. The complex example includes unnecessary information and uses statistical jargon. It says, "People with an intellectual disability of any kind have an age-adjusted rate of rape or sexual assault that is more than seven times the rate for people without disabilities." The plain language example says. "People with intellectual disabilities are seven times more likely to experience sexual assault than people without disabilities." This plain language version is more straightforward and direct, and it conveys the same message as the complex version. In our brochures, we might want to share information about how survivors react after an assault and what we can do to help. But you'll notice the complex version of this message is unnecessarily confusing. It says, "Emotional effects of an assault may impair functioning at work and attendance resulting in loss of income. A survivor may struggle to pay bills. Social benefits, unpaid leave, or other relief may be available." The plain language version of this message is the same, but it's easier to understand. It says, "It can be overwhelming to go back to work after an assault. You might feel distracted and emotionally worn-out. We can help you figure out how to pay your bills." Notice the difference in word choices , impair functioning versus worn-out and distracted. The complex example uses third person to talk about survivors, while the plain language example speaks directly to the survivor with one idea per sentence. This final example includes phrasing you might see in intake materials for counseling. These are instructions for how to fill out the intake form. The complex version says, "Please provide the following information for our records. Leave blank any questions you would rather not answer or prefer to discuss with your therapist. Information you provide here is held to the same standards of confidentiality as our counseling practices." The plain language version says, "Please fill out this form. Let us know if you need help answering any questions. You don't have to answer any questions unless you want to. We will not share this information with anyone unless you say you plan to hurt yourself or someone else." The plain language version is more conversational. What about the materials we've already created? How can we know if we've used plain language? I'll end this video by sharing a practical tool that is built into Microsoft Word that can help you determine if you're using plain language. This is called the readability statistics tool. The readability tool in Microsoft Word is not comprehensive, but it can tell you some useful things. It can tell you the Reading Ease score of your document. The higher your Reading Ease score, the easier your document is to read. And that's on a scale of 0 to 100. It can tell you the grade level. This is based on U.S. grade levels. So if you have a grade level eight, then eighth graders should be able to read your document. Remember that 36 million adults in the United States cannot read or write above a third grade level-- and the percentage of passive sentences. Passive sentences are generally less conversational, so we want to use fewer passive sentences. To set up your Microsoft Word to share the readability statistics, we want to go to Preferences. And then from the drop down menu, go to Spelling and Grammar. And I'll show you how to do this now. In the Word menu in Microsoft Word, we'll go to Preferences. And from the Word Preferences box, we'll select Spelling and Grammar. A box will pop up here for Spelling and Grammar. In this box, there are two sections, Spelling and Grammar. In the Grammar section, make sure to check the box next to Show Readability Statistics. Then, you'll have to do a spelling and grammar check to see your readability statistics. To do the spelling and grammar check, we'll first go to the Tools menu, select Spelling and Grammar, and then select Spelling and Grammar from that dropdown list. Tools, Spelling and Grammar, Spelling, and Grammar. The Spelling and Grammar box will pop up. Now you must go through the entire spelling and grammar check to get to the readability statistics. After you complete the check, the readability statistics box will pop up. Here I'm sharing the readability statistic results. The Reading Ease score is 46.9 out of 100. The grade level is 10.6, so between 10th and 11th grade. And the passive sentences is 0%. So this tells us that our document is a little more complex than we want it to be. We want to aim for a Reading Ease a score of above 70, a grade level below six, and passive sentences at 0%. Ideally, we want a variety of people to develop, review, and copy edit our materials so that we have diverse voices and opinions and levels of understanding when creating materials in the first place. In 2010, the federal government passed the Plain Writing Act of 2010. It basically requires all federal government communication to be written in plain language. The Plain Language Action and Information Network develops and maintains resources online about how to use plain language. And you can access those resources by clicking the links on these slides. So to recap, plain language is for everyone. Plain language is especially helpful for survivors with disabilities and those who have experienced trauma. Write for your average audience of survivors. Don't write to impress your imaginary English teacher. Keep your written materials conversational. Use short sentences with one idea per sentence, common words and phrases. Avoid jargon and figures of speech that only those in your field or geographic area or generation might understand. You can check for readability in your word documents by using the readability tool. Though it's not comprehensive, it can give you an idea of if your document really needs to be simplified. The Plain Language Action and Information Network offers more guidance on plain language. And you can find out more on the website, which we linked to from this video. This video on plain language is part of a Disability and Deaf Resource Center series of how-to videos to help your agency increase accessibility of your services, outreach, and programs to reach survivors with disabilities. This how-to video series includes videos about how to improve accessibility of outreach, educational, training, and intake materials. We also have videos about general accessibility guidelines to ground this work. The Vera Institute of Justice Center on Victimization and Safety created this video series with a grant from the Office of Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice. The Center on Victimization and Safety at the Vera Institute of Justice works to ensure that victims services effectively identify, reach, and meet the needs of marginalized crime survivors. We work with survivors to build and strengthen the capacity of communities, organizations, and providers to respond effectively to and prevent sexual violence, domestic violence, and other forms of abuse against people with disabilities and D/deaf people. Ending abuse of people with disabilities is a team effort. So please contact us for support. The End Abuse email address is cvs@vera.org. The End Abuse phone number is 212-376-3096. The End Abuse toll- free phone number is 855-274-8222.