Using plain language

Writing for the web

You should write web content the way you talk, and avoid jargon, acronyms and waffle.

Use an active voice

Adopt an active voice instead of a passive voice to make your content more readable.

Examples

• 'We decided to go ahead' not 'A decision was made to go ahead'.
• 'I conducted a study of primary school teachers' not 'A study of primary teachers was conducted'.
• 'I will present my findings' not 'Findings will be presented'.

Our Plain English video from the Effective Digital Content training explains this in more detail.

Watch the video

This four-minute video explains the importance of writing in plain English and gives some examples of how to do it.

Transcript