How you can write plain language by just following these 39 steps
by William D. Lutz

The Writing Process

1. Know your reader, and write with your reader's viewpoint in mind.
   
   
2. Organize your text:
   1. in a logical sequence,
   2. with informative headings, and
   3. with a table of contents for long documents
   
   
3. Use short sentences
   
   
4. Say only what you have to say, avoiding too many messages in a single sentence, and omitting surplus words.
   
   
5. Keep equivalent items parallel.
   
   
6. Avoid unnecessary formality.
   
   
7. Give an overview of the main idea of the text.
   
   
8. List conditions separately.
   
   
9. Arrange your words with care.
   
   
10. Punctuate carefully.
    
    
11. Use 25 words or fewer per sentence.
    
    
12. Put most of your messages at the subject-predicate position.
    
    
13. For variety or emphasis, invert your sentences.
    
    
14. Use the art of subordination to smooth out choppiness.
    
    
15. Avoid disrupting your sentences with thought-stopping gaps.
    
    
16. Tabulate particularly complex information.
    
    
17. Get rid of compound prepositions.
    
    
18. Rewrite the adjective, adverb, and noun clauses to other structures satisfying the same functions.
    
    
19. Use phrases to smooth out the choppy noun-noun modifier.
    
    
20. Be fair and nonsexist, but don't be stupid.

Usage

21. Prefer the active voice.
    
    
22. Use simple, "everyday" words.
    
    
23. Use words consistently.
    
    
24. Use familiar, concrete words.
    
    
25. Avoid multiple negatives.
    
    
26. Avoid nouns created from verbs.
    
    
27. Use action verbs; avoid the verb "to be."
    
    
28. Use personal pronouns.
    
    
29. Avoid noun strings.
    
    
30. Avoid whiz-deletions*.
    
    
31. Avoid language quirks.

Presentation of Material

32. Make the document attractive and designed for easy reading.
    
    
33. Use white space in margins and between sections.
    
    
34. Use ragged right margins.
    
    
35. Do not use all caps.
    
    
36. Use highlighting techniques, but don't overuse them.
    
    
37. Use 10-12 point type and a sans-serif font such as Arial, Helvetica or Verdana.
    
    
38. Avoid lines of type that are too long or too short.
    
    
39. Avoid strings of symbols.

*Whiz Deletions

Subordinate clauses are often introduced by such words as "which is," "who was," "that are," etc. Deleting these words (the relative pronoun and linking verb) is known as "whiz- deletion." For example:

1. The supervisor wants the report which was written by the Purchasing Office.

2. The supervisor wants the report written by the Purchasing Office.

The whiz-deletion makes sentence 2 ambiguous. Does the supervisor want the Purchasing Office to write the report, or does she want the report that the Purchasing Office has already written? Generally, it's a good idea to avoid whiz- deletions.