How to write so people understand: the use of language can either invite people in or turn them away.

• Author: Rall, Jaime
• Position: TOOLBOX - Column

"One of the best ways to serve the public is to communicate with your Constituency clearly." MONTANA REPRESENTATIVE MARY ANN DUNWELL

American lawmakers and political leaders have long pushed for clear, understandable writing in government documents. As far back as 1788, future president James Madison warned, "It will be of little avail to the people ... if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."

It's easy to see what prompted Madison's warning. Governments are infamous for writing laws and important communications in complicated "bureaucratese." Consider this 50-word sentence, which used to be part of a dense, page-long federal regulation.

A permit to construct and operate an individual production well facility of not more than 10-megawatt net capacity or heat energy equivalent, including all related on-lease facilities, must be obtained from the authorized officer prior to commencing surface disturbing activities related to the construction and operation of each such facility.

It was rewritten in clear, everyday English, to read like this.

If you want to use federal land to produce geothermal power, you have to get a site license and construction permit before you even start preparing the site.

This rewrite is just one example of a widespread shift toward "plain language," defined by the federal Plain Language Action and Information Network as "communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it."

Replacing jargon and acronyms with simple, direct language makes it more likely that citizens will understand what government is doing for them, and what it expects of them. As a result, public agencies can save time, effort and money. For example, by rewriting just one letter, Washington's Department of Revenue tripled the number of businesses that paid a state use tax, collecting $2 million additional revenue in just the first year.

The plain language movement has gained momentum at all levels of government. According to the nonprofit Center for Plain Language, as of 2013, 32 states had a plain language program in at least one state agency.

Washington state launched a fullscale initiative in 2005, when the governor's office ordered all state agencies to adopt the "plain talk" principles that four departments had already developed on their own.

At the federal level, the Plain Writing Act of 2010 now requires federal agencies to write documents about...