CBA Record July-August 2024

What Is Plain Language, and Why Is It Better? The core plain language guideline is still the same: “[D]esign and write the document in a way that best serves the readers. Your main goal is to convey your ideas with the greatest possible clarity.” Much of Kimble’s advice will be familiar to readers of this column. First, design your documents to make them easy to read. This includes fonts (choice and size) and margins (extra wide, larger than the one-inch Word default). On especially important proj ects, consider hiring a typographic designer or web designer. Second, organize your documents to help the reader access them. Use short sections and abundant headings to tell the story of your document. Keep paragraphs short—under six sentences (or 100 words) on paper and under four sentences (or 60 words) online. Third, favor shorter sentences (average length about 20 words) and keep the subject, verb, and object close together. Prefer the active voice unless the agent is unknown or unimportant. Finally, choose familiar (usually shorter) words “that are simple and direct and human.” Avoid unnecessary jargon, espe cially legalese, such as herewith and wherefore. Omit unnecessary words, especially prepositional phrases. Kimble advises writers, “Treat the word ‘of’ as a good indicator of possible flab (the duty of the landlord, and order of the court).” Each one of the topics above could be an entire chapter of a style and usage manual. For more in-depth background and exer cises, see prior works from Kimble, Richard Wydick, and Bryan Garner, as well as prior Nota Bene columns. Kimble answers any critics of the plain language approach with 10 myth-busting points. Prime among them is, “Plain lan guage is not anti-literary, anti-intellectual, unsophisticated, drab, ugly, bland, babyish, or base.” While some might criticize plain language as lacking the beautiful prose of fine literature, plain language “is the style of Abraham Lincoln, and Walt Whitman, and Mark Twain, and Justice Holmes, and George Orwell, and Winston Churchill, and E. B. White.” Kimble explains, “Plain words are eternally fresh and fit.” “Extraordinary Benefits” of Plain Language The book’s last section is radical among style guides and provides the ultimate support for plain language. He includes 60 empirical studies showing that (1) plain language can save organizations “a ton of money,” and (2) readers hands-down prefer plain language in public and legal documents. Lawyers need to know the ben efits of plain language—to help themselves and their clients. It is one thing to see intuitively that a shorter sentence or active voice is easier to read. It is quite another to prove empirically that plain language is superior for legal writing. This chapter is what truly sets Kimble’s book apart from all other language usage and style guides. The book title rings true; plain language saves dollars and pleases readers. Saving Money Our clients need to know that plain language can save them millions of dollars. Clients may ask lawyers to review employee

NOTA BENE BY KATHLEEN DILLON NARKO

Plain Language Pays: The Second Edition

W e lawyers should con sider ourselves lucky. We have another book from Professor Joseph Kimble guiding us to write well using plain language. Kimble has been a leader in the plain language movement for over 40 years. The second edition of his well-received book, Writing for Dol lars, Writing to Please, is a worthy addition to every lawyer’s bookshelf.

Why Publish a Second Edition? While Kimble called the first edition his “life’s work,” he discov ered he had more to add. I reviewed the first edition in 2012 and was bowled over by the empirical studies showing that plain lan guage saves time and money and pleases readers. In this edition, Kimble includes 10 more empirical studies proving the same. He also includes 10 new historical highlights and updates every part of the book. Kimble accommodates changing technology by updating Internet links from 12 years ago. Nearly all URLs have “perma” citations—permanently archived links that will never break. This edition is the culmination of Kimble’s efforts to teach people to write more simply and clearly. This time around, I appreciate the depth and breadth of Kimble’s coverage of the topic. He has revised his plain language guidelines to address electronic media. His history of the plain language movement, full of citations to scholarly works, stands as an impressive resource on its own. Anyone wishing to dig a little deeper into plain language—what it is, and why it’s better than traditional legal writing—will find the gateway to more knowl edge here. The second edition cements plain language as the superior style for legal writing.

Kathleen Dillon Narko is a Clinical Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a member of the CBA Record Editorial Board.

42 July/August 2024