Informational Reports for Non-Expert Readers: Keep It Simple

By this point, you should be thoroughly familiar with the concept of plain language as "communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it."1 You should also have come to realize the connection between plain language, ethics, and inclusivity. When you produce a public-facing document, you are ethically obligated to write in such a way that your readers -- all of them -- can

  • Find what they need
  • Understand what they find the first time they read or hear it
  • Use what they find to meet their needs.2

Of course, this list of rules generally refers to official documents -- government, legal, medical -- but it can also govern how you approach writing your informational report. How so? It focuses on the #1 rule you should remember when writing about a complex subject for readers: Keep It Simple.

How to Keep It Simple

Writing about a complex subject using plain language principles is not easy, particularly when you know you need to explain concepts that are often shrouded in jargon Links to an external site.. Science writer Kendra Pierre-Louis writes that when you approach the task of writing about such a subject for the general public

the rule of thumb is to imagine that the reader is smart but uninformed. This means keeping jargon to a minimum. Try to define terms as soon as you use them. Also make sure to keep tying the science back to the central narrative.3

In the article "On Jargon, and Why It Matters in Science Writing," Links to an external site. Ed Jong writes about how science blogs are often seen as a space where "learned people can talk directly to large audiences. I certainly believe this, but I see jargon as one of the biggest barriers in the way.”4 Jong reminds readers that their readers might have reading levels that are not on par with the super-specialist levels required by scholarly articles. A 2022 study by the U.S. Department of Education verifies that "more than half of Americans between the ages of 16 and 74 (54%) read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level.”5

Orr goes on to warn writers that if they go beyond the average reading level, they

risk perpetuating an online inequality where only the most educated people can understand the majority of what’s being said. . . . Writers should always remember that the more technical you get, the more restrictive you get, even if people are writing for a scientific audience.6

He points writers to science writer Carl Zimmer Links to an external site.'s Index of Banned Words Links to an external site., which -- although it is specifically designed for his peers -- can be relevant to anyone writing about complex concepts for the general reader.

You will run across jargon when you attempt to explain a complex concept, and you can use those words, but you must always define them for your reader.

Keep reading to learn the various ways you can define jargon in your writing.

1 "What is Plain Language?" plainlanguage.gov. Available: https://www.plainlanguage.gov/about/definitions/ Links to an external site..

2 Ibid.

3 Pierre, Kendra Louise. "How One Climate Reporter Helps Readers Care About Kelp." The New York Times. Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/insider/climate-kelp-destruction.html Links to an external site.. (Paywall)

4 Jong, Ed. "On Jargon, and Why It Matters in Science Writing." Discover Magazine. 24 November 2010. Available: https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/on-jargon-and-why-it-matters-in-science-writing Links to an external site..

5 Schmidt, Emily. "Reading the numbers: 130 million American adults have low literacy skills, but funding differs drastically by state." APM Research Lab. 16 March 2022. Available: https://www.apmresearchlab.org/10x-adult-literacy Links to an external site..

6 Op cit., Jong.