{"id":28,"date":"2022-01-11T16:31:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T21:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/cncplainlanguageanddesign\/?post_type=chapter&p=28"},"modified":"2023-05-24T14:45:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T18:45:45","slug":"why-is-plain-language-important","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/cncplainlanguageanddesign\/chapter\/why-is-plain-language-important\/","title":{"raw":"Why is plain language important?","rendered":"Why is plain language important?"},"content":{"raw":"49% of Canadian adults struggle to understand complex text[footnote]Statistics Canada. (2013). Skills in Canada: First results from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)<\/em><\/a>. Government of Canada. https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/en\/pub\/89-555-x\/89-555-x2013001-eng.pdf?st=wEmgaEre [\/footnote]. If we do not use plain language to write our documents, almost half of Canadian adults will not understand them. Using plain language ensures that the biggest number of people will have access to the information they need.\r\n\r\nWe cannot assume who will struggle with text based on education, either. Reading skills do not always correspond to education levels: 27% of Canadian adults with postsecondary education struggle to understand complex text[footnote]Statistics Canada. Skills in Canada: First results from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)<\/em>.[\/footnote].\r\n\r\nHowever, plain documents are better for everyone, not just people who struggle with complex text. [pb_glossary id=\"49\"]Cognitive load[\/pb_glossary] is the amount of information someone can hold in their working memory at one time.[footnote]Sweller, J. (April 1988). \"Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning.\" Cognitive Science<\/em>. 12 (2): 257-285. doi: 10.1207\/s15516709cog1202_4.[\/footnote] People who have to read a lot of information for their jobs tend to have a high cognitive load, which can lead to reading fatigue. You can help reduce your colleagues\u2019 reading fatigue by making sure your documents are written in plain, clear language.\r\n\r\nPlain language writing also saves everyone time. If people understand your writing the first time they read it, they will not have to ask you questions to clarify what you meant, and you will not have to spend time correcting the mistakes they make because they did not understand what you wrote.\r\n\r\n \r\n
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