The ability to communicate effectively is the most valuable skill any employee can bring to the job. That's
even more true for planners, who must frequently convey an abundance of very complex, technical information to
people who don't share their planning background or vocabulary.
Unfortunately, the language in planning documents frequently is so convoluted, bureaucratic, and padded that its
meaning is lost or completely misunderstood. Here is help for planners who write.
In PLANNING IN PLAIN ENGLISH: WRITING TIPS FOR URBAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNERS, Natalic Macris draws from more
than a decade of editing experience to explain how to craft clear, understandable, and highly readable planning
documents. She suggests ways to overcome planners' most common writing foibles�acronymns, jargon, and overuse of
the passive voice. And she provides handy lists to transform mushy nouns into powerful verbs, pare down bloated
sentences, and translate "bureaucratese" into everyday language. She even includes practice exercises
designed to help you recognize and overcome bad writing habits.
But even the best writing skills won't help if your document is organized poorly and aimed at the wrong audience.
Macris also explains why it's essential to know who your readers are before you start writing and how to organize
your work so that it will be easy to understand and use.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I. Getting started
1. Knowing your readers
How many readers?
Who are they?
What information do they need?
How will they use your document?
2. Organizing your document
What is the main message?
What can you leave out?
Does the document need headers?
Does the document need a summary?
Are there ways to make the document livelier?
Part II. Writing clearly
3. Writing simple sentences
Writing short sentences
Removing extra words
Avoiding clusters of nouns
Exercises
4. Writing active sentences
Avoiding the passive voice
Turning nouns back into verbs
Exercises
5. Using simple words and avoiding jargon
Recognizing jargon
Avoiding acronyms
Finding the simple word
Exercises
6. Explaining technical information
Explaining processes from the beginning
Highlighting the main point
Using specific examples
Exercises
7. Using lists
Using bullets
Writing policies and conditions
Exercises
Exercise Key
Reference and Bibliography
Glossary of Planning Acronyms
