Plain Language in Business Correspondence

The U.S. federal Plain Language guidelines, adopted across federal agencies after the Plain Writing Act of 2010, codified what professional writers had argued for decades: short sentences, common words, and direct constructions outperform their formal alternatives in nearly every measurable dimension. Recipients respond more, comply more accurately, and rate the writer as more competent — not less. The reason is simple: plain language reduces the cognitive cost of reading the letter, which leaves more attention for the message.

The practical rules are not complicated. Prefer short words to long ones ("use" over "utilize," "help" over "facilitate," "now" over "at this time"). Prefer active verbs to passive constructions ("we approved your application" over "your application has been approved"). Prefer specific numbers to vague quantifiers ("in 14 days" over "in a timely manner"). Cut the throat-clearing phrases that delay the actual content: "please be advised that," "in light of the foregoing," "it has come to our attention that." Almost every one of those phrases can be deleted with no loss of meaning. For a more granular breakdown of the conventions discussed here, see the companion professional drafting reference we maintain alongside this guide. Practitioners who write in regulated industries may also find our compliance-aware editorial checklist a useful next step.

Plain language is not the same as casual language. A plain-language termination notice is still a termination notice; a plain-language demand letter is still a demand letter. The legal weight, the formality of the format, and the seriousness of the content remain the same. What changes is the wall of text the recipient must work through to understand what you are asking. Strip the ornament, keep the substance, and the letter will land harder, not softer. The recipients who matter most — busy decision-makers, customers in dispute, partners considering a deal — are the ones with the least patience for prose that takes a paragraph to say what a sentence could.