Plain Language: Make a List, then Check it Twice

[This week’s writing tip comes to us from Santa Jim Worsham, who always checks lists twice.]

One of the devices we use frequently in writing at the National Archives (NARA) is the list.

It might be a list of staff, or of offices within NARA, or records management requirements, or—well, it could be anything.

Lists help us get information across to readers in a clear way that is easy for them to understand. Lists also are good tools to use to meet “plain writing” goals, especially in communicating information about multi-faceted subjects.

Lists are used to tell readers about:

• Tools or materials needed to do something
• Subjects to be discussed at a meeting
• Criteria by which you will be evaluated
• Parts of an object
• Recommendations or conclusions
• Actions that can or will be taken
• Steps to be taken, in order, in a process of some sort

One of the most important things in writing a list is to be consistent. Always start each item in a list with the same part of speech—a noun, a verb, or an “ing” word.

Here’s an example of an inconsistent, and sort of confusing, list:

The President said he would ask Congress for legislation to do the following:

• All student loans would be forgiven
• There would be lower income tax rates
• Tax credits for buying an American-made automobile
• Drop penalties for overdue tax payments
• Ask Congress to approve a bill to raise sales taxes on tobacco products, liquor, and gasoline.
• A blue-ribbon commission will study the fiscal problem and issue a report in a year. Its members will be named by him and congressional leaders

Now, let’s go back and apply the consistency rule:

The President said he would ask Congress for legislation that would:

• forgive outstanding student loans over $10,000,
• reduce income tax rates,
• grant tax credits for buying an American-made automobile,
• end penalties for overdue tax payments,
• raise sales taxes on tobacco products, liquor, and gasoline, and
• create a commission, with members appointed by the President and congressional leaders, to recommend steps to reduce spending.

Notice how each item starts with a verb: forgive, reduce, grant, end, raise, and create.

Now, let’s go back and start each item with a noun:

The President said he would ask Congress to approve legislation that would result in:

• cancellation of all student loans over $10,000,
• reduction in income tax rates,
• tax credits for buying an American-made automobile,
• elimination of penalties for overdue tax payments,
• higher sales taxes on tobacco products, liquor, and gasoline, and
• a commission, with members appointed by the President and congressional leaders, to recommend steps to reduce spending.

Notice this time how each item is put in the form of a noun: cancellation, reduction, tax credits, elimination, higher sales taxes, a commission.

What’s important here is consistency in how the items in the listing are phrased. Start each item with a verb (an action word) or a noun (the name of a person, an action, a thing, or process).