For question #2, explain how your new post successfully addresses the three main objectives of Plain English writing as discussed in class. Provide a detailed breakdown of each objective. (9 Marks)
Three main objectives that my introductory post in question #2 successfully addresses are:
- Find What You Need[i]:
- Emphasized Important Points: I addressed this objective in my introductory post when I emphasized the most important aspects of my business, such as the types of products my business provides and the value that my business can bring to my audience and even potential customers. Additionally, I also addressed this objective in my introductory post by including a call to action as well.
- Introduces My Business Products: Another way in which my introductory post successfully addressed this objective is that it introduced some of the products that could be purchased. In my introductory post, I talked about the types of products my business offers, such as bookmarks, bookends, book stamps, etc. In particular I focused on addressing the products that most related to my business and what it was about. This is also the reason why I listed the popular book products since those are the types of products my business specializes in.
- Uses a Call-to-Action: Another way in which my introductory post successfully addressed this objective is that it used a call-to-action as well. I included a call-to-action because it will help the reader have a better understanding of what they can do if they are looking to learn further about my business and the different products it has to offer.
- Understand What is Found[ii]:
- Used the F-Pattern: I addressed this objective in my introductory post by using the F-Pattern. I also opted towards using more bullet points instead of just long bulky paragraphs as well because doing so will not only help in improving readability, it will also allow my audience to better process and better interpret and understand the information in front of them.
- Explains Some of the Benefits: Another way in which I addressed this objective in my introductory post is that I emphasized the main benefits of using my business’s products, such as the products helping to enhance your reading experience and the choice of personalizing some of their products.
- Act On It (Fulfills a Purpose)[iii]:
- States My Business’s Purpose addressed this objective in my introductory post by stating my business’s mission. Doing this addresses a purpose because it does a great job of stating clearly and concisely the purpose of my business what it aims to accomplish and the type of purpose that is serves, which in the case of my business would be to provide people, in particular, book lovers from many different parts of the world to take joy in accessorizing their books and to also just enhance the overall reading experience for book lovers and writers alike.
a. Describe one specific technique you used to improve readability in your revised version and explain why it is effective. (4 Marks)
The specific technique that I used to improve the Readability of my introductory post is that I better used the F-Pattern. I believe using this technique was effective in improving the readability of my revised version because:
- Simple and straightforward: I believe using this technique was effective in improving the readability of my revised version of the introduction for my website is because it helped to make my introduction both simpler and more straightforward. Instead of using too many unnecessary words and sentences. I decided to reduce the amount of information in my introduction and instead chose to use information that was most relevant to my business, which I believe will help my audience have a better understanding of the information they are reading and the message that is trying to convey in my introduction.
- More Organized Arrangement: I believe using this technique is effective because it will help to make my introduction to be more effective and most importantly help to better organize my introduction in regard to how it is arranged. The revised version of my introduction uses fewer paragraphs and more bullet points, which will allow readers to better scan what they are looking at and better process it.
- Keeps it Concise: I believe using this technique is effective because it helps to better ensure that all the information is concise. There are no extra unnecessary words, and it also helps to make sure that all the information in my introduction is clear and easy to understand, while at the same time effectively conveying the message in the most effective way using the least number of words possible.
b. What was the most challenging aspect of applying the F-Pattern and Plain English writing principles? How did you overcome it? (5 Marks)
The most challenging aspect of applying the F-Pattern and Plain Language Writing Principles were:
- Avoiding Using Too Much Information: One thing that I found challenging about applying the F-Pattern and Plain English Writing is that I had a hard time not using too much information. I found as I was writing my revised version for my introduction that at first I was using too many words and subconsciously adding too much unnecessary information. I also found this to be challenging because although I was making sure to incorporate the most important and key information, it sometimes felt like I wasn’t adding enough. I overcame this by going back and rereading my introduction to make sure that the information in my introduction was the most relevant information of what my business is about and removing any unnecessary parts, such as paragraphs that I felt weren’t needed.
- The Structure Another aspect of applying the F-Pattern and Plain Language Writing principles is that I had a hard time structuring my writing. When using the F-Pattern and Plain Language Writing, I had a hard time deciding in what order I wanted to structure my information, especially since I found much of the information to be relevant. I overcame this challenge by analyzing my entire introduction and breaking it down into different sections, with he most important sections coming first and the least important ones coming last.
- Being Specific and Concise: Another aspect of applying the F-Pattern and Plain Language was making sure that my writing was specific, straightforward and concise. I found that using the F-Pattern and Plain Language Writing made it difficult to keep my writing more specific and concise. Since I had to make sure that my information was concise, I had a little difficulty not adding to much or too little. I overcame this challenge by prioritizing the most important information and making sure that I didn’t sacrifice any key information about my business.
- Making It Personal: One other aspect of applying the F-Pattern and Plain Language Writing is by making my writing personal. I found this to be a little difficult because I understand that I needed to include information that would truly resonate with my audience and that it would be as authentic as possible. I overcame this challenge by better evaluating my audience and the type of information that they would be looking for.
- Keeping It Simple: One last aspect of applying the F-Pattern and Plain Language Writing is that I had a difficult time keeping my information simple. I felt that when creating the revised version for my website’s introduction I was not being very simple with my writing. What I mean by this is that I was writing it in too detailed of manner. I overcame this problem by only using key information that I believed my audience would find most interesting and relevant to themselves.
[i] Brisco, Effective Web Content in Plain Language, February 26, 2025
[ii] Brisco, Effective Web Content in Plain Language, February 26, 2025
[iii] Brisco, Effective Web Content in Plain Language, February 26, 2025
