7. Industry standards for plain language
While it is now clear why plain language is important in technical communication, there is always the problem of finding a definite approach. There have been several attempts to do it, and a commonly accepted standard in the mid-2020s is the Simplified Technical English specification, brought forth by ASD Europe. However, there are more standards, and I will briefly present a few of those.
7.1 ASD-STE100 {#7.1-asd-ste100}
ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English (STE for short) is a controlled natural language for writing technical documentation.
STE was created in the late 1970s by the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA) in cooperation with the Aerospace Industries Association of America (AIA), upon request from the Association of European Airlines (AEA). The goal was to make aircraft maintenance documentation more readable for those with limited knowledge of English. Essentially, 80% of aviation workers are not native English speakers. The resulting AECMA Simplified English Guide was released in 1986 and later became an international standard: ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English.
This specification is required by most subjects in commercial aviation. The European Defence Standards Reference recommends STE as one of the best practice standards for writing technical documentation to be applied to defense contracting by all European Defence Agency participating member states. STE is also a requirement in official directives issued by aviation authorities such as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Other industries, inspired by the success of STE in aviation, want to use it as well for maintenance documentation. Interest in STE is also present within the academic world, where it is applied to engineering and language studies.
The current issue of STE is dated April 2021 (Issue 8). While its structure is stable and consolidated, the language has to be kept in line with the developing technology and amended following the feedback received from the users.
The STE standard provides a set of writing rules and a dictionary of controlled vocabulary. The key takeaways of ASD-STE100 are:
- The writing rules cover aspects of grammar and style.
- The dictionary specifies the general words that can be used.
- These words were chosen for their simplicity and ease of recognition. In general, there is only one word for one meaning and one part of speech for one word.
In addition to its dictionary, STE permits the use of company-specific or project-specific technical words (referred to in STE as technical names and technical verbs). It provides rules and categories for these technical words. Writers can use the approved words from the dictionary as a core vocabulary. They can also use terms that are usual in their companies or industries and applicable to their projects and products.
By adopting a ready-made solution and applying the rules of STE100 daily, technical writers can make the task of creating informative, usable, accessible, and efficient documentation much easier.
7.2 ISO 24495-1:2023 {#7.2-iso-24495-1:2023}
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent organization that develops, publishes, and sells international standards. It has issued over 25,000 standards since its establishment. An ISO standard provides requirements, specifications, or guidelines to ensure the consistent quality of products and services. They are issued as documents that can later be used to adapt the standards internationally and are the basis for ISO certification.
The International Organization for Standardization issued the ISO 24495-1:2023 Plain Language — Part 1: Governing Principles and Guidelines in June 2023. It attempts to help authors develop documents that communicate effectively with their audience. It can be applied to most written languages. The document reflects both the recent research on plain language and the experience of global language experts.
The ISO standard definition of plain language (adopted from the International Plain Language Federation) is communication in which wording, structure, and design are so clear that intended readers can easily find what they need, understand it, and use the information.
7.3 The Federal Plain Language Guidelines {#7.3-the-federal-plain-language-guidelines}
The Federal Plain Language Guidelines introduced by the Plain Writing Act of 2010 were first developed in the mid-90s. They are revised every few years to provide updated advice on clear communication. Initially, they were primarily focused on regulations, but the coverage broadened with time.
The guidelines are organized into sections, but many of the topics fit within more than one section. They start with a discussion of your audience, as it should be considered before writing or planning to write. Then, they move to the organization because developing a good organization is important during the planning stage. Next come the writing principles, starting at the word level and moving up through paragraphs and sections. This is the most extensive topic. The Federal Plain Language Guidelines cover both the principles of writing documents and the principles of writing for the web.
These are the official guidelines for the Plain Writing Act of 2010 to write clearly so your users can:
- Find what they need,
- understand what they find, and
- use what they find to meet their needs.
7.4 Other examples {#7.4-other-examples}
The three mentioned above definitely do not complete the list of plain language guidelines and regulations. Many countries have their own solutions in place. If you are interested in this topic, you can start your journey at the PLAIN website’s Plain Language Around the World article, which mentions worldwide and local solutions.
There are also sets of rules and standards in place, designed for specific purposes (for example, news journalism), such as the AP Stylebook or the Chicago Manual of Style. These get periodically updated and are often adopted by writing professionals globally. A lot of writing aids and editor plugins, such as the ones mentioned in the previous chapter, allow for using these guidelines in your daily work, some of which have already been mentioned in chapter 6.