Writing for a Global Audience in Plain Language
CorrectNow Editorial Team · 6 min read
When you write in English for readers around the world, many of them are reading in their second or third language. Some will use a translation tool. Others will read slowly and carefully, looking up words they do not know. Plain language helps all of them, and it helps native speakers too.
Plain language is not childish or dull. It is writing that a reader can understand the first time they read it. Here is how to do it.
Use short sentences with one main idea
Long sentences with several clauses are hard to follow in any language and harder still in a second one. They are also more likely to be translated badly, because the translation has to keep track of which part relates to which.
Aim for one main idea per sentence. If a sentence contains "which", "although" and "however", it can probably be split.
Active voice also helps. "The team approved the budget" is clearer than "The budget was approved by the team", because it says who did what in the natural order. Use the passive only when the person doing the action is unknown or unimportant.
- Incorrect: The update, which we released after testing it with a small group of users who had reported issues, should, although not in all cases, fix the problem. – Correct: We tested the update with a small group of users who had reported issues. It should fix the problem in most cases. (Splitting the sentence makes each idea easier to follow and to translate.)
Avoid idioms, slang and cultural references
Idioms make sense only to people who already know them. "Touch base", "ballpark figure", "hit the ground running" and "a piece of cake" may confuse readers who take them literally, and a literal translation can produce nonsense.
Sports and pop-culture references cause the same problem. Say what you mean directly.
- "Let's touch base next week" becomes "Let's talk next week".
- "A ballpark figure" becomes "a rough estimate".
- "It's a piece of cake" becomes "It's easy".
Prefer simple verbs to phrasal verbs
Phrasal verbs such as "put off", "figure out" and "bring up" are common in everyday English, but their meaning often cannot be guessed from the parts. Many have several meanings. For a global audience, a single clear verb is usually better: "postpone", "understand", "mention".
This does not mean replacing every phrasal verb. Keep common ones that are clear in context, and replace the ones that could confuse.
Make dates, times and units unambiguous
A date such as 03/04 means 3 April in many countries and March 4 in the United States. Writing the month as a word removes the doubt: 3 April 2027. In technical contexts, the international format year-month-day, such as 2027-04-03, is also clear.
For times, state the time zone. For measurements, consider giving both metric and imperial units if your readers use different systems. For money, name the currency rather than using a symbol alone, because the dollar sign is used by several countries.
Be consistent with terms
In creative writing, using different words for the same thing adds variety. In plain language, it causes confusion. If you call something an "account" in one paragraph and a "profile" in the next, readers and translation tools may assume they are different things.
Choose one term for each concept and use it throughout. If you have a lot of content, keep a short glossary.
Test your text before you publish
One useful test is to translate your text into another language and back, or ask a colleague who reads in a second language to look at it. Sentences that come back confused are usually the ones that need rewriting.
Run a final spelling and grammar check as well, because small errors are harder for non-native readers to work around. The CorrectNow translator can translate into any of 150 languages and then proofread the result, which is a quick way to see how your plain English holds up in another language. For important documents, a professional translator or native speaker should still review the final version.
Frequently asked questions
Is plain language the same as simple language for children?
No. Plain language is about clarity, not about talking down to readers. It suits experts as well as beginners, because everyone understands clear text faster.
Should I avoid all idioms when writing for an international audience?
Avoid idioms where meaning matters, such as instructions, policies and product information. In informal or creative writing, a familiar idiom can be fine if the meaning is clear from context.
What is the clearest way to write dates for global readers?
Write the month as a word, such as 3 April 2027, or use the year-month-day format, such as 2027-04-03, in technical contexts.
Does plain language help with machine translation?
Yes. Short sentences, consistent terms and the absence of idioms all make automatic translation more accurate. They do not guarantee a perfect result, so important content should still be reviewed by a native speaker.
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