As You Write

Organize Your Content in a Reader-Friendly Way

Identify Key Questions. Anticipate the questions your audience may have about the topic. What will they need to know to have a good understanding of the subject?

Structure Your Draft. Arrange your content based on these questions, following the order in which a reader might logically ask them. If appropriate, you may want to:

Create headings based on the topic to be addressed in that particular section.
Adopt a Q&A format, using the questions as headings to guide your audience through the document.
Make headings about each topic that form a complete sentence.
Include a summary at the beginning of the document that capture the main conclusions, recommendations, or important insights of your project. This allows the reader to understand the key messages quickly.

Ensure Logical Flow. Start with the important conclusions/outcomes of the piece to capture the reader's interest at the beginning. This helps to set the context and importance of the information that follows.

Describe Processes. If any of the information you are conveying to the public involves a process, set out that process clearly for the reader. Include a flowchart or other graphic that shows what needs to occur at each step as well as which actions are to be taken by the individual and which are handled by the Department and provide the appropriate time frames.

Be Concise ...

Government documents often use complex, academic-style sentences to demonstrate expertise, which may not effectively communicate information to the general public. This bureaucratic style, with its dense and lengthy sentences, can hinder our mission and values by making it difficult for people and communities to understand our messages.

Examples:

✗ "With the prior written consent of the Planning Board, which is not to be unreasonably withheld, the Planning Board can grant, within 14 days of the application, the developer permission to assign the development agreement."

✓ "The Planning Board may allow the developer to assign the development agreement within 14 days of the application. The board must give written consent prior to the assignment. The board cannot withhold consent without reasonable justification."

✓ "The Planning Board may allow the developer to assign the development agreement under the following circumstances:

within 14 days of the application, and
with written board consent prior to the assignment.

The Planning Board cannot unreasonably withhold consent to the assignment."

Review your sentences for excessive detail, repetitiveness, and redundant words:


✗	✓
"I received and read the email you sent yesterday about the report you're writing for the project. I agree it needs a thorough, close review from someone familiar with your audience."	"I received your email about the project report and agree it needs a review from someone familiar with your audience."
"The test revealed conduction activity that was peculiar in nature."	"The test revealed peculiar conduction activity."

Tips:

Set word or page limits for your project and adhere to them - attention spans are short. If this writing project is periodical, try to convey the same amount of information as the previous version in fewer words.
Remove unnecessary words.

While conciseness is valued, increasing the chance that your reader will understand your message is the ultimate goal. Using plain language doesn't always require you to shorten a sentence or paragraph. It is preferable to maintain the length of the section or include a few more words to make a concept clearer to your reader.

Increase Readability

Use simpler sentences that are easy to understand. Shorten sentences and paragraphs where possible and vary lengths.

Remember your target audience. Are you using words that they would be familiar with? Is there a way to express the information in a simpler way that still provides your audience with the information that they need to know?

Example:

✗"The proposed development will feature a multi-modal transit hub to facilitate interconnectivity and reduce the reliance on private vehicles, thereby promoting sustainable urban growth.

✓"The proposed building includes a station that connects different types of transport. The station will reduce residents' dependence on private cars, making the city more environmentally friendly."

Other ways to increase readability:

Create white space between paragraphs.
Use headings and subheadings.
Use bulleted or numbered lists instead of narratives where applicable.
Use bold, italic or underline formatting to emphasize key words or phrases.
Instead of including clunky URLs, create hyperlinks and change the URL to explanatory text.
Use Callouts. A callout is content that stands out from the regular content on the page. Callouts are designed to emphasize information that you want the reader to focus on. There are several different types of callouts that emphasize a quote or a particular sentence/paragraph, provide additional facts or statistics, or summarizes content that may be helpful to your reader but is not essential to your document.

The Publications Office is happy to assist you with creating a callout if you are not sure how to display the information; note the content that you want to highlight in your document, and we'll take it from there.

Create Figures to Help Your Reader

Find ways to convey the necessary information using a minimum of written text, accompanied by a figure (chart/table/graph/illustration/infographic), which helps with keeping your project concise and increases white space for more readability.

Would you prefer to read this?

Approximately 77.14 acres is designated retail, 116.16 acres industrial, 2.26 acres mixed used, and 14.08 acres office. The retail uses are concentrated along Bladensburg Road, Kenilworth Avenue, and Annapolis Road. Industrial is concentrated west of Kenilworth Avenue, in the Town of Edmonston. The little mixed use or office uses that exist in the sector plan area is centered in the core near the intersections of Bladensburg Road, Kenilworth Avenue and Annapolis Road. (72 words)

Or this?

Land Use in Port Towns
Use	Size (Acres)	Concentrated Areas
Retail	77.14	Bladensburg Road, Kenilworth Avenue, Annapolis Road
Industrial	116.6	West of Kenilworth Avenue in Edmonston
Mixed-Use	2.26	Centered in the core near intersection of Bladensburg Road, Kenilworth Avenue, and Annapolis Road
Office	14.08	Centered in the core near intersection of Bladensburg Road, Kenilworth Avenue, and Annapolis Road

(43 words)

Do you need help with creating images, tables, charts, or infographics for your project? We can also make existing figures more reader-friendly. Just let us know.

Limit Jargon

The excessive use of jargon makes it difficult for the public to receive the Department's messages. Planning touches on many disciplines, including architecture, engineering, environmental and other sciences, data analysis, and geography. If you were to combine the specialized terms each field uses, there is a tremendous amount of jargon (in addition to planning-specific jargon) that may be unknown or confusing to the public we serve.

To be clear, not all jargon is bad. Sometimes, it is necessary to efficiently describe a complex concept. And as language continuously evolves, specialized jargon can come into common usage because it conveys a specific meaning better than any others (such as "gentrification").

We place additional barriers for the public when unnecessary jargon is embedded with an academic or bureaucratic style of writing. While bureaucratic and academic writing certainly have their place, a well-written plain language document is understandable to scholarly researchers, planning professionals, and County residents.

Tips:

Use the Plain Language Thesaurus for alternatives to words or phrases, including planning-specific phrases.
Don't know if you should use a certain phrase in your project? Use the technical jargon decision tree to help you decide.

Eliminate Garbage Language

We are all guilty of using garbage language (some more than others - you know who you are). Professionals are taught to use words and phrases that sound effective and authoritative. But most garbage language is filled with trite words and phrases that may hide their true meaning.

Using language that is common among Department staff in public-facing documents can lead to miscommunication or the situation may require additional communication from us, taking staff time and resources away from other projects.

Garbage language also may hide potential areas of disagreement. Consider the sentiment of planner Daniel Herriges:

The ubiquitous word livable ... is a good candidate for the garbage heap. People like it because it's vague and meaningless, and it allows you to pretend to agree with all sorts of people you don't actually agree with. A search for "livable city" very quickly turns up references to Copenhagen and its world-famous compact neighborhoods and bicycle-friendly streets, which would surely prompt eyerolls among the members of Livable California, a group formed to oppose measures that would allow increased residential density in that state. One suspects the Livable California crowd would also fail to see eye-to-eye with folks at AARP's Livable Communities initiative, who have championed such senior-friendly housing innovations as backyard accessory dwellings. The point of using livable is to stake a claim to moral authority, not to convince anyone or communicate anything. Source: Daniel Herriges, "Does 'Garbage Language' Infect How We Talk About Cities?" Creative Commons License CC BY SA 3.0 DEED

Here are a few examples:

iterative
catalyze
engender
incubate
implementation framework
transformative
focal point
synthesize
synergy

See plain language alternatives in the plain language thesaurus.

Numbers

In general, numbers one through nine should be spelled out. Use figures for numbers 10 and above. However, there are some exceptions:


Exception	Example
Spell out any numbers that begin a sentence. But if that number is a year, use the numerals.	Twenty-three years ago, the legislation went into effect. 1923 was the year that the house was built.
When numbers below 10 are written as decimals, use the figures.	Trees should be planted 3.5 feet apart.
Figures are used for all ages, percents/percentages, units of currency, dimensions	the 53-year-old, 4 percent of the population, $2.00, 5-feet, 3-inches
If using orders of magnitude (hundred, thousand, million, etc.) after a single-digit number that does not represent currency, spell it out. However, if you are referring to currency, spell it out.	four million people, but $4 million.
If the number is part of a formal name, follow the style used.	7-Eleven or 4th Street
When two numbers are written next to each other in a sentence, one of them should be spelled out to avoid confusion. If one number refers to a measurement, it should remain a figure.	We asked for thirty 10-inch boards.

Units of measure less than 1.00 are singular and take the singular verb.
Ordinal numbers are expressed without the superscript, but spell out first through ninth (second, 31st).
If there are many numbers within a paragraph, keep the numbers in each category consistent. Here are two examples:
A mixture of buildings—one of 103 stories, five of more than 50, and a dozen of only 3 or 4―has been suggested for the area. In the second half of the nineteenth century. Chicago's population exploded, from just under 30,000 in 1850 to nearly 1.7 million by 1900.
Use the word "number" instead of "#" or "no." (Note, however, that resolutions from the Planning Board use "No." For example, PGCPB Resolution No. 04-23.)
Always spell out "percent" in text. The % symbol is acceptable in charts and graphs but must be used consistently.

Dates

Abbreviate months only when using an exact date (Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec.).
Use a comma after a complete date (day, month, year).
No comma is used if the date includes fewer elements than the day, month, and year.
Dates including only with month and year to not include an "of."
- Jan. 10, 2017, was an important day for the Planning Board.
- January 2017 was a remarkable month for M-NCPPC.
When referring to decades, no apostrophe is used: 1990s.

Parallel Structure

Ensuring that all parts of your sentences are parallel is not only a matter of following grammar rules - it also makes your writing easier to read.


✗	✓
The proposal analyzed the relationship between the residential zone and the commercial district, thus ensuring a harmonious coexistence of housing and business activities.	The proposal analyzed the relationship between the residential zone and the commercial district, ensuring a harmonious coexistence between housing and business activities.
The area's revitalization plan emphasizes both enhancing public transportation infrastructure and creation of more green spaces.	The area's revitalization plan emphasizes both enhancing public transportation infrastructure and creating more green spaces.
The zoning regulations neither consider the preservation of historical landmarks nor the encouragement of green building design.	The zoning regulations neither consider the preservation of historical landmarks nor encourage green building design.

Bulleted or numbered lists must also have parallel elements. A list can consist of a complete sentence for each element or a single sentence composed made up of several bulleted/numbered elements.

But never mix complete and incomplete sentences within a single list.

If each bullet point is a complete sentence, the first word of each bulleted item is capitalized and a period goes at the end of each item.

If each bullet is part of a single sentence, begin each bullet with a lowercase letter.


✗	✓
The plan addresses several key issues, such as: promoting sustainable transportation, improved waste management, encourage mixed-use developments, and enhancing public safety and security.	The plain addresses several key issues, such as: promoting sustainable transportation, improving waste management, encouraging mixed-use developments, and enhancing public safety and security.

Source Documentation

Citations

Published Plans: When referring to a published plan, indicate the year the plan was published and then italicize the official title:

1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Bladensburg-New Carrolton and Vicinity (Planning Area 69).

On second reference, use a short name that includes enough information to identify the document:

The Master Plan for Bladensburg-New Carrolton and Vicinity.

See the list of frequently used plan names.

Development Activity Monitoring System Cases: The citation starts with the case name, case number, Prince George's County Planning Department (App. [approval date])

Example: IZZO Property, Case No. NRI-018-05, Prince Geroge's County Planning Department (App. May 18, 2005).

Books:

Periodicals:

Online sources:

Footnotes

Minimize your use of footnotes in a document, as they are distracting to your audience. If supplementary information is necessary for the reader to understand the text, the information should exist in the body of the text.

Using footnotes to cite statements or policies of the Department are unnecessary - the government is the authoritative source.

The Planning Department does not use endnotes in its publications.

Comma Usage

The Department uses the Oxford, or serial, comma. This comma is used before the "and" in a list of three or more items.

Example:

✓ The Prince George's County Zoning Ordinance includes base zones, planned development zones, and overlay zones.

✗ The Prince George's County Zoning Ordinance includes base zones, planned development zones and overlay zones.

Names & Titles

Use a person's full name and title on first reference. On subsequent references, use the last name only within the same section or chapter of a long document. Reintroduce the person in each section or chapter.

Do not use salutations for names unless that person is a medical doctor. Use the last name on second reference. For suffixes (Jr., Sr., etc.) there is no comma before the suffix.

Example: Theodore Huxtable, who has a Ph.D in education, is the son of Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, an obstetrician-gynecologist.

When using a title, capitalize the title if it precedes the name, but not if it follows the name.

✓ If you have questions, please contact Planning Director Lakisha Hull.

✓ If you have questions, please contact Lakisha Hull, the planning director of Prince George's County.

Inclusive and Bias-Free Language

Planning Department content should be bias-free and as inclusive as possible to best represent the public we serve.

Avoid references to personal characteristics such as race, sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status unless relevant to the topics discussed.

Do not use gender-specific suffixes. There is almost always a gender-neutral alternative.

Some examples:


Term	Gender-Neutral Alternative
chairman/woman	chair
actor/actress	actor/performer
fireman	firefighter
policeman	police officer
man/woman	person/adult
waiter/waitress	server
maiden name	family name/surname

We must acknowledge, however, that language and culture is constantly evolving, and the communities that are the subject of these conversations are not monolithic:

LGBTQ is an acceptable acronym on first reference for people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, but the term queer can be a slur in many contexts.

Communities from the Latin American diaspora may have differing opinions on use of the terms "Latino/a," "Hispanic," or "Latinx."

The terms "Black" and "White" are generally capitalized, although "Black" is often used interchangeably with "African-American" although it depends on context (for example, Black History Month in the County showcases the experiences of the African-American ethnic group while County statistics refer to a "Black or African-American" category to reflect residents of African-American descent as well as Black people whose immediate ancestry is from Africa, the Caribbean, or other parts of the African diaspora).

Some people from the disabled community prefer person-first language ("person who is blind" or "person who is autistic") while others prefer identity-first language ("blind person," "autistic person").