A field guide to the
birds of plain English
This isn’t your average field guide.
It won’t help you identify the little bird who visits your garden every day. It won’t leave you with the expert knowledge of an ornithologist. It won’t even give you sweary birds á la Reynolds, or scary birds á la Hitchcock.
To be absolutely honest, it won’t teach you much about birds at all.
Although we adore birds at Goldfinch (in case you hadn’t guessed), we wouldn’t choose them as our specialist subject on Mastermind.
No. That would be plain English.
So here we are – drawing inspiration from a few of our fine feathered friends as a way into our favourite topic.
We hope you enjoy this brief, and utterly fanciful, excursion.
The birds of plain English
Here's what you'll find in our guide. It's a veritable who's who of the bird world.
And so it begins ... with the 1-legged wonders of the Phoenicopteridae family:
A flamboyance of flamingos
We do know enough about birds to realise that flamingos have 2 legs. But they often rest on 1 and tuck the other away. Why? The word on the water is that it saves energy.
So flamingos force us to reckon with a question we might not have considered before: Why use 2 legs when 1 will do?
And that points to common ground between the first of our avian amigos and the lore of plain English. If we have 1 perfectly good word to capture our thinking, we won’t achieve much by writing down 2 (3, 4 or 5). In fact, we’ll be wasting energy – and not just our own.
What can we learn from flamingos?
To tuck away the words we don’t need and save them for another outing.
How do we do that?
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Drop tautologies like “end result”, “future planning” and “added bonus”.
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Halve doublets like “if and when”, “ways and means” and “terms and conditions”.
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Phase out phrases like “in relation to”, “for the purpose of” and “with respect to”.
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Swap repeated names or noun strings with pronouns.
Family
Plain English wording
Key feature
Energy-saving elegance
Habitat
At the heart of short, sprightly sentences
Threats
Tautology, legal doublets and triplets, waffle and long noun strings
Hopping right along to some birds that tend to be more maligned than admired:
A flock of pigeons
We’re not here to talk about how pigeons can squawk and squabble over a crumb on the pavement. It’s the in-built navigation systems of the homing breeds that set our wings aflutter.
We still don’t know much about how they find their way – whether it’s by the sun, smell or magnetic field. But their ability to deliver a message miles away, then return home, is a BIG deal and reminds us what plain English can do.
Plain English prefers direct routes to detours. It asks us to create paths through content that are obstacle free. It encourages us to add regular signposts that will help people navigate.
What can we learn from pigeons?
To make navigation a priority so we can deliver our message successfully.
How do we do that?
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Open with a top-notch summary and table of contents.
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Use a shorter summary to introduce each main section.
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Add precise, focused headings throughout the text.
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Ensure access with working cross-references, links and other metadata.
Family
Plain English structure
Key feature
Navigational nous
Habitat
Down the streets and laneways between sections
Threats
Missing summaries, unclear headings, broken links
Now we come to a group known for its glitz and glamour:
An ostentation of peacocks
Peacocks are among the most extravagant creatures in the natural world. So what are they doing strutting around these plain pages?
Well, like anyone, we’re drawn to the great spectacle of their trains – the way they blend form with function to ward off predators and attract mates. It’s a masterclass in colour, pattern and scale.
We can use the same elements when we’re designing content. Don’t let the name fool you, because plain English doesn’t automatically mean dull or drab design. Quite the opposite in fact. Done well, it is simple, sophisticated and even beautiful.
What can we learn from peacocks?
To balance form with function, in designs that entice, engage and enlighten.
How do we do that?
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Don’t be afraid of colour, but make it count as an accent that brings clarity to your content.
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Create patterns in the layout, such as in headers and footers, with similar content appearing in similar spots.
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Build a sense of scale into headings and paragraphs, using crisp, legible fonts.
Family
Plain English design
Key feature
Eye-catching innovation
Habitat
In the flourishes that make content sing on the page
Threats
Bland or chaotic design choices, illegible typography
Next to our namesakes (it would have been remiss of us to leave them out):
A charm of goldfinches
Goldfinches are unassuming little creatures, at least in comparison to peacocks, but they are very sociable. And several species have a talent that’s pretty handy for socialising: they can adopt the calls of other birds.
For goldfinches, having a wide repertoire like this is thought to be a sign of fitness. For us humans, it’s the sign of a good communicator. If we want to communicate clearly and openly, we too must mimic the language that resonates most with our readers.
Let’s be honest – nobody’s natural language is legalese, or business or marketing speak. The language of everyday conversation is the one to copy.
What can we learn from goldfinches?
To suit our writing style to those around us, dropping the grandiose language that serves no-one well.
How do we do that?
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Remember we’re all just humans talking to other humans.
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Use personal pronouns to build connection.
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Choose words the audience will know and understand without extra effort.
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Break sentences into short (but melodious) bursts.
Family
Plain English wording
Key feature
Melodious mimicry
Habitat
In the ebb and flow of reader-inspired text
Threats
Stiff formality, lack of pronouns, jargon, long sentences
On to some other mimics, who are also known for their shapeshifting prowess:
A murmuration of starlings
Okay, so starlings aren’t shapeshifters as individuals. But together they do spin and dive through the skies in magnificent free-flowing clouds.
The interesting bit is that they start out in small groups but join to form a feathery flash mob as the day fades. Sometimes numbering more than a million, they still manage to fly in graceful unison. They find order in chaos.
We can take inspiration from their freestyle formations when we’re structuring text. Plain English prompts us to build order from disparate blocks of content. We add one group to another and another, looking for logic and rhythm, until we have a unified whole.
What can we learn from starlings?
To order content in uniform groups with smooth transitions.
How do we do that?
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Join blocks of content in related groups to form sections and subsections.
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Make each group similar to the next, in format and length.
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Plug any holes and bring outliers back into the fold by regrouping if you need to.
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Show the link between groups with clear headings and simple transition words.
Family
Plain English structure
Key feature
Cohesive choreography
Habitat
At the junctions between blocks of content
Threats
Illogical groups, uneven sections, weak headings, poor transitions
Finally, we arrive at the trinket-loving Ptilonorhynchidae family:
A hoard of bowerbirds
Bowerbirds are famous for their bowers. (The clue’s in the name, I guess.) Male birds build them to win over the local ladies, surrounding avenues of sticks with colourful objects they have collected – from flowers to bottle tops.
Each stick and each object is placed with great care, creating the visual illusion of forced perspective. It’s thought the male bird wants his bower to appear smaller than it is, so he in turn seems bigger as he begins his courting dance.
When we’re curating content, visual trickery doesn’t sound ideal. But we can use little tricks to focus our readers’ attention. The thing to remember, though, is that the focus should be on what’s important to them (not just to us).
What can we learn from bowerbirds?
To display content with care, using visual aids to get the right perspective.
How do we do that?
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Emphasise important details with shading, callout boxes, pull quotes, icons or other eye-catching elements (but not too many!)
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Split walls of text with lists, tables or even just a few more paragraph breaks.
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Make visual aids accessible for people with print disability. That said, remember visuals should not replace text, but reinforce it.
Family
Plain English design
Key feature
Curatorial cunning
Habitat
In the foreground of a thoughtful layout
Threats
Lack of visual aids, walls of text, inaccessible elements
A plain English field checklist
Tuck away the words you don’t need and save them for another outing.
Make navigation a priority so you can deliver your message successfully.
Balance form with function, in designs that entice, engage and enlighten.
Suit your writing style to those around you, dropping the grandiose language that serves no-one well.
Order content in uniform groups with smooth transitions.
Display content with care, using visual aids to get the right perspective.
