Plain, Plainer, and Plain Enough

The Supreme Court of Canada has launched a site, Representing Yourself, to assist unrepresented litigants to navigate the court process. This is a good and necessary thing. Many other courts are doing the same, so let me just pick on the top guys and leave the others to check their own work.


The Supreme Court of Canada provides a Glossary of Terms at http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/litigantportal/Glossary_e.asp that contains twenty some words--perhaps not enough.


The problem is that the Court assumes too much existing knowledge and to high a level of legal literacy in the general population. The definitions in the glossary are not plain enough. Look at the ones below. Compare the affidavit definition from the Multilingual Legal Glossary which I wrote. I think it is better but not perfect.

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Affidavit of Service

(see also “service”)

An “affidavit” intended to certify that you have served a document.

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Now, to grasp the meaning here, you have to refer to three other definitions (which may not be there) and put those ideas together: affidavit, certify, and service. And some people will be wondering exactly what a "document" is.

______________________________________ Affidavit A sworn statement in writing made under oath before a “commissioner of oaths”. __________________________________________________ Now this one requires a person to check three terms: "sworn", "oath", and "commissioner of oaths". Is it necessary to add the mention of the commissioner of oaths? The Multilingual Legal Glossary ______________________________________________
Term	affidavit
Plain Language Definition	a written statement given under oath for the purposes of a court action or other legal process

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Diversity in how our minds work

We have come to think of diversity as a concern in a multicultural community. As writers we need to recognize the diversity within a homogeneous cultural group of readers--if such a thing exists anymore. Human beings differ in the ways they recieve and process new information.

These differences affect the words you select to use and the design you choose for a document, but they may also determine the modes of communication you choose. Whenever possible, I try to overlap the communication media.

Kim Roach is a busy blogger and productivity specialist. She has written two articles that help us understand some very basic ways in which people differ in their information processing styles, and thus in their needs.

From LifeHacker What's Your Intelligence Type?

"...Dr. Howard Gardner built a model of eight different intelligence types, including linguistic and verbal intelligence, logical intelligence, spatial intelligence, body/movement intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence. Each one of these intelligence types is located in specific regions of the brain. However, a person can be strong in several intelligence types.

...Schools often favor verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences. This is because most schools are centered around verbal lectures and a core curriculum that puts a lot of importance on science and math. To cater to all types of learners, schools must strive to find a balance that incorporates the arts, self-awareness, communication, and physical education..."

Read the full article here where Roach succinctly discusses the different types of intelligence.

From The Optimized Life, What's Your Learning Style?

"...Each person has a different learning style that allows them
to learn best. The idea of individualized “learning styles” was introduced in the 1970s.

The three main types of learning styles include: visual, auditory and kinesthetic/tactile. A person usually has a mixture of the learning styles above, but is particularly strong in one area. Sometimes, a person has more than one strong learning style..." more

Next in the Diversity Series

So, I have discovered that whenever I say that I am going to write a series of articles on a topic, I had better do drafts or an overall outline immediately. Why? Because after my previous post, my mind went blank. I could not figure out where to start--or go next.

So, first I will share with you some of the clippings I have collected on the subject of diversity in communication and information-processing styles.

See this article from Cognitive Edge, East is East and West is West

"Over the years a series of experiments have shown differences between American and Asian in terms of the way the brain works. Two examples I give on our accreditation courses are

1. the multiple experiments with show a difference between a focus on content, and one on context when scanning pictures,
2. the cow, chicken & grass test from The Geography of Thought. If you have not done this before, then before you read further thick quickly: which if the three is the odd one out?"...more