4.3 Structure

Plain language's first secret: readers get lost in documents, not mainly in words. 1. Purpose first. State the document's point in the opening lines (a notice: "You must renew your licence by 30 Ashar. Here's how."). 2. Reader's order, not drafter's order. Follow the reader's natural question-sequence — what is this? what must I do? what happens if I don't? For contracts: the transaction's chronology (parties → subject matter → price → performance → breach → remedies → termination). 3. Most important first; exceptions after the rule they qualify (rule: "The licence runs five years. Exception: …" — not proviso-nesting). 4. Headings and numbered structure that mirror the logic (1, 1.1, 1.1.1…); a contents list for documents over ~5 pages. 5. Short paragraphs — one theme each; vertical lists for conditions and definitions: - Before filing, you must: (a) pay the fee; (b) attach the deed; and (c) serve the other party. 6. Tables for options, deadlines and numbers (a table of "If you do X by Y date, then Z happens"). 7. Sentences that chunk information — one idea each, given-before-new, end-focus (Unit 2.9). 8. Design: white space, readable fonts, no ALL-CAPS blocks; key deadlines and phone numbers visually salient. Structure is meaning: the layout is part of the message. Before/after (a tenancy notice): • Traditional: "NOTICE is hereby…