ABSTRACT
Why is it that most people don’t know how to program their VCRs? It came with an
instruction manual, didn’t it? And what is it about tax forms and legal documents that
drive people away? We know the information they contain is important, and we want to
understand it but just can’t make sense of it. Why? It probably has a lot to do with the
way the information is presented. Documents like these are usually dry, using big words
and long sentences. They are boring and hard to follow. There is little creativity, use of
interesting adjectives, or use of examples-just a lot of technical jargon and legalese.
