Expert or non-expertreaders? A study on company reports and personnel attitudes from a language consultancy viewpoint.

Abstract

This study’s aim is to examine a marine survey company’s report writing to find possible proficiency needs among the reporting department personnel and consequently for the readability of the reports. Also, to examine what impact language consultancy work and plain English editing of report texts have on the personnel. The method used was a needs analysis as a quantitative/qualitative three-step-method: report text analysis, editing of report text into plain English, and questionnaire and interviews analyses. The material consisted of ten company reports, questionnaire responses from 80 of the personnel (including a control group), and interview answers from four of the personnel. Because the report’s target group must be considered in each case as to include either experts, non-experts, or both, the text analysis shows that there are areas in which the personnel’s English could be improved in order to improve the reports’ readability, for example regarding punctuation and the use of cohesive devices. The questionnaire shows that the personnel’s attitudes towards plain English differ depending on the grammatical, structural, or language-related aspect in focus, and the interviews identify general rather than specific needs. The results indicate that a language consultant could meet the needs, for example by holding writing courses.