A plain language critic has analysed Bunyan's style:

"The great charm of The Pilgrim's Progress is the purity, the homeliness, of its vernacular. Few were ever such complete masters of their 'sweet mother tongue,' in its native vigour, as Bunyan. The book stands unrivalled as a model of our English speech, plain but never vulgar, full of metaphor but never obscure, always intelligible, always forcible, going straight to the point in the fewest and simplest words.

He is powerful and picturesque from his concise simplicity. Bunyan's style is recommended by Lord Macaulay as an invaluable study to every person who wishes to gain a wide command over the English language. Its vocabulary is the vocabulary of the common people."

At the end of our pilgrimage, we went to our computers to brainstorm about the roles we plain language specialists have. We are indeed an eclectic, international breed, representing significant fields and values:

We asked yet again: Who are we?

First, we are artists. We look for the clearest and most beautiful form hidden within turgid, flabby, and badly structured writing. Like Michelangelo, we uncover hidden forms and buried meanings.

Second, we are language and social activists and overseers calling for disclosure and integrity of information. The true activist connects with society and appeals to people's intrinsic goodness by educating them.

Third, we are translators of professional dialects, an art form that requires clarity, elegance, and intellectual effort.

Fourth, we are protectors, life savers ,and safety officers. We write information in plain language for prescription drugs, or health procedures, or food labels.