56:365 | Plain Language

I’m on a perpetual quest for resources to help me improve my writing. Back in 2006 on this very blog, I linked to Cutts, M. (1995). The plain English guide. Oxford: The Oxford University Press. A week ago, I wrote a blog post about how I didn’t find benefit in Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. I found the recommended writing practices forced the reader to work too hard to understand the author’s thought. My writing/editing tends to be either for academic publications or for instructional message delivery where clarity is paramount.

Literacy Works, a member of the Chicago Literacy Alliance, has created the Clear Language Lab and is hosting a free introductory Plain Language workshop on March 14th at the Literacenter. I’m unable to attend the session, but I wish I could have joined to learn about their approach. I’ve been following their work on “plain language” for some time, and I asked the facilitator of the March 14th session if she could share a few resources.

I’ve included the resources she shared (along with others) below:

• Top 10 Principles for Plain Language from the National Archives
• US SEC Plain Writing Initiative
• Plainlanguage.gov
• A Plain English Handbook: How to Create Clear SEC Disclosure Documents (and other things!)
• Oxford Guide to Plain English
• Hemingway App ($19.99 US)
• Grammarly (Free Version or Subscription: I never hit send without it!)