It’s not always easy to find the right words. Sometimes we sit with a blank screen before us, even when we write for a living. But some tricks make it easier. Start with a few questions. – Who do you want to reach? – What do you want them to...
Recently I wrote about New Zealand introducing a new law – the Plain Language Bill – designed to make public servants talk like humans. The bill aims to improve the effectiveness and accountability of the public service by requiring communications to be clear and...
Did you see the recent media coverage about the poor quality of writing in schools? The results were both alarming and no surprise at all. It looked at a study by the Australian Education Research Organisation into writing and writing instruction in Australian...
Recently I came across a website advocating plain English.It made me happy, so I read further.The Australian Clinical Trials Alliance advocated a plain language title for research so people could find and understand it.“In the case of clinical research, the audience...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Plain English Bill going through the New Zealand parliament. The bill passed – it’s now law! This piece in The Age by David Astle describes why plain language is so important and introduces Milton A Smith’s concept...
Bad writing is the bane of my life.It takes more time to read and make sense of bad writing. It’s frustrating red-penning lousy work.It’s a huge cost to business.Consider this.Jo works in a large organisation and spends about 15 minutes each day trying to make sense...
