Plain Language

Resource Library

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I want you to be empowered to write what you mean and be easily understood.

So here are all my best resources. Use them, share them – make the world a clearer place!

My best tips

Here are my best tips for dealing with the reality of writing at work.

From planning to writing to reviewing, this is me at my most practical.

Browse my writing tips

Great examples of writing

I know you want to know what good looks like.

So be inspired – here are my faves and why these writers have nailed it.

Examples of great writing

Academic papers on plain language – with summaries (of course!)

  • Writing Matters

    Academics judge plain-language versions of papers as higher quality. They are more likely to accept them for a conference. They believe those papers have a better chance of being accepted at a good journal.

    — Published in Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2024

  • The Secret of Impressive Writing? Keep it plain and Simple

    Writers who use long words needlessly and choose complicated font styles are seen as less intelligent than those who stick with basic vocabulary and plain text.

    — Published in Applied Cognitive Psychology

  • If it’s hard to read, it’s hard to do

    Processing fluency affects effort prediction and motivation.

    — Published in Psychological Science

  • Plain language in the US gains momentum: 1940 - 2015

    Plain-language practitioners expanded their concerns from how people understand the content — to the usability and accessibility of the content — to whether people trust the content.

    — Published in IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 60(4):343–383

  • Words count: The empirical relationship between brief writing and summary judgment success

    Brief readability is significantly correlated to summary judgment success, but that correlation is stronger in federal than in state courts.

    — Published in The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute

TED talks on plain language