Plain English

According to Plain English Campaign (www.plainenglish.co.uk), plain English is "… something that the intended audience can read, understand and act upon the first time they read it. Plain English takes into account design and layout as well as language."

Many organisations have found that plain English brings commercial advantages. Plain English Campaign's facts page contains these examples:

Plain English has saved the British Government an estimated £500 million in the last two decades.
British Aerospace redrafted a 150-page international leasing agreement in only 50 pages. The first time the new document was used, a £120 million deal took three and a half weeks to complete, instead of the previous average of six months.

Plain English Campaign has an excellent guide to clear writing. For example, guidelines include:

Keep your sentences short.
Choose words appropriate for the reader.
Prefer active verbs.

Plain language resources

Plain English Campaign is a commercial organisation that promotes clear English in the UK. It supplies The A to Z of alternative words (www.plainenglish.co.uk/alternative.pdf).

Plain Language Commission is a commercial organisation that promotes clear English in the UK. It supplies Plain English Lexicon. A guide to whether your words will be understood (www.clearest.co.uk/files/PlainEnglishLexicon.pdf).

The Improvement and Development Agency is owned by the Local Government Association. It has a plain English section (www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8021380) on its website.

StyleWriter is an editing tool for plain English:

UK supplier: Plain Language Commission (www.clearest.co.uk).
Worldwide supplier: Editor Software (http://editorsoftware.com).

Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) (www.plainlanguagenetwork.org) is an international non-profit organisation of plain language advocates and professionals.

Clarity (www.clarity-international.net) is an international organisation that promotes clear legal language.