Writing in Plain English - www.plainenglish.co.uk

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

Let's be honest. As you spend more time in the academic world, whether as a student or as an instructor, you slowly lose touch with how people outside of the academic world communicate via written or spoken word. I heard this told to me so many times as a graduate student, and swore I'd never become one of those types that can't convey an idea in a simple sentence to my non-academic friends and colleagues. Yet I suddenly find myself struggling with how to revise a simple research information sheet down from a 12.5 grade reading level! I happened upon a website about this very issue, and bookmarked it for when the time came that I would need it, and that time is upon me now. So of course this is the perfect opportunity to share with you, my reader(s)!

This website is called Plain English Campaign, and is hosted out of the UK. It's one of many resources of the like, but it's the one that I am using today. Their free guide, called "How to write in plain English" offers some easy to implement tips. The guide also has some easy to digest information on how to write in active vs. passive voice, and other general writing tips, so it seems like it could also be useful for an educator to share with students.

Well, that's enough of a preview, since I need to get working on the project that I'm using this website for! (See the "How to" guide for reasons why it's okay to end a sentence in a proposition) :)