2010 WriteMark |
Friday 3 September 2010 |
New Zealand Plain English Awards |
|
What is plain English?
Plain English is a style of writing in which the language, structure, and presentation of a document all work together to help the reader. A document written in plain English is easy to read, understand, and act upon after just one reading.
Plain English allows people to participate in government, commercial, legal, and leisure activities more effectively because they can understand the information presented to them. Plain English also has proven benefits for organisations that use it in their publications — including significant cost savings.
The movement to replace ‘gobbledygook’ in official and business documents with plain English began in Britain in the 1970s. The plain English movement now involves government agencies, public and private sector businesses, corporations, consultants, voluntary organisations, and networking groups throughout the world.
