We have all heard about “plain English”.  We all have our own ideas about what it is, what it looks like, and how good we are at doing it.

The rules for writing have changed since many of us were taught at school, and it is hard to let go of some old habits.  To add to the confusion, different workplaces have different ideas about what style is appropriate.

A plain English, or plain language, document uses words economically and at a level the audience can understand.  Its sentence structure is tight.  Its tone is approachable and direct.  Its design is visually appealing.  A plain English document is easy to read and looks like it’s meant to be read.

This section gives you a guide on a range of ways you can write so that your readers have the best possible chance of understanding you.  Take these ideas and apply them to your writing as you choose.

What does this have to do with disability?

We know that some people have disabilities that affect their ability to understand writing.  We also know that some people have disabilities that affect how well they can see written words.  Writing in plain English can help those people. 

So “Plain English” as a concept was developed to help people with a disability?

Well, no.  It is an example of where something designed to help everybody can be especially helpful to people with some types of disability.

It is an example of a general “Good Practice”.

More information

Examples of the use of Plain English

Resources on print-based materials (CD)