Plain-Language Resources
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Articles
- The Plain-Language Process
- The Literacy Alarm—It's Everyone's Problem
- Minimalism–Is This Document Really Necessary?
- George Orwell on Politics and the English Language
- The SEC's Requirement for Plain English in Disclosures
- The Switch to User-Centered Documents
- Joe Kimble's Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please
- A Short History of the Plain-Language Movement
Research
- The
Principles of Readability
(PDF—Requires Acrobat Reader) - A Tribute to Readability Scholar George Klare
- George Klare's Bibliography
Plain-Language Training Aids
- The Basics
of Plain Language
A PowerPoint presentation (4 MB) - Working with Plain
Language
A 50-page Training Manual (pdf) - George Klare's Readability
Test
Test your readability assessment skills (pdf)
Other Resources
Plain-Language Websites
- Plain Language Association International
- Plain English Network (US Gov)
- Plain English at Work (Australia)
- SEC Plain-Language Handbook (PDF)
- Garbl's Plain Language Resources
General-Writing Websites
Dictionaries
- Merriam Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus
- Oxford English Dictionary Online
- Yourdictionary.com (180 languages)
Style Guides
Grammar and Usage
- The Blue Book of Grammar
- The Grammar Lady
- Grammar for English-language learners
- Common errors in English
- World Wide Words
Computer-Jargon Dictionaries
- Babel: A Glossary of Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
- The Hacker's Dictionary/Jargon File
- Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing (FOLDOC)