Oxford Guide to Plain English (4th Edition)

Description

Plain English is the art of writing clearly, concisely, and in a way that precisely communicates your message to your intended audience. This book offers 25 practical guidelines to help improve your vocabulary, style, grammar, and layout in order to achieve clear writing. It gives expert advice on all aspects of the writing process: from avoiding jargon and legalese, to organizing written information in print and online. It also includes hundreds of real examples, including ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions to show exactly how its done. All this is presented in an authoritative and engaging way.

Completely revised and updated, this essential reference work is now even more useful: the word lists have been expanded; a new list of cliched and troublesome words to avoid have been added; and examples of real-life stories have been replaced with more recent ones. An improved design gives the book a fresh feel.

Author Biography

Martin Cutts is a writer, editor, and teacher. He co- founded the Plain English Campaign in 1979, and in 1994 he founded Plain Language Commission. He gives writing-skills courses in companies, government departments, and law firms. He is a leading voice in the international plain-language movement.