Practising Plain Language Guide

A guide on how to put plain language into practice in your organisation.

How you benefit

• Know your legal responsibilites
• Find out how to practice plain language
• Get bitten by the plain langauge bug
• Implement a successful project

Who should read it?

Business people and managers. Lawyers and non-lawyers.

• Product managers – to manage the documentation regards their product
• CAEs, auditors and assurance providers (internal and external) – to audit and provide assurance regards plain language
• CROs and Risk Managers – to manage risks regards complicated language
• Compliance officers – to effectively comply with plain language laws
• Legal advisors (corporate lawyers or in-house lawyers) – to provide good legal advice

Who does it apply to?

This guide is for all organisations. The documents of all suppliers under the Consumer Protection Act must be in plain language. The organisations that will find it especially useful are:

• banks
• insurance companies
• retailers
• law firms

What do you get?

It includes a table of contents, an index, endnotes, further reading and useful links. Bite size chunks of useful and practical information.  It is not a how to guide on writing in plain language or a Plain Language Glossary. It will not teach you how to write in plain language, but simply tell you about plain language.

Who is the author?

The document has been authored by John Giles. The plain language bug bit John early and since then he has been obsessed with trying to make all documents plain and simple. Both because he sees the benefits that organisations have enjoyed, but also because the law requires it. He has ten years of experience as a commercial attorney drafting complex legal documents in plain language. He has audited many documents and converted many documents to plain language. He has been part of an international plain language project for a multi-national vendor. He regularly writes on the subject. He is especially proud that the King committee decided to use his plain language version of the alternative dispute resolution clause that he suggested.