Plain Language Resources for Local Government.
ONLINE RESOURCES
These are a few of the many plain language resources available online. If you know of a resource you think should be included, contact me.
(I do not endorse or profit from these links)
PLAIN LANGUAGE 101
PLAIN LANGUAGE ORGANIZATIONS
Plain Language Association International
Confab (writing clear web content and organizing it well)
ONLINE TOOLS
Everyday Words for Public Health Communications (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC))
Readable (reading level/readability score)
Sign up for Garner's Usage Tip of the Day
STYLE GUIDES
Style Guide - Town of Chapel Hill, NC comprehensive local government style guide
18F Content Guide - public domain, easy to download a copy, written with government in mind, includes a section on forms.
Mail Chimp Well organized, online, easy to find information.
City of Detroit Online format, includes graphics and powerpoint resources.
BOOKS
Rewrite: How to overcome Daily Sabotage of Your Brand and Profit by Lynda Harris - Comprehensive resource with information on how to implement plain writing
Nicely Said: writing well for the web with style and purpose by Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee - clear, guidance, useful for all kinds of writing, web and beyond.
Technical Communication: A reader-centered approach by Paul V. Anderson - great primer with lots of examples (Note: you may need to search for a copy depending on edition. Textbooks can be expensive; older or used copies are often available).
Legal Writing in Plain English by Brian A. Garner - for the lawyers in your life (or for convincing them of the merits of Plain Language).
The Sense of Style: the Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Stephen Pinker - contains a good section on the knowledge gap (when we forget what it's like not to know our technical field)
Wired for Story by Lisa Cron - if you want to really dig into the neurology of story-telling.