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Jargon – you can stick it on National Plain English Day

National Plain English Day fell on Friday 9 December 2011 and coincided with the Plain English Campaign’s annual Golden Bull awards.

National Plain English Day started with the launch of the campaign when the supporters travelled to Parliament and set to shredding jargon-filled documents on Parliament Green. The police then intervened and read out the legalese-filled Metropolitan Police Act, prompting Chrissie Maher, founder of Plain English Campaign to ask,

“Does all that mean we have to go?”

Since then the campaign has been fighting against the use of jargon and gobbledygook in public information from both private and public service organisations. The awards ceremony recognises public nominations gathered over the year for both well and poorly written information.

BBC cannot always be trusted to use plain English

While the BBC is still recognised by many as a worldwide standard in communication, there are parts of the organisation receiving criticism from programme listeners.

Last Updated on Monday, 19 December 2011 10:24 Read more...

Plain English and legal advice are essential bedfellows

Lady Justice Hallett has been nominated for our Osborne Memorial award for speaking up in court about the need for plain English. She joins the likes of Baroness Thatcher for her support during the Rayner Review of government documents and Harriet Harman MP for her work on the plain English explanations of the Equalities Bill.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 November 2011 10:39 Read more...

Mum's the word

Making family decisions, or giving parental advice, can be difficult when you can't find the right words. But it is possibly more difficult for parents to understand and interpret the volumes of information they receive daily from government and businesses.

Last Updated on Monday, 28 November 2011 14:07 Read more...