Plain English Campaign
We are world leaders in clear communication, with more than 40 years’ experience.
We officially began in 1979, to campaign against gobbledygook, jargon and misleading public information. We promote the use of plain English and offer a number of different services, including editing and training, to help organisations communicate with their audience as clearly as possible. Many of the organisations we have helped are shown in our list of Crystal Mark holders.
In 1994 our founder, Chrissie Maher, received an OBE in recognition of her campaigning and work in the field of plain English. Other accolades include being named ‘Information Pioneer of the Century’ by the UK’s National Information Forum, and ‘Public Affairs Achiever of the Year’ and ‘Outstanding Achiever of the Year’ in the 2010 Women in Public Life Awards.
'In all the history of the language, there has never been such a powerful grass-roots movement to influence it as the Plain English Campaign, and Chrissie is the one who got it going.'
The late Tom McArthur, world-renowned linguist and founding editor of 'The Oxford Companion to the English language'
Accreditation
Crystal Mark, Internet Crystal Mark or Approved by - find out which seal of approval you need and why.
Corporate membership
Become a Plain English Campaign corporate member — save money and carry our logo on your documents.
Free guides and plain-English tools
We have produced a series of free guides to help you start using plain English.
Companies and organisations that currently have a Crystal Mark or an Internet Crystal Mark include...
