PLain Language (G021)
Workshops > Government > Complete List > Plain Language
WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?
Plain language enables you to get your message across quickly and easily—it’s also a Treasury Board requirement for all government communications. Whether you write reports, letters, briefing notes, news releases, manuals, fact sheets, brochures or instructions, this workshop will help you make your writing simpler, more concise and more effective.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
Through practical exercises, you’ll learn to:
- Appreciate the need for plain language writing
- Recognize writing that needs to be rewritten
- Write materials in plain language
We’ll cover the following plain language principles:
- Short sentences
- Common, everyday expressions
- Few embedded clauses and phrases
- Verb rather than noun structures
- Active voice
- Limited use of adverbs and adjectives
- Effective use of personal pronouns
- A friendly, inviting tone
- Short titles and headings that quickly convey each section’s content
- Appropriate use of bullets and lists
- Unified paragraphs structured with clear topics and controlling ideas
- Logically sequenced paragraphs
- Removal of redundant or unnecessary content
We’ll also look at document layout and measuring readability.
INSTRUCTORS
Harry Corrin has 30 years’ experience in education as an English department head, consultant and workshop facilitator. An internationally recognized author and editor of educational training materials, he advises clients on their writing, research and training needs.
Diana Berris is an editor, writer and trainer at gordongroup, an Ottawa marketing and communications agency. She has ten years’ experience as an instructor at the University of Ottawa, where she taught English writing courses to translation students. Diana is a plain language specialist with expertise in literacy assessment.
WHAT WILL YOU TAKE AWAY?
- Binder with explanation of 10 plain language techniques, “before” and “after” writing samples, exercises with answers, and an easy-to-use checklist.
Agenda Day 1 |
|
8:45 - 9:00 AM |
Participant Introductions and Workshop Overview |
9:00 - 9:30 AM |
Introduction. What is plain language? Why plain language?
|
9:30 - 10:15 AM |
Plain words and common expressions. Learn how to recognize and replace complex language or technical jargon with familiar words and expressions. Short sentences. Short sentences are easier to read. Learn how
to break thoughts into manageable units so that readers get the
message quickly and easily. |
10:15 - 10:30 AM |
|
10:30 - 12:00 PM |
Unpacking embedded ideas. In long, complex sentences, important ideas often get buried. Find out how to unpack these ideas and place them where they’ll get noticed. Active voice. Discover how putting the “doer” of the action first makes sentences shorter, livelier and easier to read. Smothered verbs. In formal writing, simple verbs tend to become
complex noun structures. Learn how to identify smothered verbs and
turn them back into active verbs. |
12:00 - 1:00 PM |
|
1:00 – 2:15 PM |
Personal pronouns and polite expressions. Learn to speak to rather than about your reader. Positive tone. Nobody likes no. Find out how to put a positive
spin on any message. |
2:15 - 2:30 PM |
Break |
|
Paragraph logic, unity and coherence. Build it well and your readers will come. Learn to construct clear, readable documents by controlling paragraph structure and content. Document layout. Discover simple design techniques to improve the readability of your writing. Measuring readability. What is readability? What does it measure?
How can you assess it using your wordprocessor? We’ll answer
these questions. But, we’ll also caution you about relying
too much on such measures. |
| 3:45 – 4:00 PM | Wrap-up and workshop evaluation |
InstructorS
Diana Berris
Harry Corrin
When, Where How much?
September 26, 2008 - Limited Spaces Available
Suite 205, 223 Colonnade
Road
South, Ottawa
$ 675 (+ tax)
Register for a workshop
By mail
The Centre for Excellence in Communications
Suite 214,
223 Colonnade Rd South
Ottawa, Ontario,
K2E 7K3
By email
By telephone
(613) 233 2175
By fax
(613) 233 7617
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Testimonials
"The handout booklet is a perfect resource as well as the extra helpful websites"
"The small group exercises allowed me to learn from the strengths of others"
"The best part is that the course was delivered through the same topic matter as it was set out to teach us"