Change is good

Welcome to another edition of the Plain English Weekly newsletter, sent your way again by me, freelance content design bod, Iain Broome.

Did you know that every time I send an email newsletter, a version also gets published to the Plain English Club website? Well it does and not only that, you can leave comments and we can all have a very nice content chat indeed.

This is not a feature I have really pushed (or even mentioned) before, but people do always reply to me via email or social media. And those conversations are usually interesting and insightful. I like talking about clear content!

So what do you think? Shall we give it a go? If you find something in this week's newsletter that makes you want to share your thoughts, head to the website version and do exactly that.

Like, what's your favourite link and why did you find it useful or interesting? How does what you found in this email relate to or inform your own projects? What the heck are you even working on at the moment?

Some other ideas for writing comments:

• "I really like this article and will use the information in this exciting way."
• "This is a great read! It very much reminds me of this other useful resource you should know about."
• "Hey, thanks for sharing, really interesting. Can I respectfully disagree with some of it in the following way."

You know the drill. That kind of thing.

You won't be surprised to find that the comments section appears at the end of each post. Look out for the 'Member discussion' heading and don't worry, you don't need to sign up again. Just use the 'Sign in' link and the email address you used when you subscribed to the newsletter.

Email iain@verymeta.com if you need any help.

That's all. I look forward to your comments!

Enjoy the links below.

Iain

UX Writing: How to Get the Writing Done

Content designer, Scott Kubie has a personal website absolutely full of content-related resources. I can recommend this short talk on the writing process that sets out four stages for each 'assignment'.

It's all great, but I want to particularly second the idea of creating an outline before you get started. That could be a few bullet points, draft headings or even a sentence that describes what will go where.

Things might change when you get into the meat of things, but that's okay. Everything changes. Change is good. Life is change.

A guide to running a tone of voice workshop with your team

Ever thought about running a tone of voice workshop with your team or even someone else's team? Well then this is going to be a very useful article from Nia Campbell and the Content Design London crew.

Using clear and effective headings

I'm always slightly fascinated by the way different organisations in different sectors present their style guidelines. Here is Imperial College London on writing good headings and I can't see much I disagree with.

It includes the following statistic and link:

According to a WebAIM survey of 1,539 people in January 2024, 71.6% of screen reader users navigate pages using headings.

Make as note of that, as it might come in handy for future discussions with your senior leadership team or design colleagues.

Free guides on writing clearly

A wide range of free resources from the Plain English Commission, including a collection of short booklets and a single-page PDF [82KB] that features 15 tips on writing Plain English.

Inclusive language: words to use and avoid when writing about disability

Useful page from GOV.UK guidance to add to your bookmarks. It includes guidelines on collective terms and labels, everyday phrases and words to use and avoid. The latter is presented in a handy table format too.

"Consider carefully your purpose and message before starting to write – clear writing and clear thinking go hand in hand."
Plain Language Commission

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