Legal Writing

The power of common memory

Posted on July 31, 2009
The language of musicWorld Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Victorian simplicity

Posted on July 20, 2009
In 1840 Queen Victoria appointed Captain Hobson as the first governor of New Zealand. His commission directed him to see that all laws written by the Legislative Council were:"in a simple and compendious form, avoiding as far as may be all prolexity and tautology...

Working the right brain hemishphere, Sunday's Creativity Post: My Facebook

Posted on July 19, 2009

A Quote, first in a series

Posted on July 18, 2009
"If I take refuge in ambiguity, I assure you that it is quite conscious." Kingman Brewster, former president of Yale University and ambassador to Britain

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More Testimony on Voter Access through Plain Language

Posted on July 15, 2009
AAPD Testimony for the Election Assistance Commission Hearing onDisability Access and Voting Technologies, July 14, 2009Kelly Buckland Executive Director National Council on Independent LivingSimplified Language: People with learning and comprehension difficulties find themselves at a disadvantage at the poll when the language used on a machine is difficult to understand...

Testimony on voting access

Posted on July 14, 2009
AAPD Testimony for the Election Assistance Commission Hearing onDisability Access and Voting TechnologiesSubmitted by Sarah PetersonJuly 14, 2009 Regarding voter education, website and other materials provided to voters by elections boards must be accessible for all forms of disability...

I am in the running to be one of the top 100

Posted on July 09, 2009
This blog has been nominated for the top 100 language blog 2009 competition but  Building Rapport mustoutdistance most of the other 99 blogs in the 'Language Professionals' category to make the grand finale top 100 overall.We (Cheryl and the personified blog) would really appreciate your vote...

Art to inspire

Posted on July 05, 2009
This is my latest art purchase,by Lisa Oceandreamer

Are you stuck in your rut or open to new points of view?

Posted on July 02, 2009
People are twice as likely to choose to read information that supports their own point of view as they are to consider an opposing idea. Those with close-minded personalities are even more reluctant to expose themselves to differint perspectives.People are most resistant to new points of view concerning political, religious, or ethical values...

Classic Larry Ragan on saying it like it is

Posted on June 22, 2009
http://www.ragan.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=5AA50C55146B4C8C98F903986BC02C56&tier=4&id=A2A7714B2C7B40C187806FA25DF0BBF8&AudID=3FF14703FD8C4AE98B9B4365B978201A

Visual language, a new tool

Posted on June 16, 2009
As for future development of plain language, I think we would benefit from what Dave Gray of VizThink describes as ?cross-pollination between visual thinking disciplines like information design, information architecture, data visualization, geographers, graphic facilitation/graphic recording, comics/graphic novels, architecture, etc...

Unleash Your Inner Muse

Posted on June 14, 2009
Violette is a folk artist who has created a community through her blog at www.violette.ca I recommend to you Violette's new book, Journal Bliss: Creative Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Eccentric, that you can buy from Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/lxg9ug Violette, thank you for agreeing to talk to us non-artists...

Another Perpective on Plain Language

Posted on June 07, 2009
Click Media discusses proposal writing, adding: "Plain language, especially English, is not always simple.  Not only do your words need to be efficient and easy to understand, but they need to be warm and engaging as well.  Your words need to compel your reader to carry on...

Reading for STC members only (not me however)

Posted on June 03, 2009
If you are a member of STC, take a look at this month's Intercom onlineWriting Questions That Are Easy to Answer By: Caroline Jarrett, Associate FellowHave you ever found it difficult to fill out a seemingly simple form? Jarrett explains how to create questions that are easy to understand and accessible by all, focusing on details, the difference between prompts and fully formed questions, questions that need more explanation, and other aspects...

I want this hair

Posted on June 02, 2009

All Hail the Grassroots Campaign

Posted on June 01, 2009
PRNewswire/ -- PlainTaxTalk, a grassroots group announced it has launched a campaign to urge the IRS to use plain language in all its public documents and forms to help the average American taxpayer comply with the tax laws. "The idea behind our movement is simple," says the group's founder John Klotsche, a former Senior Advisor to the IRS Commissioner, "vastly improve American taxpayers understanding of their tax reporting responsibilities...

Clear and conspicuous credit card info required now in U.S.

Posted on May 24, 2009
The web buzzes with talk about the new U.S. credit reform law (there is mostly silence on Canada's new law).A quick look at this tells me that there is no actual mention of "plain language" in the final version of the bill that was endorsed into law last week...

National Institutes of Health Awards

Posted on May 20, 2009
The 2008-2009 NIH Plain Language Award Ceremony will be held Tuesday, June 2, 2009, 1:00 p.m. Lipsett Auditorium, Bethesda, Maryland and will feature Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Capehart, editorial writer for The Washington Post...

News

Posted on May 20, 2009
A collection of Internet tidbitsA good blog post on plain language from Monica on Marketing who "looks at the simple difference between a paragraph from GE and a paragraph from Apple talking about their technology innovations".*********************Clear and personable introduction to business purpose:What do you find at Click Media Works? Clear & clever communications for real-life people in real-world business, that's what...

Visual language, a new tool

Posted on May 10, 2009
Public Lecture in Toronto, May 14Neil Cohn of Tufts University and Emaki Productions will give a public lecture at the University of Toronto on Thursday, May 14th at 5pm. His will be the first talk in the Visual Thinking lecture series  More information here...

Stuff worth reading--tell me what you think about it

Posted on May 09, 2009
How to Write for a Global Audience If you're advertising or writing about a carbonated beverage, what do you call it? Soda? Pop? Fizzy drink? Mineral? All of these terms are "correct" depending on where your readers are. Today, there is a greater chance of your work being read by someone on a different continent, especially if you write online...

Plain Language for the Health Field

Posted on May 06, 2009
This resource was brought to my attention again, and I figure I should share it with you this time around. Plain Language Thesaurus For Health Communications"This Plain Language Thesaurus has been put together by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?s National Center for Health Marketing...

Plain Language Version ISO Standards

Posted on April 08, 2009
... a plain language translation of the International Standards Organization Standards prepared by Praxiom.The plain language definitons might prove useful as a resource.

Practice Audience Awareness

Posted on April 06, 2009
Matthew Stibbe of the blog Bad Language posted this:[This poster] should read:Psychic FestivalYou know where it is.You know when it is.And we know you?re coming.

Perceptions of Audience Awareness

Posted on April 06, 2009
When you want to write in plain language, it is important to distinguish between your concept of plain language and your reader's.A reader decides whether to read your material based on the reader's judgement whether the material:looks interestingappears usefulseems easy to readPutting aside the reader's search for interesting and useful, what will seem easy to read?As the reader scans the page and picks out a phrase here and there, the decision is reached according to the reader's idea of easy reading...

Fabulous new product for plain language translation

Posted on March 31, 2009

Using is knowing

Posted on March 18, 2009
We talk about writing in plain language so that a person can understand and use the information. Someone said something a while back that suggested a person could "use" information if it was in a brochure that they could refer to when needed. This led me to thinking about my different perspective...

Use plain English, appear smarter (and more persuasive)

Posted on March 10, 2009
In case you need evidence, Ray Ward summed it up awhile ago:I just finished reading Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive (hat tip to the [non]billable hour). One of the 50 ways confirms something Bryan Garner says in The Winning Brief (p...

A liitle bit about commas

Posted on February 16, 2009
Since everyone seems to be arguing over punctuation these days, I'd like to share this resource with you.Three new rules for handling commasBy Don Ranly ranlyd@missouri.edu or www.ranly.com.http://www.ragan.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=5AA50C55146B4C8C98F903986BC02C56&tier=4&id=C85B28BBC6394773A57BF442451F7464&AudID=3FF14703FD8C4AE98B9B4365B978201AFor the explanation, you need to read his post...

Making a Crisis Worse

Posted on February 04, 2009
From the International Association of Business Communicators, http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2004/0504/mistakes.htmMaking a Crisis Worse: The Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communicationby Jonathan Bernstein One of eleven mistakes discussed:Use language your audience doesn't understand...

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