Table of Contents

  1. Foreword
  2. What is clear writing and design?
    1. Introduction
    2. The Communications Barrier
    3. What is Clear Writing and Design?
    4. Why Not?
    5. Communication: Making Something Happen
    6. The First Step
    7. Making Things Happen
  3. Writing in clear language
    1. Organization: The Order and Flow of Ideas and Information
    2. Words to Use and Words to Avoid
    3. Sentence Length and Structure
    4. Tone: How You Speak to Your Reader
  4. Clear design
    1. Introduction
    2. Highlighting Text
    3. Type Styles
    4. Type Size
    5. Capital or Lower Case Letters
    6. Line Length and Margins
    7. Colour of Paper and Ink
    8. Illustrations and Graphics
    9. Layout: Putting It All Together
  5. Document testing
  6. Oral and Internet communication
    1. Oral Communication
    2. Internet Communication
  7. Advocating for clear writing
    1. Steps for Carrying Out a Clear Language Plan
    2. Union Advocacy Plan
    3. Workplace Advocacy Plan
  8. Clear language workshop
    1. Introduction
    2. Sample Flyer
    3. Sample 2- Day Agenda
    4. Detailed Workshop Plan
  9. Workshop exercises
    1. Introduction
    2. Workshop Exercise 1
    3. Workshop Exercise 2
    4. Workshop Exercise 3
    5. Workshop Exercise 4
  10. Workshop handouts
    1. Introduction
    2. Leaflets That Work
    3. Making It Clear
  11. Workshop overheads
    1. Introduction
    2. Overhead 1 - Clear Language
    3. Overhead 2 - Technical Words
    4. Overhead 3 - Words and Idioms
    5. Overhead 4 - Abbreviations
    6. Overhead 5 - Clauses
    7. Overhead 6 - Tone
    8. Overhead 7 - Type Styles
    9. Overhead 8 - Upper and Lower Case
    10. Overhead 9 - Alignment
    11. Overhead 10 - Lists
    12. Overhead 11 - Layout
    13. Overhead 12 - Highlighting
  12. Resources
    1. Books and Other Print Resources
    2. Videos
    3. Web Sites
    4. Writing for the Web
    5. Organizations