Some good news
Many insurance companies are making their policies clearer. Clarica has been a leading supporter of plain language for many years.

The BC Securities Commission (a Crown corporation) has become a leader in the plain language movement by training staff and rewriting all its print resources so that they are easier for everyone to understand.^{Footnote 8}

Indeed, investment information is now being clarified by many companies, so that investors understand how mutual funds, stocks and bonds work and are less likely to be bamboozled.

The handbook outline
I wrote this handbook to share with you some of the ideas I have tested and found helpful. As well, I’ll mention some of the research and experience of others in this field.

We will begin in chapter 2 with facts about literacy in Canada and a short history of the plain language movement. Chapter 3 talks about jargon and how not to write. Chapter 4 goes over some grammar do’s and don’ts, and chapter 5 broadens the picture to plain language composition and style.

Chapters 6 and 7 are primarily for people writing materials for lower-literacy readers and speakers of English as a second language, while chapter 8 covers testing and revising. Chapters 9 and 10 talk about making your documents look more readable through effective use of page layout and fonts. Chapter 11 has tips for proofreading.

And at the end of the handbook you will find a list of alternative, plainer words, a checklist you can use on your own documents, and finally some examples of plain and not-so-plain language, followed by a large section on useful books and Internet sites.