The development of the Plain Language guide was necessary for several reasons:

It was essential to develop some plain language ground rules for all to share. We formed a committee with representatives from all areas of the commission to create the guide and with Christine’s assistance began putting it together.

We actively solicited and received input from staff throughout the commission, a process that in itself gave employees some ownership of the plain language initiative. It also showed employees first hand the challenges of adopting plain language; that it demanded judgment and common sense not arbitrary adoption of one method or another.

Identifying areas of concern is an enormous undertaking and we needed many hands to do that job.

We divided the guide into sections that matched the process everyone goes through in using plain language; you must plan your text, design it and write it. As well, we provided a catalogue of support tools for all staff and several samples of language and layout for staff to use.