Create your own class

You may use these materials as the basis of your own class.

Half-day presentations

• Principles of Plain Language (PPTX), our original plain language class
• Plain Language and Writing for the Web (PPTX), based on Principles, but with a web focus
• Incorporating Plain Language into Websites (PPT), a more theoretical class looking at principles of good web design (which includes plain language, of course)

Exercises and handouts

We use the same set of exercises for each of these classes, but add an extra page for the web-centric classes:

• Hands-on exercises (PDF)
• Addition for web classes (PDF)

We also have a slightly different set of exercises and answers (DOC) that you can use with our slides.

Here’s a generic class evaluation form (PDF).

Other presentations

These presentations last between 30 and 60 minutes. They are brief overviews about plain language but don’t offer any in-depth instruction on how to communicate plainly. The first 2 are targeted toward managers. The third is targeted toward anyone creating or redesigning a website.

• The Plain Writing Act of 2010 (PPTX) and the importance of creating a plain language training program

• Why Plain Language is Important (PPT) and the benefits of communicating in plain language

• Plain Language, Usability, and Information Architecture (PPTX)