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Oxford Guide to Plain English Martin Cutts (Writer, editor, and teacher)

Oxford Guide to Plain English By Martin Cutts (Writer, editor, and teacher)

Oxford Guide to Plain English by Martin Cutts (Writer, editor, and teacher)


$12.99
Condition - Very Good
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Summary

The Oxford Guide to Plain English offers practical guidelines to help readers make their writing clearer by improving structure, word choice, grammar, punctuation, and layout. This new edition gives expert and up-to-date advice on all aspects of the writing process, from planning the material successfully to writing in the most user-friendly way.

Oxford Guide to Plain English Summary

Oxford Guide to Plain English by Martin Cutts (Writer, editor, and teacher)

Plain English is the art of writing clearly, concisely, and in a way that precisely communicates your message to your intended audience. This book offers expert advice to help writers of all abilities improve their written English. With 30 chapters, each centred around a practical guideline, its coverage is extensive, including lessons on vocabulary, punctuation, grammar, layout, proofreading, and organization. There are also hundreds of real examples to show how it's done, with handy 'before' and 'after' versions. All this is presented in a straightforward and engaging way. This new edition has been fully revised, reorganized, and updated to make its content even more accessible. There are new chapters discussing customer-service writing and common blunders in the workplace, while other sections have been amended to update examples and provide easier routes through the book. The chapter on sexism, in particular, has been heavily expanded to advise on the use of inclusive language in general. A new appendix has also been added, summarising the history of plain English from Chaucer to the present day.

Oxford Guide to Plain English Reviews

More than ever there's a need for writers and editors to understand how best to apply plain English concepts. In this new edition of the Oxford Guide to Plain English Martin Cutts sets out an excellent approach to doing just that. It is an essential reference book for anyone interested in plain English. * Mary McCauley, Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers of Ireland *
Review from previous edition An excellent book ... indispensable to anyone compiling a style guide ... The multitude of real-life examples demonstrating the practices described make the book equally useful to experienced writers checking specific points and to novices needing broader guidance. * Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) Magazine, Sept 2008 *
This is a most useful addition to the shelves of anyone who has to write whether it is for the web, report-writing, letters, emails, instruction manuals or legal documents. Here is clarity and common sense - this little book provides it all and for a very reasonable cost indeed. * Reference Reviews, Joan Williamson *
[S]hould be on every writer's bookshelf * Susanne Geercken and Alistair Reeves, Medical Writing *
A pleasure to read ... the Oxford Guide to Plain English should be on every editor's bookshelf. * Claire Bacon, Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading *
This book has been on my list of recommended reading ever since lawyers first started asking me to suggest a book on clear writing ... Following even half the advice in this book will make you one of the clearest communicators in the legal profession. * Daphne Perry, The Law Society Gazette *
This is an excellent book! Information is presented in a crisp, clear and easy to read way. The principles are easily grasped, and the use of examples helps the reader to test their understanding and reinforce their own learning. * Warren Singer, Communicator *

About Martin Cutts (Writer, editor, and teacher)

Martin Cutts is a writer, editor, and teacher. He co-founded the Plain English Campaign in 1979, and in 1994 he founded Plain Language Commission. He gives writing-skills courses in companies, government departments, and law firms. He is a leading voice in the international plain-language movement.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Starting points The thirty guidelines Summary of the twelve main guidelines 1: Planning comes first 2: Organizing your material in a reader-centred structure 3: Writing short sentences and clear paragraphs 4: Preferring plain words 5: Writing concisely 6: Favouring active-voice verbs 7: Using vigorous verbs 8: Using vertical lists 9: Converting negative to positive 10: Using good punctuation 11: Using good grammar 12: Keeping errors in Czech: its time to Proof read 13: Dealing with some troublesome words and phrases 14: Using or avoiding foreign words 15: Undoing knotty noun strings 16: Reducing cross-references 17: Exploring and exploding some writing myths 18: Avoiding cliches 19: Pitching your writing at the right level 20: Writing sound starts and excellent endings 21: Creating better emails 22: Using inclusive language 23: Using alternatives to words alone 24: Caring enough about customers to write to them clearly 25: Overseeing colleagues' writing 26: Writing better instructions 27: Clarifying for the Web 28: Making legal language lucid 29: Writing low-literacy plain English 30: Clarifying page layout: some basics Appendix 1: Commonest words Appendix 2: A short history of plain-English moments Sources and notes Index

Additional information

GOR011412441
9780198844617
0198844611
Oxford Guide to Plain English by Martin Cutts (Writer, editor, and teacher)
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Oxford University Press
20200227
384
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Oxford Guide to Plain English