This is the fourth in a series of articles discussing the basic principles of plain language by Aaron Dalton. Most of the writing that happens in an office is stream-of-consciousness. We fire off dozens of quick emails and texts a day with little thought. But the writing we do for external readers …
Since its inception in 1940, The Canadian Press Stylebook has changed “cautiously,” as stated on its website, with a motto of “evolution, not revolution.” Nonetheless, if you’ve followed Canadian Press style, you know it isn’t enough to commit to memory the style standards and leave it at that. Language and …
Gael Spivak, a previous president of Editors Canada, works in-house for the federal government as a writer and editor. Part of her job is her involvement in creating an international plain language standard for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). At the Editors Canada conference on June 13, 2021, Gael …
This is the third in a series of articles discussing the basic principles of plain language by Aaron Dalton. You’re preparing a speech for a community association. You disagree with a particular policy, but you moderate your language because you “know” that most people disagree with you. What nobody realizes, though, is …
This is the second in a series of articles discussing the basic principles of plain language by Aaron Dalton. Defining literacy Literacy is not just about being able to read and write; it’s also about being able to understand and use what you read. In an earlier blog post, I …
Writing and editing career paths can take many directions. In this “day-in-the-life” series, experienced professionals share their personal experiences in various roles related to writing, editing and communications. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email The Editors’ Weekly. What is your job? I’m part of …
This is the first in a series of articles discussing the basic principles of plain language that I’ve found successful in my teaching. These principles may not be new to my fellow editors. Perhaps some material here will be useful in your own educational efforts. My experience is with non-fiction, …
Writing and editing career paths can take many directions. In this new “day-in-the-life” series, experienced professionals share their personal experiences and various roles related to writing, editing and communications. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email The Editors’ Weekly. What is your job? I’m an …
A recent family adventure took me to Phuket’s Big Buddha. As the name suggests, this marvel is a giant Buddha stretching 45 metres into the sky, overlooking the Andaman Sea. One of the top tourist sites on the island, the Buddha sits peacefully on his mountaintop, his white Burmese jade marble …
If you’re a Gmail user, you may have adopted its new Smart Compose feature. This perplexing time-saver has made me question the future of communications since it appeared in my inbox. Smart Compose uses machine learning to help users write faster, clearer emails by anticipating what they’re trying to say …