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Writing in Plain English eLearning
Online plain English training, writing documents people can read once and act on, instead of twice and still ring you about.
Who it is for
Who this writing in plain english course is for
Unclear writing costs time twice: once when it is written and again when the reader has to ask what it meant. This course is for anyone producing documents, procedures, letters or emails that other people have to act on.
- Anyone writing procedures, policies or instructions
- Customer-facing staff writing letters and emails
- Managers writing reports and briefings
- Health and safety staff writing method statements
- Bid and tender writers
- Anyone whose writing gets misunderstood
Course content
What the writing in plain english course covers
Five short lessons covering why it matters and your reader, structure and layout, sentences and words, forms and instructions, and editing, then a 12-question assessment.
Why plain English matters and knowing your reader
The cost of being misunderstood, the plain language standard, and writing for your reader.
Structure and layout
Main point first, headings, lists and white space.
Sentences and words
Average sentence length, the active voice, and everyday words.
Forms and instructions
Instructions people follow first time, safety documents and method statements.
Editing
Cutting to what matters, and testing your writing.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Explain why plain English matters and write for your reader
- Structure documents with the main point first
- Use short sentences, the active voice and everyday words
- Write forms and instructions people follow first time
- Edit to cut what the reader does not need
Practicalities
How the course works
Would you rather have a tutor?
Spoken and interpersonal communication is covered by that course.
For employers
Writing in Plain English training for a team
Plain English pays off most where documents are shared, procedures, method statements and customer letters that several people write and everyone has to follow.
- One invoice instead of a card payment per person
- Licences allocated as people join, so induction is covered
- Completion and expiry reporting for your records
- Renewal reminders before certificates lapse
- Bespoke versions built around your own procedures
Writing in Plain English eLearning: common questions
No, and the course is direct about that. It is about being understood first time. Precision and plain English are not opposites, most jargon is imprecise as well as unclear.
Yes. Method statements and procedures are exactly the documents where unclear writing has consequences, because they are read under pressure by people who are not the author.
Yes. Evaluators score what they can find and understand. Structure and layout are covered as much as vocabulary.
Very. The structure and sentence modules apply directly, and most email problems are structure problems rather than tone problems.
Yes, as a module. Forms and instructions have their own rules because they are followed step by step rather than read through.
About 30 to 45 minutes, with no time limit: start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued as soon as you pass the end assessment.
Yes. It runs in a browser on any modern phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.
Yes. Open a business account and we invoice you for the licences, which you allocate as people need them, with completion reporting included.
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