The A to Z of Plain Text

Author Archives: timadmin

F – FEATURES AND BENEFITS

By timadmin | Published: November 30, 2009
Sales training courses go to great lengths to ensure that delegates understand the difference between a feature (such as a flat screen for your computer) and a benefit (it takes up less space on you desk). Why is this? A key reason is that much sales literature continually gets [...]
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E – EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

By timadmin | Published: November 30, 2009
Despite spam and information overload, email remains a useful way of communicating. And although we mostly use it as a ‘one-to-one’, personal medium, email is also an ideal vehicle for communicating with large groups. You can update customers, send out news, promote services and sell — all by email. When [...]
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D – DEVELOPING SLANG

By timadmin | Published: November 30, 2009
(Words being considered for the Oxford English Dictionary) According to George W. Bush, “Saddam Hussein has sidestepped, crawfished, wheedled out of any agreement he has made. He’s stiffing the world.” One might not know precisely what the President has in mind when he speaks of crawfishing and stiffing, but most of us could [...]
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C – CLICHÉS

By timadmin | Published: November 30, 2009
Avoid them, unless they’re funny. ‘Pulling out all the stops’ is a cliché. Use it only when referring to organists. As a matter of fact, in our humble opinion, clichés should be consigned to the dustbin once and for all (excuse the irony and quartet of clichés here). Once you’ve fallen [...]
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A – ACTIVE VOICE

By timadmin | Published: November 30, 2009
Too much business writing uses passive verbs. Take a lesson from journalism and liven up your copy with the active voice. The theory can be hard to grasp, but you will know an active sentence when you see one. And it’s usually simple to make passive sentences active. Here’s the grammar background. When [...]
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Issue 11, October 2004

By timadmin | Published: October 30, 2004
================================================ THE PLAIN TEXT GAZETTE – Issue 11, October 2004 ================================================ Contents ——– * Editorial * The corporate strapline must die * Words we hate: another one Editorial ——— Welcome to the many new subscribers who have joined up following our citations on Metafilter and Signal vs. Noise. And thank you to those who cited us. I was particularly taken this rather arch comment: “Wow. [...]
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Issue 10, June 2004

By timadmin | Published: June 30, 2004
================================================ THE PLAIN TEXT GAZETTE – Issue 10, June 2004 ================================================ Contents ——– * Editorial * Bad language in the public domain * Phrases we’re not terribly keen on Editorial ——— It’s been a while since the last Gazette, and we’d been ruminating quietly about what to put into the 10th edition until I heard the UK secretary of state for health on the radio [...]
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Issue 9, November 2003

By timadmin | Published: November 30, 2003
================================================ THE PLAIN TEXT GAZETTE – Issue 9, November 2003 ================================================ Contents ——– * Editorial * why oh Why Oh why can’t we get Capitalisation Right? * Words We Hate: the list that could just go on for ever Editorial ——— Welcome to the pre-festive season Plain Text Gazette. This time, we have *good news* for subscribers whose daily routine involves a forlorn search of [...]
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Issue 8, September 2003

By timadmin | Published: September 30, 2003
================================================ THE PLAIN TEXT GAZETTE – Issue 8, September 2003 ================================================ Contents ——– * Editorial * We don’t like ‘em skimpy: the need for sensible briefs * Words We Hate: the list continues Editorial ——— Welcome to the back-to-school Plain Text Gazette. Despite the summer recess, there have been busy goings-on in business writing. June saw the release of Deloitte Consulting’s “Bullfighter”, a software package [...]
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Issue 5, December 2002

By timadmin | Published: December 30, 2002
================================================ THE PLAIN TEXT GAZETTE – Issue 5, December 2002 ================================================ Contents ——– * Editorial * Introducing the A-Z of Plain Text * When communication doesn’t #5: caught in the Web Editorial ——— Welcome to the last Plain Text Gazette of 2002. It’s been a high-profile time for no-nonsense writing here in the UK, with the annual ‘Plain English’ awards exposing the worst of corporate and [...]
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