Plain English and plain language writing courses
Explain complex ideas, whether they're financial, legal or scientific, clearly and simply without dumbing your writing down.
Customised staff training to make your writing clear, easy to understand and effective
Taught by a former Sydney Morning Herald editor and journalist with over 30 years of experience, this lively and practical course will teach you how to:
- connect what you need to say with what the reader needs to know
- plan what you need to write before you even touch a keyboard or prompt AI
- use the right tone of voice and style for the audience
- write short sentences
- use strong verbs to make sentences more compelling
- write in the active voice (and know when to use the passive, which is an area AI struggles with)
- use positive language
- format your writing to make it easier to read
- structure different kinds of writing
- show, don't tell
- understand grammar and punctuation basics
- proofread.
Writing course options:
Customised staff training
This writing skills course will give your staff the confidence, knowledge and practical skills to use plain language, even when explaining complex issues.
It can be customised to suit you and your team. I’ll take the time to understand what you need and can even base exercises and examples on your own writing if you choose.
The training is interactive and lively: participants are encouraged to ask questions, throw themselves into the exercises and discuss their own challenges and situations.
If you’d like, I can also cover how (and how not to) use AI when writing and editing.
Online plain English writing course
Study whenever and wherever you want. This online writing masterclass is equivalent to a full-day course, with six video sessions that each take between 45 minutes to an hour and a half.
It covers all the key skills and techniques you need: from making sentences easier to read and more effective to how to write different kinds of documents for different audiences.
There are plenty of exercises throughout the course – every time you learn a technique, you’ll then be given an exercise so you can practice it.
You will receive:
- a handbook that covers essential writing tips and techniques (given as a PDF)
- a certificate of completion (given as a PDF)
- unlimited access to the course for up to five years.
If you’d like personalised feedback – or to workshop your own writing – we can also arrange an optional one-on-one Zoom session for an additional fee.
Price: US$95
One-on-one writing training
Personalised one-on-one sessions are also available, allowing me to focus on the specific writing skills you want to build – and the type of content you need to write.
I can also provide feedback on your writing.
The sessions can be taught online or in person.
What's the difference between plain English and plain language?
Writing in plain English is about using the simplest and clearest words possible: and most people worry they’ll dumb their writing down if they do this.
As a result, most business writing verges on gibberish, filled with ridiculous (and at best abstract) phrases and words.
The next time you read something – whether it’s a brief or an email – and you immediately understand it and know what you need to do as a result, stop and reread it. Any money, it’s been written in plain English. And yet it won’t feel dumbed down: on the contrary, it’ll feel smarter, more confident and, most importantly, more helpful.
This writing course will show how to write this way: and it’ll make you more confident about doing so.
Then again, this is also a plain language course
You might have heard the term plain language: after all, many organisations, from government departments to financial firms, have started to use it. So what’s the difference between them?
Whereas Plain English is about using simple words, plain language is a broader concept that focuses on making writing as usable as possible in addition to being clear and easy to understand.
Almost everything – even legal and financial information – can and should be written in plain language. That’s why this course doesn’t just explain how to use simpler and clearer words but also shows how to make your writing as effective as possible.
Who will be teaching these courses?
I guarantee every course will be taught by myself, Dan Kaufman: a former Sydney Morning Herald editor with over 30 years of writing experience and over 15 years’ experience in training a wide range of organisations, from government departments, councils and health services to law firms, not for profits and universities.
Over that time I have helped my clients improve a wide range of content for a variety of different audiences, including:
- briefs
- reports
- proposals
- brochures
- public information campaigns
- emails
- website content.
I have also taught at The University of Sydney, UTS and the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ).
Need more information about this plain English writing course?
Let me know if you have any questions or would like a quote.