Plain English & Business Writing
Certificate PEBW04
Journalism, Editing & Publishing
Learning Method: Correspondence with online support

The Plain English & Business Writing Course has been developed to meet the increasing needs of employers for staff who can write standard workplace documents in a concise and effective way. It is packed with practical real-life activities and you will have real writing projects to undertake. In addition, you can access the online activities in the eLearning Centre to further practise and test your knowledge and skills. And you can talk with other students from all over the country in the Student Forum.

Materials: Your course includes College folder and student case, unless you are undertaking your course online, all modules (tutorials and assignment projects), textbooks, learning tools, tutor feedback and marking, College support, progressive Transcripts of Study, Graduate Awards and final Academic Transcripts, access to the eCampus, eNews, Student ID Pass, and access to educational discounts.

Do you need to write letters, emails and other documents for your job?

Improve your workplace skills with plain English business writing.

More businesses are realising that well-written letters, emails and other organisational documents enhance their corporate image. However, the sad fact is that good business writing is not taught in schools or colleges. As a consequence, school leavers and graduates have trouble composing even the simplest communications.

But employers can’t do all the writing themselves; they need staff who can write well-composed business documents. By learning the skills of plain English and business writing, you improve your employment prospects and increase your ability to advance within your organisation to more responsible positions.

Also, many government departments, and increasingly more organisations, now have plain English writing policies. To work within those companies you have to have plain English writing skills to even be considered.

Benefits of plain English

Precision
Your writing will become much more precise, expressing exactly what you intend. Many writers think that using formal language guarantees technical accuracy, but it actually increases the risks of vagueness.

Clarity
Precise writing is usually clear and unambiguous. Studies have shown that plain English can increase reader comprehension by at least 30 to 60%, and often by as much as 90%.

Readability
Good writing is also easy to read and absorb at one sitting. We often dress up our language to sound authoritative, but don’t consider the costs to readability.

Efficiency
Effective writing is succinct. Most organisations can reduce their documents by up to one-third. The benefits of writing less, of having less to read, and of reduced paper and printing costs all improve workplace economy.

Accountability
Accountability is increasingly important in the public and private sectors. Yet elements in officialese writing, such as the passive voice, reduce the capacity to call anyone to account.

Credibility
Plain English writing strengthens your professional credibility. A study by the Royal Mail in the UK estimated that British businesses lose up to £5 billion a year because of pretentious, inappropriate or error-ridden writing.

—Extract from Plain English Foundation