Search Results for: practice
Do you understand your rights? Making the Letters of Rights more accessible
Published in the Clarity Journal 81 – 2020 Introduction Lili Krámer, Zsófia Moldova, and Vera Gergely The Letter of Rights is a text that informs suspects of their fundamental rights (such as the right to remain silent or the right to have a lawyer). If you are suspected of something the police will either read […]
Plain words
Published in The Clarity Journal 62 – November 2009 Shortly after the Second World War, the British Treasury invited Ernest Gowers to write a train- ing pamphlet for the civil service on the use of English by officials. The result, Plain Words, was published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) in April 1948. A review […]
The contribution of design thinking to improve communications
Published in The Clarity Journal 80 – 2019. Design has been talked about much since the turn of the new millennium. Its concepts, methods, and processes are now found in all spheres of human activity. But what about more precisely in the field of written communication? How can design thinking improve the overall condition of […]
Plain Language standards: A way forward
Published in The Clarity Journal 79 – 2018 The Plain Language Working Group is born – and gets to work The journey towards this options paper began at the 2007 PLAIN conference in Amsterdam. Three plain language organizations were considering issues, such as whether we should establish international standards for plain language, and what exactly […]
An ISO Standard for Plain Language: the back story and the next steps
Published in The Clarity Journal 79 – 2018 The Standards Committee of the International Plain Language Federation is working to develop an international standard for plain language through the International Organisation of Standardization. The Standards Committee of the International Plain Language Federation is working to develop an international standard for plain language through the International […]
Toward an integrated framework for evaluating plain language
Published in The Clarity Journal 76 – 2018 By Neil James and Susan Kleimann No one could object to the evaluation of texts to assess their quality and effectiveness. Many evaluation methods exist, from readability formulas and expert reviews to usability tests and the analysis of outcomes. Yet in recent years, a divide has developed […]
Notice me – communicating patient privacy rights through effective notices
Published in The Clarity Journal 75 – 2017 Penelope Hughes and Maya Frazier Privacy plays a vital role in society, and the concept of health information privacy has persisted for a particularly long time, with providers’ obligation to protect the privacy of their patients dating back to the Oath of Hippocrates. Even in today’s world, […]
Plain language in legal agreements: is it safe?
Published in The Clarity Journal 56 – Nov.2016 Speech by Lord Justice Rix Clarity seminar at Denton Wilde Sapte 10 October 2006 I am very grateful to the organisers of this event for bringing me face to face with the subject matter of this talk. At first I received the invitation with some pleasure: it […]
Recent developments in contract drafting techniques
Published in The Clarity Journal 73 – 2015 There is an ever-increasing need and demand from the public for information that is accessible, transparent, and easy to understand. When we view contracts as working documents—binding guides to action rather than legal records, we write to engage people to read and understand them, improve commercial relationships, […]
You think lawyers are good drafters?
Published in The Clarity Journal 73 – 2015 By Joseph Kimble No, I’m sorry, but most lawyers are not skilled drafters. It doesn’t matter how smart or experienced they are or how many legal documents they have drafted. Most — a supermajority, probably — are lacking. And yet, oddly enough, while they tend to be […]