Reading list
General
Balmford, Christopher (2025) What is Plain Language? https://www.iplfederation.org/plain-language/ Free.
Cutts, Martin (2020). Oxford guide to plain English (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Federal Plain Language Guidelines. US Federal government. https://centerforplainlanguage.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FederalPLGuidelines.pdf Free.
Kimble, Joseph (2012). Writing for dollars, writing to please: The case for plain language in business, government, and law. Carolina Academic Press.
Design and usability
Krug, Steve (2009). Rocket surgery made easy. New Riders Publishing.
Pontis, Sheila and Michael Babwahsingh (2025). Information design unbound. Bloomsbury.
Redish, Janice (2012). Letting go of the words (2nd ed.). Morgan Kaufmann.
Schriver, Karen (1997). Dynamics in document design. John Wiley & Sons.
Health
Robison, Stacy and Theobald, Cinzia (2024). Clear Communication for Better Health. https://www.graphicdesign-research.com/IPLF/files/Clear-Communication-for-Better-Health.pdf Free.
Garwood, K. (2014). Plain, but not simple: Plain language research with readers, writers, and texts (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Waterloo.
Finance
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (1998). A plain English handbook. https://www.sec.gov/pdf/handbook.pdf Free.
Legal
Asprey, Michèle M. (2024). Plain Language for Lawyers. The Federation Press.
Butt, Peter (2013). Modern Legal Drafting Cambridge University Press.
Garner, Bryan and Joseph Kimble (2024). Essentials for Drafting Clear Legal Rules. https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/essentials_for_drafting_clear_legal_rules_2024.pdf Free.
Saral Initiative (2025). Survey findings and plain language manual. https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/research/saral-survey-findings/ and https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/research/the-saral-manual/ Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Free.
Wydick, Richard (1998). Plain English for Lawyers. Carolina Academic Press.