Plain English

What is Plain English?

Plain English is communicating clearly with shorter, simpler words and sentences. It promotes cutting out jargon, technical terms and old fashioned words.

Example of badly written, Un-Plain English

Dear Sir,

Re: Our ref 4711-01 Outstanding Invoices - 14/5/06

I am writing to you today about the above captioned subject. Our internal credit control department was unable to contact you yet again to ascertain your intentions for outstanding payment of these invoices on the aforesaid date. Pursuant to this, if you cannot make payment before the 31st May, we will, therefore, have no option but to carry this forward to the appropriate next level for further action by our retained law firm, Wong Wong Wong and Co, who will be contacting you at an early date to proceed further to resolve this matter in a court of law. It is seriously requested that you now pay all outstanding balances for such invoices to this company with immediate effect.

If you have any further relevant queries with respect to this communication then please do not hesitate to contact me, the undersigned, at your earliest convenience. I am only too happy to furnish further detailed and relevant information about this case to you if you should so require it for the purpose of clarifying this matter.

For and on behalf of Chanargongoserst Logistics Operations and Facilities Company

Thx & Best Rgds

Edwina Smytheparse (Miss)

Revised Version

Dear Sir,

We tried to contact you again on the 14th May to ask for payment of our invoice No. 4711-01. Could you pay this before the end of May? We may have to take legal proceedings if not.

Please contact me if you need any more information.

Kind regards

Edwina Smytheparse (Miss)

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