Registration Information | Registration Form | Seminar Locations | Seminars for Editors 

Many documents that editors work on have one basic goal: to deliver information to the reader. But all too often, that information gets buried by weak organization, wordiness, abstract language, jargon, poor page design, and other barriers to readability.

This one-day introduction to plain language shows you how to remove those barriers and build a document that says what it means. We’ll start by defining plain language and examining its benefits. Next we’ll discuss readers, including the different types and their reading needs. Then we’ll cover seven practical techniques for creating plain-language documents. We’ll finish with a look at page design and ways of evaluating readability.

The seminar will include individual and group exercises to help you apply plain language to real-life passages. You will also receive handouts and a list of recommended resources.

Instructor: Frances Peck an editor and writer, has been working with words for over 20 years. She teaches editing at Simon Fraser University and Douglas College, and gives workshops for EAC and other groups of editors, writers, and translators across Canada. She prepared the Canadian edition of The St. Martin’s Workbook, a grammar exercise book; co-authored the popular HyperGrammar website; wrote Peck’s English Pointers, an e-book available through the Language Portal of Canada; and writes a regular column for the journal Language Update. Frances lives in Vancouver and is a partner with West Coast Editorial Associates

Monday, October 31
9:30 am to 4:30 pm (lunch will be provided)
Registration - $230 members, $260 non-members (HST extra)
Early Registration (to October 21) - $195 members, $225 non-members (HST extra) 
Oakham House, Room A/B
63 Gould Street, Ryerson University

(Registration limited)