Simplified plain-language academy - Simplified: Clear content and plain English

This course is for you if plain language is a key part of your profession. This is an advanced course.

We launched the Simplified plain-language academy in 2017 as an advanced eight-month programme in plain language. In 2020, we updated it to include content design and accessibility. The new remote environment has allowed us to open the course to individuals and smaller teams. Until 2020, we ran the academy only in-house.

Who should apply for the Simplified plain-language academy

The course will be relevant to you if you’re building your career as any of these professions:

Content designer
UX writer
Translator and localisation expert
Designer (who wants to improve writing skills)
Content manager
Communications roles
Customer success roles
Legal services practitioner or lawyer
Compliance practitioner

To apply for this course, you must have either:

experience in a plain-language or content design role
completed a Simplified beginner course in plain language

You must have:

at least 12 hours per month available, for eight months
at least 20 hours available for a final project – however, you can use any content project you’re working on as part of your final project

Background and theory

In this module, you’ll get foundational knowledge about plain language. This will set the scene for building more advanced skills.

Plain language as a professional focus
Plain language as a social movement
Plain language as a commercial objective
Plain language as a compliance requirement
Related types of Englishes: Global English, Simplified Technical English, Easy Read
Standards for plain language

Collaborating about content in organisations

Here, you’ll learn practical tools and techniques to set up and participate in teams that value plain language.

Different ways to set up content teams
Content in agile teams
Working with professionals in content, UX, design and user research
Legal and compliance stakeholders
Business stakeholders
Present yourself as an expert: personal branding
Present your team’s expertise: team branding
Content and RACI

Assessing plain language

In this module, you’ll get a solid grounding in different ways to tell whether content is in plain language.

Research methods and how to apply them to plain language
Run criteria-based assessments
Use online readability tests
Run a comprehension test
Run a user test
How to conduct testing remotely

Plain language, content design and accessibility

In this module, you’ll learn how plain-language relates to content strategy and accessibility.

Defining accessibility and why it’s important to content design and plain language
An introduction to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Simple sentence structure: Subject Verb Object
Complex grammar points that make a difference to content accessibility (for example, avoiding telegraphing)
Word familiarity
Terminology consistency
Metadata and accessibility
Images
Formats

Culture transformation and plain language

In this module, you’ll learn about how organisations make plain language sustainable.

Role of plain language in culture change
How to embed plain language in an organisation
The ‘ready, able and willing’ framework

Content management and content operations: overview

Here, we go ‘under the hood’ and explore how people, processes and technologies are needed in plain-language efforts.

Why content operations is essential
Why content management is essential
How to engage with experts in content management and content operations

Financial writing

This module will advance your skills in writing about money, whether you’re working in financial services or simply have to write about the fees of your product or service.

Plan and run a terminology workshop
How to write and present definitions online and in print
When to replace financial jargon
Compliance with Treating Customers Fairly
Writing about money – what tone to use

Clear contracts and legal design

This module will advance your skills in writing about legal rights and obligations in documents such as contracts, notices and terms and conditions.

What is legal content
Plain language and law
How to structure a contract
How to write contracts in modules
Applying information design to contracts
How to simplify a disclaimer