Plain language history: Basic English
Basic English was a concept created in 1930. It promised to make the English language more accessible. We’ll cover Basic English, who created it and what it promised.
8 February 2022 by
Laura Kelly
A very Victorian guide to letter writing
Writing letters is becoming a lost art. But, in an era of “Zoom fatigue” and “doomscrolling”, receiving correspondence away from the screen can be a real delight. Why not learn from those who did it best?
17 February 2021 by Laura Kelly
Historical quotes on readability
The concept of plain language is centuries old. We’ll highlight some great quotes about readability throughout history and what they can teach us.
7 January 2021 by Laura Kelly
Readability at the UN: why is speech clarity important?
Readability is of great importance when writing speeches and communicating with others. How are the principles of readability used at the UN?
23 April 2019 by Laura Kelly
The Powers Sumner Kearl formula
The Powers Sumner Kearl formula was developed in the 1950s by a group of readability experts. Find out how you can use it to improve your writing.
27 March 2019 by Laura Kelly
The Raygor readability graph
The Raygor readability graph is a formula which calculates the reading grade level of a text. Find out how it's calculated and how it can best be used.
25 March 2019 by Laura Kelly
The FORCAST readability formula
Other readability formulas work great when you’re writing a narrative. What about when you’re not, and how can the FORCAST formula help you analyze incomplete sentences?
14 March 2019 by Laura Kelly
The five lost letters of the English language
Most of us know the English alphabet backwards and forwards. We learned our letters as children and we forever have the ear-worm of the alphabet song stuck in our heads, but did you know that there were actually a few letters that didn’t quite make the cut for our modern alphabet? After Christianity took over […]
2 April 2017 by
Dave Child
