Two resources I use a lot.
The PWS Writing Guidelines and the
plain language dot gov site. They mostly complement one another although the plain language guide will tell you to use
Must for required actions and the PWS Writing Guidelines will say to use
Shall. Check out the Plain Language web site. NOTE: you may have to click on the announcement title to access the link. Look for helpful links there to "Use [of] simple words and phrases." You'll find:
Don’t say Say
a and/or b a or b or both
accompany go with
accomplish carry out, do
accorded given
accordingly so
accrue add, gain
accurate correct, exact, right
And that's only partially through the As on the list. My favorite is utilize. Why not just use? There are more guides to download or browse there and the Law and regulations are there too. Look for the No-Gobbledygook awards (a bit of history trivia perhaps).
PWS Writing Guidelines may be found with a search here on DAU's web site, or click through the link above. Do you have a favorite writing tip?
