Plain English, sometimes known, as plain language, is a communication in a writing style which considers the audience's needs when writing.

When generating plain English business copy, Hunt Online recommends avoiding unnecessary words and jargon, technical terms, and long and ambiguous sentences. We provide proofreading, report writing and business writing services.

A sentence written using plain English may be aesthetically pleasing, even if its style is not complicated and it does not incorporate irrelevance. Everything in the sentence should work towards communicating to the reader what the writer intended. Everything else should be deleted or streamlined. Plain English business writing is efficient but not harshly so. In fact, it is kinder to the reader, sparing them from confusion, clarifying the report, while saving them from having to read unnecessary text.

Hunt Online can write, proofread, or edit any copy that clients may wish to improve. We are also very experienced in web copywriting which suits both human users and meets the needs of website Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). SEO appropriate text proofreading includes targeted search terms at the appropriate level of frequency to attract site visits to your website from users looking for the services your organization offers.

Some practices which make plain English copy writing, proofreading and business writing clearer include:

• Use Subject-Verb-Object construction in the writing. For example, instead of writing this: To update (verb) the address lists (object) may be your primary concern (subject), you should use this: Your primary concern (subject) may be to update (verb) the address lists (object).
  
• Avoid vocabulary that a good portion of your audience will stumble over. This applies especially to jargon, when the idea can be expressed as well using conventional language.
  
• Use verbs instead of "nounisms." A nounism is a verb rendered in its nominal form. For example, use the verb "introduce" instead of "introduction." Compare: "John introduced the speaker" to "John gave an introduction of the speaker."
  
• Use active voice instead of passive. For example, use "The policman stopped the suspect" instead of "The suspect was stopped by the policeman." Sometimes the passive hides who the agent is, which can reduce understandability. For example, "Fourty houses were inspected in two weeks." Unless you don't know who visited the houses, or it's completely irrelevant, the active is better: "The family inspected fourty houses in two weeks."
  
• Avoid too-long sentences. By the time you get to the end of some sentences, you have forgotten what came earlier. This sentence combines two poor choices - long, complicated words that serve no purpose, and excessive length: "If there exist any points on which you require explanation or further explication, we shall be glad to furnish such additional details as may be required via telephone." The following is better: "If you have any questions, please call us."

Historically English-language wriiting commonly used long sentences and a complicated style. In some other European languages, such as German, the use of long and sentences was even more extensive. It is not clear where this tradition came from, but it may have originated with classical Latin, in which such prose style was common. More recently there is an awareness that plain English writing could be elegant when executed well.

Style guides as William Strunk's - The Elements of Style actively promoted the idea of writing in plain English. Plain English now penetrates the fields of law and government and proofreading for this is becoming more relevant for business and report writing in Australia . Australia 's multicultural population, including many of a Non English Speaking Background (NESB), necessitates the proofreading of English language copy writing across the board.

Copy writing for this purpose should also be free from too many expressions and idiomatic language which is difficult for NESB users to understand. The provision of NESB friendly copy writing and proofreading also saves those users from embarrassment they may suffer in finding text difficult to understand.

Freelance Copywriting Services Include:

• Advertising Copy
• Annual Report Writing
• Clarifying Technical Writing
• Email and Print Mail & Newsletter Writing
• General Rewriting and Sub-Editing
• Presentation Writing
• Plain Engish Writing
• Prospectuses & Brochures
• Trade Magazines
• Websites Web Copy & Corporate Blogs
• Proofreading
• General Business Writing

Mark Gordon, of Hunt Online, was the Marketing Manager for the University of New South Wales , Institute of Languages for twenty years. Mark is therefore very skilled in producing attractive and accessible Plain English copy.

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Plain English Copy Writing, Proofreading, Report and Business Writing - Hunt Online Copywriting Sydney