Do you understand the terms and conditions of your cell phone contract?

The clarity in legal documents can be improved by: 

1. Using pronouns, for example: I, we, you.

2. Removing ‘doublets’, for example: “rules and regulations” or “accepts and agrees”.

3. Removing extra words.

4. Using shorter sentences.

5. Using vertical lists. 

The following paragraph is from the terms and conditions of a South African telecommunication company. Is it in plain language? Do you understand it?

“The subscriber accepts and agrees that these terms and conditions will become binding on it once on the Commencement Date, that is, once the Company has processed the Application Form and agreed to provide the Subscriber with the selected Mobile Service and the Selected Mobile Goods., which is known as the Commencement Date. In other words the agreement will commence on the Commencement Date.”

We made some changes using plain language principles. Do you understand this version?

You agree to these terms and conditions. You will be bound to these terms and conditions from the Commencement Date. The Commencement Date will start when we have:

1. processed your application form; and

2. agreed to provide you with the goods and services you have selected.

 By Michele van Eck, Writers Write Consultant

Michele is the Plain Language Legal Expert for Writers Write.

She is an admitted attorney with more than five years working experience in the legal and corporate environment.

She has a BComm in business management and law, as well as an LLB and an LLM.

With specialized qualifications in corporate and contractual law, Michele writes for De Rebus and has co-authored articles for TSAR (a journal for South African law).

For information on The Plain Language Programme offered by Writers Write, email vicki@writerswrite.co.za or call Vicki Cicoria 0732242131

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The Author? Elizabeth Noble

Her birthday? 22 December 1968

The Venue? Nonna Mia's, Birnam, Johannesburg

The Date? 14 May 2012

The Book? Between a mother and her child

The Interviewer? Amanda Patterson

Elizabeth Noble is charming, funny and intelligent. She describes her writing schedule as one that works on a 'rising tide of panic'. She says she is the Queen of Procrastination, and that if she has from 8am - 5pm to write, she will write from 2pm. Her writing recipe? She constructs her characters in detail before she starts writing and she writes her ending first. 

Essentially

If love were a colour, what colour would it be? Tiffany Blue

What is the colour of anger? Library Red

What is the colour of money? Green

What is the colour of beauty? Pink 

What is the colour of desire? Chanel Red

If your life were a city, what city would it be? Florence

What is the number you associate with reading? 2 

What is the number you associate with your day job - before you became a writer? 11 - It's an irritating, chaotic, messy number

What is the number you associate with writing? 2

What is your favourite number? 2 - Two halves make a whole.

Writing Sense

Writing sounds like birdsong

Writing looks like a different horizon depending on the day

Writing tastes like Sauvignon Blanc

Writing smells like baking

Writing feels like velvet - rough or smooth - depending on how the writing is flowing

If Maggie's house in your book were a country, it would be the Australia

Where would it shop? Waitrose

It would look like love

It would sound like children playing and Radio 4

It would taste like tea

It would smell like baking

It would feel like denim

If Maggie were an animal, which animal would she be?

A lioness.

More Q & A

What is your favourite meal? 

Shrimp

What are you reading? 

Titanic - An account of what happened to the survivors

Where do you live? 

Surrey, England

Why do you live there? 

It's familiar and comfortable.

How has living there affected your writing? 

It's calmed me down. Living in New York churned me up. I wrote The Girl Next Door when I lived in New york and I consider it my most self-indulgent novel. I am a better writer in England.

What is your favourite quality about yourself? 

I am kind 

What is your least favourite quality about yourself? 

I am jealous

Do you have a favourite quote?

'Be the change you want to see in the world.' ~Ghandi

Why is it your favourite?

I think it's full of positivity and I try to find the joy in every day. 

What are you most proud of accomplishing so far in your life?

Staying married for 16 years.

The books

How did you come up with the titles of your books?

I come up with working titles. These come to me in thought bubbles. From an idea, a headline and that evolves as the book takes shape.

Who designed the covers? 

I don't have as much say in the design of my covers as I'd like. I prefer the American covers.

Why did you choose to write this particular book? 

I wanted to explore grief. The layers of it. How it affects the different family members. I wanted to show how it exposes the cracks that already exist in relationships.

What was the hardest part about writing this book? 

Imagining how I would feel if my child had died.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

I was horribly blocked by sadness after writing 'Between a mother and her child'. I had to have a good talk with my editors and decide what to write next. I am exploring marriage in my next novel - the good, the bad, the indiffirent. The working title is 'The Great Wall of China'. 

Mini-Bucket List?

• To wear a size 10 dress
• To see my children walk down the aisle
• Something that would frighten me, but make me feel euphoric and triumphant

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Still writing, still healthy. And my husband and I living in the same country. He commutes from New York.

When you stop writing, and look back on your life, what thoughts would you like to have?

That I entertained readers. I would like to be remembered as that author whose book you bought and saved for that 'special read'.

For more photographs from the dinner, follow this link 

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The National Credit Act, Companies Act and Consumer Protection Act have some guidelines for Plain Language. These will determine if your document is in plain language.

They are:

• The content of the document. What does the document say?
• The level of comprehension of the document. What does your audience understand when reading the document?
• The consistency of information. Is the information in the document used in a uniform and consistent manner?
• The organisation and style of the document. Is the lay-out of the document easy to understand?
• The vocabulary used. Would your audience be able to understand the language you used in the document?
• The sentence structure. Are sentences short, concise and easy to read?
• Headings. Did you use headings to help guide your audience through the document?
• Illustrations and visual aids. Did you use any illustrations or diagrams to assist your audience in understanding the document?

By Michele van Eck, Writers Write Consultant

Michele is the Plain Language Legal Expert for Writers Write.

She is an admitted attorney with more than five years working experience in the legal and corporate environment.

She has a BComm in business management and law, as well as an LLB and an LLM.

With specialized qualifications in corporate and contractual law, Michele writes for De Rebus and has co-authored articles for TSAR (a journal for South African law).

For information on The Plain Language Programme offered by Writers Write, email vicki@writerswrite.co.za or call Vicki Cicoria 0732242131

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Follow @Writers_Write

Social Media is the new word of mouth. Traditional media, including magazines, newspapers, and radio, is the fastest declining industry in the world. Companies have to find a way to reach customers through the new media.

Writers Write has developed The Social Brand for this purpose.

Objectives:

To move your brand into the social media arena.

To learn how to write for your brand across the various social media.

To understand social media platforms, and how they work for your brand.

Contents:

Writing templates for the different media. 

The Big Four – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

Frequency of posts, administration of social media content, and consistency of the brand’s message.

When? Various dates

How long? Two mornings from 09:00 – 13:00 each day

Where? 10 Bompas Road, Sandton, Johannesburg

How much? R4500 ex VAT

To book? For individuals mail news@writerswrite.co.za For companies mail vicki@writerswrite.co.za  

The course was developed by Amanda Patterson

 Amanda has a following of more than 40 000 fans across various social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr., Goodreads, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Amanda's Book Club Newsletter is sent to 14 000 email subscribers.

Her signature course, Writers Write, specializes in the teaching of fiction writing. More than 130 Writers Write students have been published. Her signature business writing course, The Plain Language Programme teaches government structures and big business to write in plain language. 

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Keep it short and simple

A document does not have more value because it is longer.

Repeating information does not make it more important.

Using jargon does not make the message more significant.

Consumers do not want lengthy documents. Rather keep the message short and simple. A shorter document has more impact. The audience tends to remember the message better.

Top three tips to keep a document short and simple: 

1. Avoid redundant expressions like ‘it is generally accepted that’ or ‘as it is well known’.
2. Avoid repeating yourself in the document.
3. Keep sentences short. On average a sentence should be nine words.

By Michele van Eck, Writers Write Consultant

Michele is the Plain Language Legal Expert for Writers Write.

She is an admitted attorney with more than five years working experience in the legal and corporate environment.

She has a BComm in business management and law, as well as an LLB and an LLM.

With specialized qualifications in corporate and contractual law, Michele writes for De Rebus and has co-authored articles for TSAR (a journal for South African law).

For information on The Plain Language Programme offered by Writers Write, email vicki@writerswrite.co.za or call Vicki Cicoria 0732242131

Subscribe to our daily writing tips by joining our Facebook page

Or by following us on Twitter

If publishers want to survive they are going to have to become branding agencies. The Internet has taken out the middle man - them. 

They can take a lesson from the music industry. It's not rocket science. Artists took out the record companies by creating their own market on You Tube. The record companies then pursued these success stories. They have survived by 'branding' the artists and managing them.

The same thing is happening in publishing.

Writers who understand the power of social media can create their own markets. They can also reach fans with a fascinating Facebook page, a great blog, a brilliant Goodreads profile and a calculated Google+ presence. To top it off they can sell their books off their own websites.

More books are being read than ever before - thanks to epublishing. 

People buy products from people they like. Publishers are not known for their approachability. They will have to put on a friendly face. A genuine friendly face. Fake doesn't work on Social Media. There is no PR to protect them here. 

The charming, likeable writers who are working the Internet will win. They already have 10 more hours of genuine social media experience than any publisher I've come across. 

  by Amanda Patterson

Amanda's Book Club Newsletter is sent to 14 000 email subscribers. She also has a following of more than 40 000 fans across various social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr., Goodreads, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Writers Write offers a branding course, and a social media course, for creatives. Email news@writerswrite.co.za for more information.

2 May 2012

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 In Plain Language?

Some areas that create confusion in the document:

1. There are 26 defined terms which makes the document difficult to understand.
2. The use of acronyms like “ANPR” (automatic number plate recognition technology”, TCH (transaction clearing house), VLN (motor vehicle license plate number) and VPC (violations processing centre).
3. The use of legalese.
4. Using passive voice.
5. Long and complicated sentences.

Applying plain language will improve the clarity of the document.

Examples: 

“5. As a registered user, the user will be billed and will be liable for toll transactions recorded according to the user’s VLN or its e-tag.”

In Plain Language: You must pay toll fees for your vehicle’s licence plate number or e-tag.

“6.6. The user understands and agrees that its liability to incur toll arises when its motor vehicle passes a tolling point. The amount of toll is calculated with reference to the tolling point and not with reference to kilometres travelled before the user reached the tolling point.”

In Plain Language: You must pay the toll fee. The toll fee is determined when you pass a tolling point. The kilometres you travel do not determine the toll fee.

By Michele van Eck, Writers Write Consultant

Michele is the Plain Language Legal Expert for Writers Write.

She is an admitted attorney with more than five years working experience in the legal and corporate environment.

She has a BComm in business management and law, as well as an LLB and an LLM.

With specialized qualifications in corporate and contractual law, Michele writes for De Rebus and has co-authored articles for TSAR (a journal for South African law).

For information on The Plain Language Programme offered by Writers Write, email vicki@writerswrite.co.za or call Vicki Cicoria 0732242131

Subscribe to our daily writing tips by joining our Facebook page

Or by following us on Twitter

Follow @Writers_Write