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To help make your King County documents easier to read and understand, use this Guide to Concise Writing. It provides concise alternatives to overstated, pompous words; wordy, bureaucratic phrases; and redundant phrases.

• Shorter, simpler words 
• Wordy phrase replacements 
• Redundant phrase replacements.

The alternatives suggested in this guide can help you communicate with people who read at all levels of time, interest, and literacy and readers with limited English proficiency who use English as a second language. Many terms and phrases in the Concise Writing Guide link to the King County Editorial Style Manual with explanations and examples of concise alternatives.

Plain English Lexicon: A guide to whether your words will be understood (free PDF download, external link), 2008, Martin Cutts, Plain Language Commission, United Kingdom

Also see the King County plain-language writing guide: How to write clearly to meet the needs of your readers.

Plain language (or plain English) is an approach to writing that leads to effective, efficient communication through clear, concise and well-organized words, sentences and paragraphs. It's an ideal approach for public sector employees when writing to and for King County taxpayers, ratepayers and other clients and customers.

Other communications resources

• Online and print
• Staff contacts
• On the intranet
• Writing tools