Craft documents people want to read, understand and act on
Clear writing starts with clear thinking. Our plain language training course teaches both.
Writing well at work is a practical plain language course to help government and business professionals write effective documents that achieve purpose. Documents that impact readers’ thinking, attitudes and behaviour.
Writing well at work covers the principles and practice of plain language, focusing on the document user (audience). The course emphasises the thinking required to write well in plain language. We explain where AI can help with drafting and editing, and where clear thinking, judgement and audience awareness remain the writer’s responsibility.
- Cut writing, reading and review time
- Get directly to the heart of a matter; fix fuzzy thinking
- Better engage your audience and help them to act on your ideas
Who the course is for
Writing well at work enhances the skills of competent writers. It is for people who write to inform decisions, explain policies, provide advice or guide action. Documents such as
- correspondence, memos and support materials
- business cases or proposals
- ministerial briefs, policy & procedure
- general advice
- web text
- reviews and assessments
- technical reports.
Course outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- plan and structure around organisational intent and reader needs
- identify and communicate key messages
- write concise, easy-to-follow documents
- edit for clarity and readability
- use AI tools appropriately.
Course costs and options
Full day: $4,000 + gst for up to 20 participants
The course walks participants through the document creation process – from first idea to performance testing. The content is generic – the ideas can be applied to all documents. Participants can immediately apply the ideas to a real work document. (For NSW Government agencies, a short deep dive into writing briefing notes is available as an option.)
$4,000+gst | up to 20 participants (as low as $200/px) | face-to-face or MS Teams
Also available as a self-paced video course
Half day: $2,500 + gst for up to 20 participants
The half day version covers the same material, but in a condensed form. It is suitable for competent writers needing a refresher in plain language principles, or for time poor managers needing to support the culture change of plain language documents.
$2,500+gst | up to 20 participants (as low as $125/px) | face-to-face or MS Teams
(Additional travel charges may apply for face-to-face courses.)
Writer training will lift organisational performance
Building the writing skills of your people will deliver documents that provide relevant information for readers, and are easy for readers to
- find the information they need
- understand information
- use the information to act.
There are real, tangible benefits of writing in plain language.
Good writing is not just a communication skill, it’s a professional advantage
Too often bright, capable, enthusiastic workers are let down by poor writing skills. Few are taught to write plainly during formal education. Writing well at work helps fill that gap.
Your people will learn to write documents that are clear, concise, and effective – documents that convey information quickly and clearly to people both outside and within the organisation.
Writing well at work distinctives
- Underpinned by solid plain language principles
- Teaches a robust 5 phase document creation process.
- Draws on the deep knowledge acquired over decades of writing and editing both government and private sector documents. See Think-write’s experience
- Consistent with ISO 24495-1:2023 Plain language – Part 1: Governing principles and guidelines, but not constrained by it.
- Delivered by a preferred training provider. Think-write Consulting (Greg Pendlebury) is a supplier on the Australian Government’s Plain English Training Panel. (SON4042884 1-Apr-2024 to 31-Mar-2027)