Articles Tagged with Plain language

Published on: August 6, 2014

How to Drive a Legal Editor Mad: To Verb is Human and/or To Adverb Divine?

By Laura Orr

An OSB editor takes to task users of the term “and/or” – and makes a practical suggestion on how to avoid driving your editor mad:

“…. So how do you avoid this problem? The answer, as the muttering editor will tell you, is to simply say what you mean. If you mean or, say or; if you mean and, say and; if you mean one or the other or both, say just that. For example, the defendant may be charged with unlawful arrest or malicious prosecution, or both….” [Link to the OSB Legal Pubs blog post and/or.]

Published on: November 16, 2010

“Center for Plain Language” and “Associations Unlimited”

By Laura Orr

If you are very lucky, you learn something new every day:

1) Did you know there was a Center for Plain Language? What might they do?

In a nutshell: “The Center for Plain Language wants government and business documents to be clear and understandable.” (Don’t we all!)

2) Also, do you remember the wonderful reference book, “Encyclopedia of Associations“? Well, it’s online now (and has been for some time) and probably at your public library (e.g. through the WCCLS, though you will find it under the new name, “Associations Unlimited”).

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