When the first edition of Joseph Kimble’s “Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law” was published in 2012, it was an instant classic. The title told you all you needed to know. It contained just about all the available evidence about the efficacy, savings, and benefits of plain language in practice.
Now, just over 10 years later, comes its second edition, bringing all that valuable information up to date. Anyone who had the first edition should rush to acquire the second edition. Anyone who didn’t have the first edition and is at all interested in plain language in business, government, and law needs to get the second edition. How lucky they are to be able to read this book for the first time!
I say this because Kimble is a master of plain language. (Full disclosure: he is an eminent colleague and — most importantly — a friend.) He practices what he preaches better than anyone I know. No one writes plainer than Kimble. Further, this is not only a learned and persuasive book, but also a lively and enthusiastic one. It’s a joy to read no matter how many times you return to it.
The new edition has the same structure as the first edition. Part 1 is Kimble’s personal story. Part 2 is a rundown of the basic elements of plain language. Part 3 answers the critics of plain language (by dispelling the myths). Part 4 lists some historical highlights of the plain language movement. Part 5 details the extraordinary benefits of plain language. With the second edition, Kimble brings all the details up to the moment. As he writes in the preface to the second edition, “Every part of the book, except for Part 1, has been updated or changed to some extent.” That’s made the book 50 pages longer than it was.
Naturally, Kimble has updated all sources and references, even improving his footnotes with permalinks (sources are permanently archived as PFDs, so the links will remain live in perpetuity.) The major additions are in parts 4 and 5. Part 4 now includes 10 further “historical highlights.” Kimble worked closely with 57 plain language practitioners from around the world to achieve an extraordinary level of detail here. Part 5 is expanded to include 10 more summaries of empirical studies — and many of the studies contain multiple studies within them.
In the first edition, Kimble did not include an index. He explained then: “This is not a book in which you’ll be looking up topics and names.” He thought the “detailed table of contents, extensive headings”, and so on should suffice. But for someone like me who returns to the book again and again looking for something I already know about, an index would have helped. Now, in the second edition, he has addressed my grumble by providing an index of works and authors cited. Problem solved!
This book answers all the questions anyone could have about the efficacy and benefits of plain language. Once again: anyone involved in business, government, or law needs this new edition.