Joseph Kimble is a long-time champion of plain language. For more than 25 years, he has taught legal writing and drafting at the Thomas Cooley Law School in Michigan. Kimble is a prolific writer, authoring numerous articles and books including Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law. He also is editor in chief of The Scribes of Legal Writing and editor of the “Plain Language” column in the Michigan Bar Journal.
Kimble leads, and serves on, many plain language committees, initiatives, and associations. He also helped redraft important legal documents including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence. No surprise, Joe Kimble has won a lot of awards for his plain language advocacy and accomplishments.
In this podcast, Joe Kimble talks with Helen Osborne about:
- What plain language is and why it matters in law, as well as in health.
- Ways to answer critics and skeptics with truths about plain language.
- Examples of how plain language can save time and money.
More Ways to Learn:
- Kimble J (2012). Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please. Carolina Academic Press. At http://www.cap-press.com/books/isbn/9781611631913/Writing-for-Dollars-Writing-to-Please
- The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing. Learn more at http://www.scribes.org/scribes-journal-legal-writing
- Clarity: An international association promoting plain legal language. At http://www.clarity-international.net/
- Center for Plain Language. At http://centerforplainlanguage.org/
- Osborne H (host), Cheek A (guest) (2012). Health Literacy Out Loud #73: Plain Writing Act of 2010. At www.healthliteracy.com/hlol-plain-language-act
- Osborne H (2009). “In Other Words…Working With Lawyers to Make Health Information Clear,” On Call magazine. Available at www.healthliteracy.com/legal-information
Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Second Edition (Updated 2018), by Helen Osborne. Relevant chapters include: 4, 27, 28.
Click here to read the written transcript.
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