When it comes to writing on the web we think like George Orwell: never use a long word when a short one will do. If you're not used to writing for the web, you may feel that long-winded words and phrases will impress the reader. What they actually do is cloud the meaning and make your content difficult to scan.

So when we came across this excellent guide from the Plain English Campaign, The A to Z of Alternative Words, we gave a little cheer.

As they explain:

"This guide gives hundreds of plain English alternatives to the pompous words and phrases that litter official writing. On its own the guide won’t teach you how to write in plain English. There’s more to it than just replacing ‘hard’ words with ‘easy’ words, and many of these alternatives won’t work in every situation.

"But it will help if you want to get rid of words like ‘notwithstanding’, ‘expeditiously’ and phrases like ‘in the majority of instances’ and ‘ at this moment in time’. And using everyday words is an important first step towards clearer writing."

Download the guide now

Take a look at the Plain English Campaign website for training and resources to help you communicate more clearly.