Recommended reading

We get a number of requests from people who want us to 'endorse' or publicise their language books, magazines and software. However, if you would like us to consider reviewing your book for our magazine, please send a copy to us at the usual address.

We have compiled a list of recommended books and guides which we use here at the campaign, and which we suggest you track down if you can. You will find the Plain English Campaign titles in the Free guides section of this website.

Dictionaries

If you don't already have one, buy the most comprehensive dictionary you can afford. You may also find specialist dictionaries helpful for explaining technical terms. For example:

• Dictionary of Accounting and Finance
  R Brockington
  FT Prentice Hall, 1993
• Collins Plain English Dictionary
  FT Prentice Hall, 1993
• Concise Medical Dictionary 
  FT Prentice Hall, 1993

Basic grammar

• English Grammar 
  L Alexander
  Longman, 1993
• Guide to Better English 
  R Gee
  Usborne, 2004

Punctuation

• The Penguin Guide to Punctuation 
  R L Trask
  Penguin, 2004

Plain English

• Plain English
  Collinson, Kirkup, Kyd and Slocombe,
  Open University Press, 1992
• The Complete Plain Words
  E Gowers
  Penguin, 2003
• Effective writing - Plain English at work 
  E Murphy and S Snell
  FT Prentice Hall, 1991
• How to write letters in plain English
  and The Complete Plain Words
  Plain English Campaign

Design and typography

• The Designer's Handbook
  A Campbell
  Little, Brown and Company, 1993
• The Complete Manual of Typography
  J Felici
  Adobe Books, 2003
• Designing Instructional Text
  J Hartley
  Routledge Farmer, 1994
• Design of Forms in Government Departments
  HMSO, 1972

Usage

• The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words 
  B Bryson
  Penguin, 1987
• The New Fowler's Modern English Usage 
  R W Burchfield
  Oxford University Press, 1998
• Who Cares About English Usage? 
  D Crystal
  Penguin, 2000
• Guide to Better English 
  M Manser
  Bloomsbury, 1994
• Usage and Abusage 
  E Partridge and J Whitcut
  Penguin, 1999
• The Economist Style Guide
  Economist Books, 2003
• Mind the Gaffe 
  R L Trask
  Penguin, 2002

Legal language

• Plain English for Lawyers 
  National Consumer Council, 1990
• Plain English for Lawyers 
  R Wydick
  Carolina Academic Press (USA), 1998

General interest

• Mother Tongue 
  B Bryson
  Penguin, 1991
• The English Language 
  D Crystal
  Penguin, 2002
• The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language 
  D Crystal
  Cambridge University Press, 2003
• The Unfolding of Language
  G Deutscher
  Heinemann, 2005
• English Today (quarterly magazine) 
  Cambridge University Press
• Mightier than the Sword 
  C E Good
  Lel Enterprises, 1989
• Eats, Shoots and Leaves 
  L Truss
  Profile Books, 2003