Plain English introduces a system of writing clearly and effectively for all writers of English, the world over. In response to the clear emergence of English as the preferred language for both international business and travel, the global lingua franca of the modern age, Plain English is a system that can help writers to communicate their ideas clearly, effectively and directly, ensuring a one-to-one relationship between the author's intended message, and the reader's perceived message. Plain English as it is introduced here is not just a set of random guidelines and advice, but rather, a complete system of English usage that embodies four rigorous principles, which further address sixteen basic guidelines, which in turn govern eighty separate rules of usage. These four basic principles of Plain English are (1) Cohesiveness (unified, logical, consistent, complete, etc.); (2) Directness (clear, succinct, positive, etc.); (3) Economy (brief, uncluttered, minimal, etc.), and; (4) Appropriateness (polite, respectful, correct, neutral, etc.). Plain English recognizes the shortcomings in the fact that not all grammatically correct sentences in English are necessarily clear, or concise. In fact, there are many "grammatical" sentences that are very difficult to understand because of vague or ambiguous words or syntax, overly long and dense sentence structures, confusing pronoun and article usage, and so forth. The book assumes a professional focus; in other words, it is most especially useful for those who make their livings as writers, such as translators, journalists, novelists and so forth, but also other areas of business are addressed, including writing business letters and email, reports, invoices, and so forth. And, while there is a professional focus, of course virtually all of the principles, guidelines and rules are applicable in just about any writing situation. The Plain English book asks and answers many questions important to the writing process, so, to give you some examples, before you write anything, it is important to address the following questions, among many others: Why are you writing? (determining purpose is essential to word choice, writing style and overall organization); Who are your readers? (knowing your target audience is equally essential so that your language and style is adjusted to fit your readers' levels of expertise), and; What should you include and what should you leave out? (an often overlooked area concerning how much i