Collaborative writing is pervasive in the contemporary corporate workplace. North American research reports that nine out of ten business professionals produce some of their documents as part of a team. As workplace writers seek to meet the business goals of their employers, and further their own careers, they require sophisticated skills in joining with other writers to collaboratively produce documents. Taking advantage of the benefits, and meeting the challenges of this demand, requires corporate and academic communities to collaborate: to address gaps in the knowledge about collaborative writing and to train and develop competent collaborative writers.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the literature on plain language in Australia, the UK and the USA since the movement began to accelerate in the early 1960s; to review the progress of plain‐language initiatives in those countries in the years since then; to provide guidance on generating plain‐language documents for writers in the corporate arena; and to present suggestions for further research.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses historical and contemporary initiatives and issues relating to plain language, presents guidelines for writing in plain language, and discusses the desirability of ongoing research.FindingsThe paper concludes with suggestions for further research in the corporate sector, where issues such as plain‐language “standards” are contestable, and compliance with plain‐language guidelines is under‐researched.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the plain‐language movement has gained great momentum worldwide in recent years, this paper is limited to the countries in which it was pioneered.Practical implicationsThe desirability of adopting plain language is undeniable, with many professions and businesses recognising the social and economic benefits of presenting information to their customers in plain language: efficiency, effectiveness, cost‐savings, equity, enhanced consumer satisfaction, among others.Originality/valueThe paper provides a valuable overview of the progress of plain‐language initiatives in Australia, the UK and the USA since the 1960s and highlights the necessity for further research in a movement that has become an important consideration for corporations in an economy in which writing and information design are central.

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