BW+appendixc+1+and+2

** Offences Against Simple English ** Politicians famously muddy issues with hard-to-follow sen­tences when answering questions that might embarrass them. But when mud is not the goal, simple is best. When we try to sound fancy, we more likely to overreach our own under­standing of words as well as to frustrate readers with empty words and the dull phrases. American revolutionary Tom Paine also championed clarity: “As it is my design to make those that can scarcely read understand, I shall therefore avoid every literary ornament and put it in language as plain as the alphabet.” The rallying cry of the plain-language movement came from 20th-century author and essayist George Orwell. In //Politics and the English Language//, he wrote: “Political language – and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conser­vatives to Anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respec­table, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Contrast the same idea expressed in bu­reau­c­ratic jargon and simple English. If a modern bureaucrat wrote the idea of the following paragraph, it would read some­thing like this: “Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invari­ably be taken into account.” Translate it into plain words, and you hear a verse from Eccles­i­astes/Qohelet: “I returned and saw, under the sun, that the race is not [always] to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of under­standing, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” You need not be a great writer to see that the second version is both easier to under­­stand and stirs thoughts and emotions. But the bonus, he notes, is it allows you to see when you are about to say things that are not worth saying. “If you simplify your English… when you make a stupid remark its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself…” Orwell named six common flaws: stale metaphors* or similes**; passive verbs; and pompous or meaningless words. Worthwhile additions have since been proposed, and some silly ones, too. Most people dislike a long sentence that can be broken into shorter ones. Some also say “never start a sentence with //but//” – which makes writing short, clear sentences more difficult. Such silly rules often have a grain of truth. Too many //but//s, if two ideas aren’t truly opposed, will lose readers. _________________________________________ *describing somebody or something with a word or phrase that is not meant factually but by as a vivid comparison, as in saying that somebody //is// a snake. ** as in saying someone //is// //like// a snake.  ** Sources ** : Adapted from materials prepared for a seminar on communication by Brendan Weston, which in turn draw upon Sally McBeth’s // A Brief History of Plain Language: // Clear Language and Design, ©2002, [].  ** True Crime Quiz: Have a Guess—It’s just for fun! **** Appendix 2 ** 1. How many murders were committed in Canada in 2008 vs. in 2001? ________ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Is a murder victim more likely to be murdered by a stranger or by someone he or she already knows? __________________________ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Which section of Canada has the lowest violent crime rates: the ones with larger urban centres, such as B.C., Ontario or Quebec, the Atlantic Provinces or the least urban provinces of the prairies or the three territories? _________________________________________ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">4. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Which province has the lowest violent crime rate? _____________ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 150%;">5. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 150%;">Match the correct number of individuals charged with violent crimes for each of the following groups: Adult Males 17,516 Young Offenders 22,635 Adult Females 99,435 <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">6. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Violent crime is higher in Canada than in the United States. Circle either: a. true b. False <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">7. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Property crime is higher in Canada than in the United States. a. true b. false <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">8. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">On average, how often does a police officer deal with violent crime in a year? __________________ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">9. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Fill in the blank with an answer below it: "In 2001 the crime rate in Canada was ________________ the crime rate in 1979."
 * Appendix 1 **

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">a. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">less than <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">b. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">the same as

<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">c. greater than <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">10. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Fill in the blank: "Robberies committed with a firearm have _______________ since 1991." a. increased b. decreased <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">11. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Which province has the lowest property crime rate in Canada? <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">12. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Which type of property crimes are youth most likely to be charged with: a. motor vehicle theft b. theft over $5,000 c. theft under $5,000 d. breaking and entering <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">13. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> List the following criminal acts in order of frequency, from those reported most often to those reported least often. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt;"> o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Homicide o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Sexual assault o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Break-ins

o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Auto theft o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Mischief/Vandalism o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Impaired Driving

o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Robberies with a firearm o <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;">Drug offence <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">

<span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">14. How often might a typical police officer pull out a gun while on duty in a y <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">ear? _______________ <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">1. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">There were 554 murders in Canada in 2001. Five years later 611 were dead: 200 by shooting, 200 by stabbing, 137 by beatings and 122 by strangulation. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">2. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">People known to the victims commit most murders – within the family or in settlings of accounts between gangs and drug dealers. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">3. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Among the provinces, Saskatchewan and Manitoba reported the highest violent crime rates in 2001 (1,802 and 1,620 violent acts per 100,000 people, respectively). However, the three Territories have the highest per capita crime rate in Canada, reporting violent crime rates at least double those of any province. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">4. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Quebec and Prince Edward Island continued to report the lowest violent crime rates – 719 and 746 violent acts per 100,000 people respectively. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">5. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In 2001, 99,435 adult men were charged with violent crime; 17,516 adult women were charged; and 22,635 young offenders were charged. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">6. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">False. According to 2001 data, although the homicide rate in the United States has declined (U.S. Bureau of Justice), it is still about three times greater than in Canada. (However, Canada's homicide rate is still generally higher than that of many European nations.) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">7. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">True. Incidents of property crime are higher in Canada than in the United States. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">8. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">According to police officers in Ottawa, on average, a police officer deals with violent crime about 60 times a year. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">9. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The answer is "b." In 2001 the crime rate in Canada was the same as the crime rate in 1979." <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">10. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The answer is "b." Robberies committed with a firearm have decreased since 1991.  <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">11. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Newfoundland has the lowest property crime rates in Canada. Newfoundland's property crime rate per 100,000 people is 2,284, compared with the highest province, B.C., at 6,451 per 100,000 people. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">12. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">In 2001, theft under $5000 was the property crime that youths were most com­monly charged with, followed by motor vehicle theft, theft over $5,000, and breaking and entering. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">13. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The same year’s list of criminal acts by frequency is: Mischief and Vandalism (338,425), Break-ins (280,000), Theft of Motor Vehicles (170,000), Drug Offences (91,920), Impaired Driving (90,000), Robberies with a Firearm (27,414), Sexual Assault (24,000) and Homicide (554). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">14. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">According to police officers in Ottawa, a Canadian police officer pulls out a gun 10 times in an average year. **//<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">Source: Crime Statistics in Canada, 2001. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. //** <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">
 * True Crime Quiz: ****//<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%;">ANSWERS //**