PLE materials

Pregnant woman at work new Written materials are the staple ingredient of most PLE projects, ranging from the simplest flier to the more detailed self help materials. PLE materials don't have to be in written form; increasingly PLE projects are using audio and video as a means to get their message across. A selection of some good examples of PLE materials are available below.

Good PLE puts a lot of effort into understanding its audience. Successful initiatives have a clearly defined audience and have specific goals in mind. The focus of work will generally be a particular life issue such as divorce or eviction and with a clear intention to achieve a change of behaviour or to get the readers to do something - often to get appropriate help in dealing with a problem.

PLE resources need to be attractive and engaging, particularly where they have to reach out to individuals and communities to raise awareness and prompt action. The best materials will use a range of techniques to achieve this borrowing from journalism to grab attention and hold it, and from education to use repetition and reinforcement to ensure that key points are understood.

November 2009

Seven Steps to solving a problem guide

Advicenow's popular Seven Steps guide looks at how to go about dealing with a problem, detailing the seven key steps people need to take to resolve a problem. Find out more...

Dealing with discrimination at work guide

Guide from Advicenow and London Discrimination Unit on how to use a grievance procedure to deal with discrimination at work. It directly addresses issues of confidence and stress and encourages people to deal with issues before they escalate. Find out more...

National Debtline self help pack

A comprehensive self-help pack from the National Debtline equips people with the tools necessary to tackle their own debt problems including how to deal with court procedures and helpful tools like a ‘pull out draft personal budget sheet’ and sample standard letters that may be needed in dealing with debt. Find out more

Homelessness guide

A Shelter guide on the steps a local authority needs to take to identify whether there is a duty to provide accommodation. The information can help people to access homeless services in an informed and prepared way, prevent poor decision making on behalf of local authorities and ensure effective sign posting to other sources of expert help. Find out more...

Coping with prison leaflet

This information leaflet, produced by the Activists' Legal Project provides practical and emotional support for prisoners and their families. It was written in consultation with prisoners and provides a guidance on how to cope with the emotional and psychological issues of prison life. Find out more...

Divorce guide

A popular guide from Advicenow explains the whole legal process of divorce. It takes into account the emotional stress and trauma of divorce and offers supportive suggestions on how to cope. The guide makes good use of case studies and also uses the graphical device of a board game to illustrate all the steps of the divorce process. Find out more...

Letter writing guide

An excellent guide from the Plain English Campaign on how to write formal letters - a critical skill in managing everyday law-related issues. The letter guide offers tips on emphasizing points, how to address someone, grammar and making sure everything is clear and concise. Find out more...

Claiming compensation guide

This guide published by Advicenow explains how to make a successful compensation claim and is a good example of how to get a mass of detailed information over in a readable way. It explains the concept of negligence, includes a jargon buster and a 10 steps to success checklist. Find out more...

What's a contract ? guide

An Advicenow guide explaining the legal concept of a contract using a number of examples. The guide provides one of the fundamental building blocks for understanding the law and how it works. Find out more...