The International Standard on Plain Language (hereinafter "the ISO standard") sets out guidelines for written communication. Although the ISO standard is currently only available in English, its principles are intended to be universal and are the subject of a consensus. Backed by empirical data, the work of the experts involved has resulted in a rather concise standard. Since the work of the expert committee is based on empirical data, we wondered whether the content of the standard incorporated current Writing studies knowledge. If so, we'll see whether the standard can serve as a basis for the teaching of Writing studies. This article works as a review of the standard.