Preparing a ClearMark Entry

The ClearMark nomination entry form is now online. To prepare your entry, you will need the information below.

Information about the entry

The information in this section of the form identifies the entry

Entry title This title will be used to identify the entry in all award materials.
Organization The name of the organization that is responsible for this entry. This is the publisher or owner of the material, not the designer or company that created it.
Organization type Is this organization a Non-Profit, Public Sector/Government, or Private Sector/Corporation?
Entry Category The five entry categories for 2013 are: Original or New Documents, Before & After (Revised Documents), Legal, Web, and Multimedia.
Year  published Entries published from 2010 – 2012 are eligible for the 2013 ClearMark awards.

Details about the entry

The information in this section of the form describes the entry for the judges. The details you enter here help the judges understand the purpose and context of this work. You have 100 words to answer each question.

Project Name If this entry is part of a larger project, enter the project name here.
Tell us about your entry Describe the entry briefly. You do not need to repeat information in other questions.
Who is the target audience? Describe the people who will use this entry.
What is the purpose? Why was this entry created? What are the goals?
Constraints Describe any limitations or constraints the judges should consider, such as regulatory requirements, budget, or formatting guidelines.
Testing Describe any audience research, usability testing, focus groups, or other ways of learning how well the entry works for the intended audience.
Results Tell us how well the entry met its purpose or what impact it had. For example any dollars or time saved, or any other benefits that resulted from this entry.
Focus pages The judges will focus on a few pages of any large site or long document. Please list up to FIVE page numbers or the URL of the FIVE web pages that you would like the judges to consider

Entry files

There are two options for providing access to the files for your entry

Provide a web address (URL) For web sites, please provide the address of the starting page (URL).

You can also provide a URL for a document file (Word or Acrobat)

To submit a video, please upload your video to a service such as YouTube or Vimeo and provide a link

Upload a file in the nomination form We accept files in Word or Acrobat format

Please do not upload files over 10 Mb

Contact information

We need both a contact name for the nomination process, and a contact at the responsible organization, if they are not the same person.

Nomination contact The name, email address, and phone number of the person we can contact for any questions about the nomination.
Organization contact The name, email address, and phone number of a person at the publishing organization who is responsible for this entry.

Payment

There is a fee to cover processing and handling for each entry. The fee is:

  • $75 for government entries and entries from Center for Plain Language members
  • $130 for non-members
  • $115 to become a Center for Plain Language member and submit your nomination

Your payment must be received by the nominations deadline (February 15 for the 2013 awards), or your entry will not be judged.

Pay via Credit Card (preferred) Use a credit card to pay. 
Pay via PayPal (preferred) Use PayPal to pay from your account or by credit card. Using PayPal for online payments helps us keep the administrative costs of running the awards low.

If you need to send your payment after submitting your entry, you can still pay using a credit card and PayPal:

  • Use the donation form. In the comment field, tell us the title and entry number of the entries you are paying for.
  • Use your PayPal account to Send Money to centerforplainlanguage@gmail.com. Select “Payment Owed” as the type of payment and use the message field to tell us the title and entry number.
Pay by check
(by February 15, 2013)
We accept payment by check. Please write the entry number from the confirmation screen on your check. Make your check out to “Center for Plain Language” and mail it to:

Julie Clement, Treasurer
Center for Plain Language
212 Brush Street
Portland MI 48875

Please note: Your check must be received by February 15, 2013 for your nomination to be considered.

Use a purchase order
(by February 15, 2013) 
The Center is registered in the Central Contractor Registry

The DUNS Number for the Center is: 022854776

Send your PO number and the entry number from the confirmation screen to:

awards@centerforplainlanguage.org

Please note: Your purchase order must be received by February 15, 2013 for your nomination to be considered.

Agreement

By submitting this nomination for a ClearMark award, you agree to:

  • allow us to use your entry for public information purposes and
  • allow us to post or link to your submissions on our web site

If you receive an Award of Distinction, you agree to:

  • attend the awards ceremony on April 16 at the National Press club in
  • Washington, DC, 
  • speak to the media, if requested, and
  • share links or copies of any internal and external publicity (news stories, blogs, videos) about your entry

Center for Plain Language (centerforplainlanguage.org)

http://centerforplainlanguage.org/awards/award-nominations/preparing-entry/

Printed May 23, 2013