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. |
| Date published | Entries published from 2007 – 2012 are eligible for the 2012 ClearMark awards. |
| Credit | The names and email addresses of all individuals who should receive credit for this entry. |
| 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 four entry categories for 2012 are: Original or New Documents, Before & After (Revised Documents), Legal, and Web/Multimedia. |
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 500 characters – 50 to 75 words – to answer each question.
| Project Name | If this entry is part of a larger project, enter the project name here. |
| Section Title | If the entry has a section title within a larger work, enter that 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? |
| Limitations | Describe any limitations or constraints the judges should consider, such as regulatory requirements or formatting guidelines. |
| Usability testing | Describe any audience research, usability testing, focus groups, or other ways of learning how well the entry works for the intended audience. |
| Result or outcome | 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 the page numbers or the URL of the 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
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 Megs |
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. This fee is $75 for public sector/government entries; $100 for all others (private corporation and non-profit).
Your payment must be received by the nominations deadline (March 15 for the 2012 awards), or your entry will not be judged.
| 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. Please use this option if there is any way for you to do so.
If you need to send your payment after submitting your entry, you can still pay using a credit card and PayPal:
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| Pay by check | 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 |
| Use a purchase order | 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: |
Agreement
By submitting this nomination for a ClearMark award, you agree that the Center for Plain Language can:
- use your entry for public information purposes
- post or link to your submissions on our web site
- post a photograph of the team on our web site
If your entry is a winner, you also agree to:
- speak to the media, if requested
- share links or copies of any internal and external publicity (news stories, blogs, videos) about your entry
- attend the awards ceremony
