2010 ClearMark Award Winners
The ClearMark Awards are given to the best plain language documents and web sites. They were judged by a panel of international experts, following a strict set of criteria. Revised documents were judged on not just the quality of the final document, but also the quality of improvement. These award winners and finalists were selected from 160 entries for the 2010 awards.
The 2010 Grand Prize ClearMark Winner
HealthWise
Conversation on Dealing with Low Back Pain
See the website
- Well done. good explanation, easy flow, good analogies
- Uses a relaxed, conversational style; Talked to you personally
- A fun, engaging interface that helps the users make sense of their pain. Responses are caring and helpful, making you feel like you’re talking with a friend. Very well made and very useful.
Website – Private
Aetna- Good website with loads of practical information.
- This is nice, clean, attractive site. Writing is easy to read and generally conversational. Showcasing the top tasks in the boxes on the home page is excellent. The reader can get right to work.
- I would definitely feel good about Aetna being my insurance company having reviewed this site.
- Logical, organized the way I think a user would expect
Website – Public Sector
Department of Health and Human Services, ODPHP
CommunicateHealth
Quick Guide to Healthy Living
- The extensive testing paid off. A very easy-to-use and easy-to-understand site. It does just about everything right. Minimal words. Meaningful words. Active verbs. Print large enough to read. Just enough color & graphics to be interesting without overwhelming.
- You spent – and continue to spend -the time to do it right, and it shows. You got your money’s worth. More important, citizens got their money’s worth.
City of Gresham, Oregon
City of Gresham web site
- I really, really like this website. You clearly know your audience and understand what they want. Love the navigation titles; live, work, play, city. Especially love the “I want to” It’s clean, and it’s easy to use.
- Overall a very intuitive site with links to everything a citizen or prospective citizen would need.
Other Finalists:
- Energy Information Administration
Energy Explained - Federal Trade Commission
Web-based Financial Privacy Notice - Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, Web Communications Division
FoodSafety.gov - National Cancer Institute
Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer Portal - North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
North Carolina Vital Records Web site - Washington State Department of Licensing
Online Driver License Renewal
Original Document: Non-Profit
HealthWise
Conversation on Dealing with Low Back Pain
Other Finalists:
- Group Health Cooperative
Exercise to help you manage your diabetes
Original Document: Private
Aetna
Health Literacy Newsletter
- They practice what they preach
- Uses a relaxed, conversational style
- Makes information easy to understand and to find
- A good tool for spreading the word about “plain language” and to teach people to use plain language.
Other Finalists:
- Health Dialog
Living Tobacco Free Toolkit
Original Document: Public Sector
Interagency Working Group
Model Financial Privacy Notice
- Form is well-designed and well-organized.
- Easy to read. Consistently uses common words and defines less common words; good sentence structure
- The sample privacy form is a great improvement over the current situation. They are sure to be a big to consumers.
Other finalists:
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
Getting Started – Occupational Outlook Quarterly - Bureau of Labor Statistics
Grab Bag – Occupational Outlook Quarterly - Bureau of Labor Statistics
Large Occupations with Higher-than-Median Wages – Occupational Outlook Quarterly - Bureau of Labor Statistics
Metrology Careers: Jobs for Good Measure – Occupational Outlook Quarterly - Bureau of Labor Statistics
You’re a What? Solar Photovoltaic - Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Knowledge Application Program
Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Addiction - Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Research and Development
VA Research Currents - Federal Aviation Administration, Flights Standards Service
Safety assurance System Calendar - Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health
Early-Stage Breast Cancer Treatment: A Patient and Doctor Dialogue - Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health
Depression During and After Pregnancy - National Cancer Institute
NCI’s Cancer Treatment Side Effect Sheets for Patients and Providers - National Cancer Institute
When your Brother or Sister has Cancer – A Guide for Teens - National Institute on Aging
Caring for a Person with Alzheimer’s Disease - National Institute on Aging
Older Adults and Alcohol - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NAIAID Career Opportunities - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NAIAID – inserts
Revised document: Non-profit
Group Health Cooperative
Informed Consent for Surgery or Invasive Procedure
- From first glance, you see the improvement: print actually readable, the title short and informative; tone subtly more positive. Doesn’t sacrifice content for simplicity and readability.
- Without sounding condescending, the language lays out the risks in concrete terms. Words and visual design work together to help group ideas for easier understanding and assimilation
- Used readability measures to confirm differences between original and revision
Other finalists:
- AARP Financial
Code of Ethics
Before and After - American Speech Language Hearing Association
Building Your Child’s Listening, Talking, Reading and Writing Skills
Before and After (K-2nd) and After (3rd-5th) - American Speech Language Hearing Association
Before: Cognitive-Communications Problems following Right Hemisphere Stroke
After: Thinking and Behavior Problems from Stroke
Revised document: Private
First Choice Power
Customer Bill Redesign
- Revised version was much more user friendly emphasizes the critical information
- Uses bolding to highlight important information and this makes it much easier to understand. Puts most important info up front
- Color scheme is excellent – gives it a friendly appearance. Big clear account number
- Emphasis on consumer service with large customer service numbers
Other finalists:
- Aetna
Disease Management Invitation Letter
Before and After - Health Dialog
Variable Chronic Conditions – Mailer and Inserts
Before and After - Periscope UnitedHealth Group
Medicare Advisor
Before and After
Revised Document: Public Sector
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
Plain Talk for Public Records – Revised Confirmation Letters
- They have results: Before about 10% of phone calls were about these topics. Almost immediately after the new letters, calls dropped to 1% and now rarely receive these calls.
- Much, much better. Uses second person consistently; gets away from legalese language almost completely.
- Adding a fact sheet really personalizes the process of FOI requests.
Other finalists:
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Insurance Service
Free Financial Counseling Service Brochure
Before and After - Health Outcomes Sciences and Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City
Consent for Coronary Angiography
Before and After - Los Angeles County, Internal Services Department
Model Contract Remodeled
Before and After - National Cancer Institute
Eating Hints: Before, During and After Cancer Treatment
Before and After - Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State
Absentee Ballot Instructions for Unregistered Voters
Before and After - Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
Instruction Cards Help Businesses Late with Payments
Before and After - Washington State Department of Licensing
Vehicle Registration Renewal Notices
Before and After
The judges for the 2010 ClearMark Awards were:
- Burkey Belser
- Ann Brewer
- Julie Clement
- Candi Harrison
- Robert Linsky
- Allen Rotz
- Michael Schwartz
- Xanthi Scrimgeour
- Donna Seifert
- Dr. Susan Sharpe
- Carolyn Sherman
- Cheryl Stephens
