We know that sinking feeling when we read a confusing email or business letter. We scan the wall of words and ask ourselves, ‘why should I care, what does this mean to me, and what am I supposed to do with this information?’
Search Results for: Plain writing act of 2010
Building and sustaining a culture of plain language – Hennepin County, Minnesota
Making information less complex and more concise How we knew we needed a plain language program In 2010, most of our day-to-day communications with county residents were lengthy, overly complex, and often filled with legal jargon. In addition, each county department had their own style and voice. Surveys of residents showed they were often confused […]
2022 Federal Plain Language Report Card
This is the 11th time the Center for Plain Language has issued a yearly Report Card evaluating how well agencies follow the Plain Writing Act. We evaluated 21 Executive Branch agencies, including all 15 cabinet-level departments. Agencies earned grades between A and F for both organizational compliance, covering the staffing, training, and annual reporting required […]
Building and sustaining a culture of plain language – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
In 2006, I was working as a writer-editor in the regulatory shop of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for providing legal immigration benefits and services. Any one of our regulations could affect thousands to millions of people, many of whom didn’t speak English as a first language. So we had to get the language right.
2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card
This is the 10th time the Center for Plain Language has issued a yearly Report Card evaluating how well agencies follow the Plain Writing Act. For this 10th anniversary, we evaluated 21 Executive Branch agencies, including all 15 cabinet-level departments. Agencies earned grades between A and F for both organizational compliance, covering the staffing, training, […]
Happy 10th Anniversary Plain Writing Act
The Plain Writing Act is turning 10 years old on October 13, 2020. The Act gave U.S. federal employees the legal oomph to turn the stereotype that government writing is overly complicated, stilted, and obtuse on its head. No longer was plain language just a good idea that could easily be tossed aside for lack of time or tacked on the end of a project as if it were synonymous with proofreading.