Rolling with Report Cards
The Federal Report Card process for 2015 is underway! Agencies are preparing their submissions for the Center’s review. This relatively new service by the Center (since 2012) continues to evolve, and this year we are making a couple of changes to the process.
First, we are reviewing two types of documents, one selected by the Center and the other selected by the agency:
Serif or Sans?
Plain language writers are mindful about displaying text in highly readable fonts. Some writers choose fonts based on aesthetic considerations; others follow common text display conventions.
Rules? Or just suggestions?
Ah. Those pesky rules. If everyone would simply follow them, all would be well.
It’s not that easy, is it? But why not? Because context matters. For example, plenty of people reading this are thinking, “What kind of expert are you? You’re not even writing proper sentences! ‘Ah.’ isn’t a sentence! ‘Those pesky rules.’ isn’t a sentence! How can you hold yourself out as an expert if you don’t even follow the most basic rules of writing?”
But others will agree that ignoring the basic rules was perfectly justified in that first paragraph. Ignoring the rules shapes the style—it adds a certain tone or even personality. And if we can’t play with tone, style, and personality in a blog, where can we?
Questions from Plain Language students
In 2012, with the support of a Legal Services Corporation grant, LawNY (Legal Aid of Western New York) and Transcend (a language services company) offered a 10-week interactive online course, Plain Language Seminar for Lawyers.
Twenty lawyers from court systems and legal aid agencies across the nation signed up to learn more about plain language and to receive individual guidance with their active drafting projects.
Here are some of the questions posed during this class.
What you missed if you weren’t at the ClearMark Awards on May 12 – and why you shouldn’t miss it next year.
You attended the 2015 ClearMark awards at the National Press Club? That’s great!
What – You didn’t get there this year? Oh, no! Look at what you missed.
An instant way to shorten your sentences
Do your sentences suffer from “wordy phrase-itis”? These phrases pad your sentences with extra words. They increase the reading grade level. And they can make your writing sound stuffy. Here’s a list you can use to guide you.
Why “active” voice is better than “passive”
Once a month, I take my daughters, 9 and 13, to get donuts at Yum-Yums on a Friday night. We pick a dozen favorites and then go home to watch a movie while we each enjoy one donut as our treat. (They’re huge!) Then I put my girls to bed. And they know they can have a donut for breakfast the next morning.
The Awards are coming! The Awards are coming!
Here’s an opportunity to spend a wonderful evening with other plain language advocates and practitioners. Each year, the Center for Plain Language gives the ClearMark Award to print and online information that is easy for the public to understand and use.
March Grammar Madness: Commas Win in an Upset!
It’s March Grammar Madness at Healthwise. We’re mad about clear communication—and isn’t that the primary purpose of grammar?
So, just like the hoops fans who get into the college basketball spirit, we celebrated National Grammar Day (March 4) with a bracket. It’s all about sustaining the commitment to plain language—and scoring points with employees.
Love and plain language
I love my wife. I tell her so several times a day. When we wake up, on the phone, when we get home from work, before we drift off to sleep. The day just doesn’t feel complete without it.
On Valentine’s Day, however, we won’t do anything special. No office deliveries of long-stemmed red roses. No Hallmark greeting card with ready-made sentiments to express what I am (apparently) incapable of expressing on my own. And no making reservations at a hoity-toity restaurant weeks in advance to dine on an overpriced prix fixe menu.
Building a plain language culture in the US Government
I’ve spent the last few months working on the 2014 Federal Plain Language Report Card. The Report Card evaluates whether U.S. Federal Departments comply with the Plain Writing Act of 2010. This year we also analyzed writing samples against best practices for both writing and information design.