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As humans, we have a tricky relationship with ambiguity. Used effectively, ambiguity (messages with more than one interpretation) can create clever, insightful, and amusing communication — making it a staple of advertising and comedy. Used ineffectively, however, ambiguity’s multiple meanings can create confusing and misleading language that prevents readers from understanding what you mean.
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Does your organization rely on readability formulas? A research review by Dr. Karen A. Schriver—“Plain Language in the United States Gains Momentum: 1940–2015”—takes a hard look at readability formulas. Schriver finds that readability formulas are often unreliable and invalid methods of evaluating text quality.
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Okay, raise your hand if you like to win. Now, keep it up if you like to be recognized for your great work. And, keep it up if you LOVE filling out long forms and writing up a check request for the entry fee for an awards program for which your odds of winning are just slightly better than the average Powerball drawing.
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With the 2010 enactment of the Plain Writing Act and National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy, the development and dissemination of health information that was accurate, accessible and actionable became the focus of regulatory agencies and the medical industry they monitor. The National Action Plan promoted changes to the healthcare industry by requiring improved research communication and medication labeling with the end goal of more-informed decision making by both doctors and patients.
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Maria Mindlin started volunteering with the Center in 2014. She initially worked on short pieces that were light and entertaining for the Center’s blog. That's when, in her own words, “I found out I wasn't a naturally entertaining kind of person!”
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As the Center approaches the close of 2017, we celebrate a prestigious award received recently by our founder and former Chair, Annetta Cheek. The Center’s international counterpart, Plain Language Association International (PLAIN), awarded Annetta the Christine Mowat Plain Language Achievement Award in September at its conference in Graz, Austria. The award honors a “significant contribution to advancing plain language at the local, regional, national, or international levels.”
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The Center for Plain Language is speaking out against proposed changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) communication rules. On Friday, December 15, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is forbidding CDC from using seven terms and phrases in its upcoming budget documents.
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A friend on Facebook recently posted, “I just got an email from Blue Cross urging me to ‘use my benefits’ because the end of the year is coming. Honestly have no idea what to make of that.” Especially since after two emergency room visits, “I have super definitely ‘used my benefits’ this year.” Writing for health insurance customers is tough.
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