How well are federal agencies adhering to the Plain Writing Act? The Center for Plain Language is issuing a “report card” grading several federal agencies on how well they are implementing the Act. The results will be released at a telephone news briefing on Thursday, July 19, 12 noon, featuring Rep. Bruce Braley (IA), the […]
How Much is Plain Language Worth?
Joe Kimble, professor of law at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, has just finished his long awaited new book, Writing for Dollars, Writing to Please: The Case for Plain Language in Business, Government, and Law. Carolina Academic Press, which also published his earlier book Lifting the Fog of Legalese, is the publisher. The book sets out the elements of […]
The cost of fine print? About $3K a year.
If you think America is shifting to a culture of transparency, unfortunately, you’re wrong: consumers are drowning in more fine print and byzantine disclosure language than ever before. Bank contracts and product manuals commonly bloat to hundreds of pages, in type as small as 1/6 of an inch. Who reads this stuff? Almost nobody. And as this news clip from […]
Ralph Nader hints at Plain Language in contracts
Well, he doesn’t actually use the words “plain language,” but Ralph Nader has started an organization called Fair Contracts in which he warns people about what’s hidden in the fine print. He rails against corporations that hide behind obscure language, tiny fonts, and reams of paper no one can understand. In his usual fashion, he […]
Re-energising at Clarity2012
Clarity’s conference in Washington DC in mid-May can’t come soon enough. I’m looking forward to the lift in energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge that attending a plain-language conference always provides.
Still time to join Plain Language experts from around the world
You still have time to register for the 2012 Clarity conference, co-hosted by the Center for Plain Language and Scribes (the American Society of Legal Writers). Clarity is an international organization focusing on legal language. As a member of any of these organizations (as many of you are), you receive a special conference rate.