We’re pleased to announce the annual ClearMark Awards for the best in plain language communication. Show the world your best plain language work!
Winners will be announced on October 2nd at the Clarity2020 Conference Gala in Washington, DC.
Read on to learn more about how to enter.
Awards and Entry Categories
Rules for Entering
Submission Fees
How to Submit
Need Help?
Awards and Entry Categories
We have nine entry categories for Original Work and two for Before and After. You can submit both Spanish or English documents.
The awards we give are:
Grand ClearMark Award (overall winner)
Category Winner (winner of the category)
Award of Distinction (finalists for the category)
Our 2020 entry categories are:
Original Work – Digital
Digital – Websites
Digital – Apps and Microsites
Digital – Email and
Original Work – Print Only
Newsletters
Letters/Print Correspondence
Posters, Charts, and Fliers
Original Work – Print or Digital
Infographics
Brochures
Legal Documents
Forms, Applications, and Statements
Before and After
Before and After – Digital
Before and After – Print
Original Work - Digital
Direct the judges to five pages you have selected as reflecting your strategy and presenting your most useful and helpful content.
This is the category where you may enter a blog for consideration, but note that your blog must exhibit very specific plain-language goals and strategies.
You may choose to include a page with a video if you feel that the video supports your message. However, we ask that you include a script for any videos you wish the judges to review.
Submit five screenshots that reflect your strategy and most helpful content. Judges will use only the screenshots; they will not be able to look at apps on their devices!
We define a microsite as a website with fewer than 20 web pages.
Apps can include native apps or a part of a website, such as a wizard, interactive advisor, or calculator.
You may choose to include a video if you feel that the video supports your message, but you must include the script.
Submit links or PDFs to your five best examples. If you are entering emails, put them all into one PDF.
Any email message or campaign is eligible, including those that mirror a print version (newsletter). There is no length requirement.
Original Work - Print Only
Submit your five best examples.
Any print letter or other communication sent via the USPS is eligible, and there is no length requirement.
You can submit just about any kind of informational or marketing brochure content. Please submit as a PDF.
Examples:
- Insurance Summary of Benefits
- Health Plan Summaries
- Workplace policies
- Marketing collateral (complex topics)
Original Work – Print or Digital
Submit either individual examples or a campaign (as a PDF). Your submission should visually communicate data while telling a story. If you submit as a campaign, share the context and strategy.
Submit individual examples or a campaign (as a PDF). Your entry should highlight how effective design and copy tell a story.
If you submit as a campaign, share the context and strategy.
This category is for documents that address legal issues or content. Submit your documents as a PDF.
Examples:
- Terms and Conditions
- Explanation of Benefits
- Bankruptcy forms
This category is for transactional forms and any type of application or statement. Submit as a PDF.
Examples:
- Online application
- Financial statement
Submit your best examples of transformed work. Showcase your content transformation, and share the story of how it happened.
Rules for Entering
- Your entry should have been released from 2017-2019.
- It should be for a North American audience (or released by an American organization that created the asset for people outside the United States).
- You may enter as many times as you would like.
- Please submit two entries when you enter a bilingual document in both Spanish and English categories.
- You’re not eligible if you entered the identical or similar asset(s) last year (revisions are okay).
Submission Fees
Your entry fees help pay for the cost of the awards.
Members: $180
Non-Members: $230
You can save on your entry fee by joining the Center for Plain Language for only $50 per year!
You’ll get the member rate on submissions and special events, information about international plain language standards, and access to our new forthcoming job list. It’s a good time to join now.
How to Submit
You can view the webinar.
Need Help?
If you have questions about the awards, please email us at info@centerforplainlanguage.org
If you’re having trouble using the submission form or logging in, please email support@submittable.com.