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You are here: Home / Archives for Board News

Board News

Center Announces New Board Member Appointment

February 17, 2020

Kathryn Catania

We are pleased to announce our newest Board member, Kathryn Catania. Kathryn is a champion of providing information that is easy to find, understand, and use. She has more than 15 years’ experience promoting plain language in government writing.

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Do you have the write stuff?

March 27, 2018

US Uncle Sam

If you’re reading this, you are probably a pretty big enthusiast for plain language and are promoting the cause in some way or other. Thank you for that! Here’s a way you can help the cause even more – as a Board Member for the Center for Plain Language.
We’re holding elections next month for a number of openings on our corporate board and are looking for people with a passion for Plain Language.

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A Short History of the Center for Plain Language

January 3, 2017

As we look ahead to 2017, let’s take a look back at where we began.

How did the Center begin?

In the mid-1990s, a group of federal Plain Language advocates met monthly in Washington, DC. We called ourselves PEN – the Plain English Network. In 2000, we changed the name to PLAIN – the Plain Language Action and Information Network. And PLAIN still exists today.

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The role of plain language in ethics: A conversation with an author

October 14, 2015

Book cover

I recently watched a video where a patient defined “hypertension” as “when you’re not able to sit still.” It made me sad—and reminded me (again) why plain language, or clear communication, truly matters.

Since our founding in 1975, Healthwise has been committed to producing health information that people can understand. That was years before plain language became a discipline, a movement even, and the worthy focus of conferences, organizations and workshops. Now there’s a new book on the topic, Plain Language and Ethical Action, by Boise State University technical communications professor Russell Willerton.

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Optimizing your web content for plain language

September 16, 2015

Jeff Greer

When you search for something on the web, do you search for clinical terms and technology? Or do you think about a problem you need solved?

If you’re like most people, you think about your problems in plain language.

You’re more likely to search for “Do I have poison ivy?” than “Have I suffered exposure to toxicodendron radicans?”

That’s why it’s important to keep natural, everyday questions in mind when you’re creating content for the web.

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Why “active” voice is better than “passive”

April 22, 2015

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.

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