Early this summer, TIME.com asked the Center for Plain Language to evaluate some online privacy notices, using the types of assessment we use for our ClearMark awards and our Federal Plain Language Report Card. I took the lead on the project and learned some great lessons along the way. TIME.com published the article in August.
Center News
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:
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.
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.