Thank you, Deanna Lorianni

As the volunteer who has co-chaired the Center’s ClearMark Award event for the past 2 years, Deanna Lorianni manages the Center’s premier annual event. Working with board member Meghan Codd…

Volunteer Recognition: Lee Clark Johns

Lee Clark Johns How are we doing? That’s the question that prompted my easy “yes” when I was asked to judge entries for the ClearMark Awards. After three years as…

April 2018 Volunteer of the month: Brooke Ellis

…have – the annual ClearMark Awards. She joins Solstice Benefits colleague and Center board member, Alissa Gavrilescu as co-chair for the 2018 awards event scheduled for May 8 in Washington,…

Queen for a few days

My group won the ClearMark Grand Prize in 2013. We were thrilled! My colleague and I graciously accepted the award and headed for champagne at the bar next door. I…

Is Government writing growing more plain?

Report Card 2015

…submissions and scored them against the same criteria we use to judge our annual plain language awards (by the way, The ClearMark awards season is ramping up right after the…

Workshops and Webinars

…Small Readers: Creating a Lay Summary for Kids That Won the 2026 Grand ClearMark 3 September, 2026 | 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET | Online Go behind the scenes of…

Rolling with Report Cards

2014 Report Card

…real-life document’s context. We are also tweaking the review criteria to closely match that of our ClearMark awards. The people reviewing the documents will use the following criteria to assess…

2016 Report Card

…judge our annual plain language awards, the ClearMarks—our competition for the best plain writing in private and public sector communications.[2] Download the complete 2016 Federal Plain Language Report Card: Report…

2017 Report Card

ClearMarks—our competition for the best plain writing in private and public sector communications.[1] Center volunteers served as graders. They applied these criteria according to the specific features of each document…

2017 Report Card

ClearMarks—our competition for the best plain writing in private and public sector communications.[1] Center volunteers served as graders. They applied these criteria according to the specific features of each document…

Happy 10th Anniversary Plain Writing Act

Reflecting on 10 years of the Plain Writing Act

…Act from home. Thanks to everyone who sent in images of past ClearMark winners, training materials, and video testimonies. Happy birthday, Plain Writing Act of 2010! Thank you to all…

2022 Federal Plain Language Report Card

…is partially attributed to a change in the 2022 grading rubric for the Federal Report Card, adapted from the ClearMark Awards, which removes the requirement for agencies to submit information…

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Before and After Examples

Our list includes examples of Legal documents Consumer education materials Letters and Notices Regulations Get involved If you have an example to add, you can enter it in the ClearMark

Members-only opportunity to advertise with purpose

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…— whether it’s advocating for transparency in government communications, hosting the ClearMark Awards, or educating organizations about the power of plain language. Your membership and listing contributions help advance a…