Love and plain language
…sleep. The day just doesn’t feel complete without it. On Valentine’s Day, however, we won’t do anything special. No office deliveries of long-stemmed red roses. No Hallmark greeting card with…
Stop the Scroll: Why Government Social Media Needs Plain Language – Shuly Babitz
…Language One of the biggest mistakes government communicators make is writing social posts the same way they write reports or press releases. Social media works differently. People scroll fast. They…
Center for Plain Language honors March of Dimes with the Grand ClearMark Award; Charles Schwab captures the Grand WonderMark Award
…meets its purpose. The information sounds credible and the case studies make the findings accessible and relevant. Given the purpose of the report, the information is well organized and visually…
Making decisions for your health: Getting the info you need
…the correct dosage is or how to measure it? Are you comfortable asking your doctor questions when you receive a lab report and don’t understand the results? Do you understand…
2016 ClearMarks announced
…Plain Language board member and WonderMark lead. “This map, and the handy 44-page report that accompanies it, tells you that the area is served by 79 wells. Why would anyone…
2018 ClearMark winners
…Department of Agriculture Ethics App – QuickSeries Publishing Inc. Business Center – Minnesota Department of Revenue My Transplant Coach – Health Literacy Media 2016 Annual Report – Blue Cross Blue…
Building and sustaining a culture of plain language – Hennepin County, Minnesota
…scannable Since 2011 we’ve taught roughly 250 classes to county employees, focusing many of the sessions on specific types of communications (email, court reports, property tax documents, etc.). How we…
Save time and money: best practices to build and sustain a plain language program
…it on their website home page website and through internal newsletter articles and local newspaper stories. Kathryn reported regularly to senior leaders “evidence that our plain language efforts increased trust…
Celebrate Excellence in Plain Language at the 2025 ClearMark Awards!
…We will recognize excellence in plain language communication across a variety of categories, including: Digital Content – Websites, social media, and digital communications Print Materials – Brochures, reports, and public-facing…
Make your prose lean in 2015
…or report, and your reader is slogging through your prose like a shopper in a department store’s returns line the day after Christmas. If one considers the fact that there…
Time Privacy Policy
…as follows: Google Facebook LinkedIn Apple Uber Twitter Lyft Access our full report and then read TIME.com’s article, These Companies Have the Best (And Worst) Privacy Policies. Why are Privacy…
April 2018 Volunteer of the month: Brooke Ellis
…Alissa, adding, “We greatly appreciate her organization, hard work, and innovative ideas.” When asked how things are going, Brooke reports, “I’ve had a great experience so far. Everyone at the…
Advocate for Plain Language
…communicate clearly, people can’t Fill out forms or report data correctly Access benefits that they need and are entitled to Follow instructions If your content is written in plain language,…
Plain Language Pros: Fight the “Cobbler’s Kids” Syndrome
…working time. In fact, a recent report shows that the average white-collar employee spends 4.1 hours a day checking email. Over a career, that adds up to 47,000 hours —…
Join Us at the 2026 ClearMark Awards
…across a wide range of communication types; from forms and websites to reports, presentations, and digital tools. Winning entries demonstrate how clear communication can improve understanding, support better decisions, and…