Plain language on onrr.gov: coordination and implementation with web content owners
Strategies, examples, and lessons learned from coordinating with content owners to enhance plain language on onrr.gov. — via DOI Revenue Data
Plain Language
Resources on Plain Language
Lessons from the 2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card —This event recap highlights best practices, a short case study video, and examples of federal web content that received both high and low …
Multilingual Huddle: Designing for Translation —In this webinar, Laura Godfrey and Fedora Braverman share tips for translating content in the digital context.
How to Present Like a Pro —Wendy Wagner-Smith of the Small Business Administration (SBA) shares her tips and tricks for presenting virtually.
Bilingual Glossaries, Dictionaries, and Style Guides —Multilingual resources to standardize the use of various languages across government.
PlainLanguage.gov —A resource to help federal employees write in plain language and comply with the Plain Writing Act of 2010.
An Introduction to Accessibility —An introduction to accessibility, and why it matters.
Style Guides by Government Agencies —This page is a collection of style guides created by government agencies.
OMB Final Guidance on Implementing the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (M 11-15) —Provides final guidance on implementing the Plain Writing Act of 2010 and is designed to promote the goals of the president’s Open …
Plain Writing Act of 2010 —The law requires that federal agencies provide clear communication about government information and services for the public.
Federal Plain Language Guidelines —The Plain Language Action and Information Network (PLAIN) put together these federal guidelines to help implement the Plain Language Act of …
Plain Language Web Writing Tips —Help your readers complete their tasks with these Plain Language writing tips.
Tools and Services
PlainLanguage.gov —Guidance on the use of plain language for government communications and training for federal employees.
The Guide to the Paperwork Reduction Act —Get help with the PRA, planning and submitting an information request, and finding your agencies agency’s PRA contact.
Open Opportunities —Discover opportunities across government that will help you build and make connections.
Join a Community of Practice
Communicators —Brings together government communicators to improve communication and make government more effective.
Plain Language —Brings together government plain language practitioners to promote use of plain language, saving agencies time and money and providing …
News and Events on Plain Language
42 posts
A happy compromise between people-first and plain language
Find out how the National Institute of Corrections is using people-first plain language in its communications. See what words and phrases they’re changing.
How to manage a federal website
Managing government websites is a targeted exercise. Here are 5 steps to help you build and maintain a successful one.
To Build Trust, Aim for Easy
Trust is earned through consistency and commitment. Build sites that build trust by considering user needs, respecting people’s time, and avoiding customer experience pitfalls.
Tips for communicating about your research with non-scientists
Using plain language to describe your work is not only important, it’s also part of the NIH mission and federal law. Here are some tips for telling the public about your research and why it matters.
Jargon Madness: A Plain Language Exercise
During the 2022 Plain Language Summit, Laura Rabuck of the Veterans Health Administration demonstrated how to promote plain language practices by focusing on jargon, a common enemy of all plain writers.
User Research
Managing Stakeholder Feedback: Lessons from Experience
During the 2022 Plain Language Summit, Stephanie Morrison from the Department of Health and Human Services provided five tips for managing reviewers when asking for feedback.
Content Design for beta.ADA.gov: Writing for Action and Flexibility
Content Design for beta.ADA.gov: Writing for Action and Flexibility—18F worked with a team at the Department of Justice to redesign ADA.gov. They helped them launch beta.ada.gov, and designed new content for some of the most sought-after ADA topics. — via 18F
Multilingual
10 Tips to Create, Maintain, and Present Non-English Digital Content: A Q&A with Michael Mulé
This question and answer session for our webinar, Language Connections: Tips to Create, Maintain, and Present Non-English Digital Content, can help you improve access to your multilingual digital content.
Lessons from the 2021 Federal Plain Language Report Card
During the Digital.gov and Plain Language Community event, Results of the 2021 Federal Report Card, speaker David Lipscomb gave examples of web content that received both high and low scores in the 2021 Plain Language Report Card. Here’s what we learned.
Multilingual
Webinar Recap: How To Best Connect With Your Spanish-speaking Audience During an Emergency
In this panel discussion, experts from different agencies shared how they’ve used social media to reach Hispanic audiences during emergencies and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plain Language
Keynote Speaker Recap: Would More Plain Language Have Saved Us From the Worst of the Pandemic?
A summary of Cynthia Baur’s keynote at the 2021 Plain Language Summit.
Plain Language
Webinar Recap: Key Takeaways on Simplifying Hazard Communications With Plain Language
An overview of the presentation by Danielle Nagele of NOAA at the 2021 Plain Language Summit. Learn how she and her team used feedback to decrease confusion and increase impact.
Professional Development
Webinar Recap: The Part-Timer
Learn how Joanne Short of the United States Postal Service (USPS) opened professional doors by going beyond her job description in her Plain Language Summit session, The Part-Timer.
How to Present Like a Pro
How to Present Like a Pro—When you are presenting on streaming video, you are essentially doing the same thing as a television news anchor. Try these common methods that television presenters use daily to improve your presentation skills in the “zoom” era. — via Digital.gov
