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.
Writing
Resources on Writing
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 …
PlainLanguage.gov —A resource to help federal employees write in plain language and comply with the Plain Writing Act of 2010.
Style Guides by Government Agencies —This page is a collection of style guides created by government agencies.
Plain Language Web Writing Tips —Help your readers complete their tasks with these Plain Language writing tips.
Join a Community of Practice
Federal Communicators Network —Brings together government communicators to improve communication and make government more effective.
Plain Language —Brings together everyone to promote use of plain language, saving agencies time and money and providing better service to the public.
News and Events on Writing
36 posts
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
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.
Communities
8 Ways Community of Practice (CoP) Managers Can Improve Member Engagement on Listservs
Are you a Digital.gov Community of Practice (CoP) lead? Find yourself participating in a CoP discussion and wondering what else you can do? We’ve got some suggestions.
Plain Language
Positioning Yourself as a Plain Language Editor
Learn how to brand yourself as a plain language expert and get the credit at work that you deserve!
Marketing
Five Insider Secrets to Engaging Emails
Engaging readers who receive hundreds of emails a day is not easy, but it starts with the most critical starting point—empathy for their time.
