Fascinating to read last week that as of October this year, the US will be enforcing a Plain Writing Act on all documents for public consumption. Although the federal government will still be able to \u2018write nonsensically to itself’, any new or revised documents produced for the public will be written under the Act.
\nIt\u2019s been a slow burner, cooking since Clinton\u2019s administration, but with Annetta Cheek as its driving force, the federal government is well on its way to clarity.
\nAs the source article illustrates, simple changes can make a big difference. Clearer, simpler language will ensure people understand exactly what is being done for and to them, and what the government expects of them too. That means less money wasted, (hopefully) less rules misunderstood and therefore broken, and a fairer system of benefits. Significant consequences of a seemingly obvious requirement for clearer communication.
\nThe Act will essentially provide a list of dos, don\u2019ts and alternative phrasing. Examples of the don\u2019ts include \u2018promulgated\u2019, \u2018herein\u2019, \u2018evidenced\u2019 and \u2018in accordance with\u2019. It also insists that each government agency has a senior official responsible for overseeing written communications, a section of its website dedicated to their efforts and employee training to ensure steady progress.
\nWhat are your thoughts on the Plain Writing Act? If you\u2019re as enthralled as we are, it would be great to chat – is there a way that the British government can build on its own efforts to communicate more clearly?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fascinating to read last week that as of October this year, the US will be enforcing a Plain Writing Act on all documents for public consumption. Although the federal government will still be able to \u2018write nonsensically to itself’, any new or revised documents produced for the public will be written under the Act. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n