Welcome!
Plain language – content that is clear and easy to understand – is critical to helping the public to make sense of their obligations and benefits. These guides are designed to help web managers and content strategists to understand why and how to create content that readers can understand. Not only is plain language more efficient and effective. It is also the law.
The Plain Writing Act of 2010 established the requirement that content for the public is written for its specific audience. These guides help you to understand how to create, design and test content so your specific audience understands it.
Ready to get started? Check out the guides below!
Featured Resources
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Principles of plain language
Overview of plain language principles, writing for your audience, and the Plain Writing Act of 2010.
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Writing for understanding
Overview of how to write clear content that follows plain language guidelines.
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Design for understanding
How content design can support plain language.
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Test for understanding
Learn how to test that your content is easily understandable.
This content is adapted from Plainlanguage.gov
Selections of PlainLanguage.gov content–especially those most relevant for digital teams–have been carried forward in this set of plain language guides. All of the original content from the PlainLanguage.gov website is archived in the PlainLanguage.gov GitHub repository. Specific former pages are viewable in the Guidelines section of the repository.
Header image credit: Andrew Ridley/unsplash.com/@aridley88