Posts Tagged ‘Plain Writing’
Eliminate “Necessary” and “Unnecessary” for Better Communication in Writing
Get rid of these two major sources of uncertainty and ambiguity for better communication and to become a better writer… I forgot the number of times in private and corporate communications that I came across expressions, directions, or statements that went something like this: “All unnecessary travel requests should be postponed until further notice.” Even…
Read MoreHow to Eliminate Nominalizations
Introduction The subject of how to eliminate nominalization was again brought forward at an STC event held in Bethesda, Maryland. STC Washington DC Baltimore Chapter Last night (March 27, 2019) we enjoyed yet another STC Washington DC Baltimore Chapter’s Competition Awards Banquet. (In case you are not aware of it, STC WDCB is running a…
Read MoreUsing "In Question" in Plain Writing
I have a confession to make. I have a bad habit. Once in a while I emphasize an object with the qualifier “in question”. For example: “Save the variable in question to the database.” What I really mean, in terms of plain writing, is very simple: the pronoun “this”. I could easily say “save THIS…
Read MoreHow to Remember When to Spell Out Numbers in MS Word
Here is an easy way to remember when to spell out numbers in MS Word… You probably wonder when to write a number in Arabic numerals and when to spell it out openly. You don’t have to guess that anymore. MS Word has a grammar setting that lets you know whether you are doing it…
Read MorePlain Writing Online Course
(Copyright-free photo by Nick Morrison at Unsplash dot com) © Ugur Akinci Plain Writing is not only a good idea but it’s now the law of the land in the United States since October 13, 2010. See: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/obama-signs-law-understand/story?id=11902841 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-946 Very soon all U.S. Government departments and agencies will have to produce all their documents in…
Read MoreA Great Government Web Site Dedicated to Plain Language: http://www.plainlanguage.gov
© 2010 Ugur Akinci President Barack Obama ushered in a new age in technical communications by signing the “Plain Writing Act of 2010” on October 13, 2010. According to this, within one year, all U.S. government agencies are supposed to generate only documents written in a plain language. I found this excellent federal web site dedicated to the Plain…
Read MorePresident Obama Signed Plain Writing Act of 2010
© Ugur Akinci A new era has begun in the United States when President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010 on October 13, 2010. According to this, all U.S. government agencies and offices are now mandated to create all their documents and communications in clear, uncomplicated English. Here is the text of…
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