ClearMark Awards

The Center for Plain Language holds its fourth annual ClearMark Awardsnext Tuesday at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. The ClearMarkAwards note documents that are the best at following plain language principles.Awards will be given in several different categories to corporations, nonprofitorganizations, and government agencies.
While the serious ClearMark Awards are the true purpose of the ceremony,attendees are often more entertained by the WonderMark Awards. TheseSaturday Night Live-style parody awards are titled WonderMark because “Iwonder what they were thinking when they wrote this?”
On Tuesday, four diverse organizations will receive the WonderMark Awards.They include a private financial investment firm, a U.S federal agency (onethat has won a WonderMark Award in the past), a physician’s practice, and anInternet company.
By the way, the WonderMark Awards are FREE and submissions are acceptedall year. So if you run into a document, form, or website that is so badit’sfrustrating to use, feel free to nominate it for a WonderMark Award at the Center’swebsite.
This year’s ClearMark Awards ceremony will be held after the Center’s plainlanguage workshops on Writing for the Web and on How to Use Visual Cuesin Plain Language Writing.
Writing for the Web is designed to teach participants how to create usefuland usable web content using real examples that review concepts, bestpractices, and testing methods used by experienced plain language writersand content strategists. It will be presented by Kath Straub, PhD, Director,Usability.org, and Annetta L. Cheek, PhD, Board Chair, Center for PlainLanguage.
In the second workshop titled How to Use Visual Cues in Plain LanguageWriting, participants will learn how to use visuals effectively as part ofplain language writing. . The workshop will be presented by Josiah Fisk,President, More Carrot.
Space is still available for the workshops and ClearMark Awards dinner. Go tothe Center’s website for more information.