A year ago, President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act. It requires the federal government to write all new publications, forms and publicly distributed documents simply and directly.
Plain language is defined as “writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience.” In other words, people have to be able to understand it.
This effort began years ago when Bureau of Land Management employee John O’Hayre wrote a book after World War II called “Gobbledygook Has Gotta Go.”
Using plain language can help federal government employees say what they mean without extra word clutter. “A government by the people and for the people should also be understood by the people,” said the watchdog Web site, allgov.com.
USDA has developed its own materials to assist employees with Plain Language training and compliance. The training guides employees through the process of using plain writing when preparing documents.
