THE LAB library

Each year the Clear Language Lab honors a community organization that has shown meaningful commitment to equitable communication and plain language. This year we are happy to acknowledge the work of Cook Uptown People's Law Center (UPLC) as the recipient of the Clear Language Lab’s Community Leader Award. Having access to high quality legal services is essential but not always accessible. UPLC is a vital, community-based legal clinic that focuses on supporting marginalized pe

It could be an email, a routine notice sent out to clients, or an answer to a direct chat in a work messaging portal. We send messages every day, but sometimes invisible barriers in our writing make it harder for readers to find, understand, and use our message. There are some questions we should ask to make sure that we aren’t making things harder for those reading our message. Is my purpose for writing clear? (Have a clear purpose) You can have organized, relatable text. Cl

Introduction Have you ever started reading a document, paused halfway through, and went back to the beginning to start over? It sounded ‘professional’, but you weren’t sure what it actually said or what you were supposed to do next. This often happens in ‘professional’ writing. Someone uses complex words and long sentences to sound credible and knowledgeable, but it only confuses their readers. Professional writing helps people understand, decide, and act. If what you write