Good Language award for IRS
THERE is a Law in US of A called The Plain Writing Act of 2010 which requires the federal government to write all new publications, forms, and publicly distributed documents in a “clear, concise, well-organized” manner that follows the best practices of plain language writing. The purpose of this Act is to improve the effectiveness and accountability of Federal agencies to the public by promoting clear Government communication that the public can understand and use. The term `plain writing' means writing that the intended audience can readily understand and use because that writing is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices of plain writing.
And there is a Center for Plain Language which gives awards for best plain language documents. This year the US IRS has won the award for two of its recently amended notices for the following traits:
++ Very easy to find instructions and follow them.
++ Effectively uses “we” and “you” to clearly and personally identify the party who has the duty.
++ Active voice and clear, concise language used throughout.
++ Solid use of descriptive, bolded headings.
++ Good use of white space, bulleting, and bold type for items within main headings.
We, in India, should really have something like this. If there is any award for bad language in legislation, the Indian IRS will win it hands down – Can any one beat this? “exempts all goods, other than those which are clearly not to be used as fertilisers ”