Open Government at the National Archives

Plain Writing at the National Archives

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to write "clear Government communication that the public can understand and use." President Obama also emphasized the importance of establishing "a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration" in his January 21, 2009, Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.

We at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) are committed to writing new documents with clearly written content that the public can understand and use by October 2011, using the Federal Plain Language Guidelines.

How are we meeting the goals of the Plain Writing Act?

1. We've assigned staff to oversee our plain writing efforts:

Senior Official for Plain Writing: Donna Garland
Plain Writing Working Group: Kimberly Richardson (chair)

2. We've assembled a working group to review and update NARA's Style Guide.

Our employees will have a reliable source that describes how to write clearly for their audience, whether they are typing a letter, describing the contents of a group of federal records, answering a customer's email query, or updating a web page.

3. We're training our employees and managers to use plain writing in any document that:

is necessary for obtaining any federal government benefit or service or filing taxes;
provides information about any federal government benefit or service; or
explains to the public how to comply with a requirement that the federal government administers or enforces.

4. We must report our progress and compliance with the Act to Congress and the public by July 13, 2011, and follow up with a progress report each year.

You can download and view a copy of our reports below: