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Time: 2:00 to 3:30
Frank Boland, an
attorney in IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel, has been writing and reviewing
regulations for more than 20 years. Join
Frank at this month’s PLAIN meeting for a tour of the “sentence assembly line”
as he offers tips for clearing out the clutter in our documents, writing
understandable rules and regulations, and explaining rules and regulations.
Directions: The Federal Register Office is located three blocks north of the
Union Station Metro at: 800 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 700,
Washington DC 20001. Go through security in the lobby; you must have a
government-issued photo id. The Federal Register is located on the 7th
floor. Follow the sign saying public inspection to enter the lobby.
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Time: 2:00 to 3:30
In printed copy, spaces don’t help people
read. But in handwriting, they do. In this presentation, Kath Straub will describe how
handwritten spaces are different, why they help people read and how your agency
can use text formatting to make your important documents easier to read,
remember and act on. Specifically, she’ll describe research showing that
text-formatting helps people —particularly new readers, less skilled readers and
people reading in a second language—help people read and remember content more
effectively.
Directions: The Federal Register Office is located three blocks north of the
Union Station Metro at: 800 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 700,
Washington DC 20001. Go through security in the lobby; you must have a
government-issued photo id. The Federal Register is located on the 7th
floor. Follow the sign saying public inspection to enter the lobby.
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Time: 2-3:30 pm
Peg Hausman, writer-editor at the U.S. International
Trade Commission, will speak about grammatical urban legends. Some of these
bugbears are fairly harmless, while (or is it "whereas"?) others can get in the
way of plain writing. Bring examples of these pesky phenomena from your own
workplace—and any tips you have for dealing with them.
Peg
has been editing and teaching (writing, French, English grammar, and more) for
over ("more than"?) 35 years. See you there!
Directions: The Federal Register Office is located three blocks north of the Union
Station Metro at: 800 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 700, Washington DC
20001. Go through security in the lobby; you must have a government-issued photo id. The Federal Register is located on the 7th floor.
Follow the sign saying public inspection to enter the lobby.
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Time: 2-3:30 pm
Join Nicole Burton of GSA's First Fridays usability testing for a discussion of
what usability testing is, what First Fridays tests, what problems usability
testing reveals, and how First Fridays can help the plain language effort.
Directions: Time: 2-3:30 pm
Location: NOMA, Room 901, Constitution
Square
Directions: 1275 First
St, NE.
Nearest metro: New
York Avenue/Florida Avenue/Gallaudet University
Security: Your
name will be on a security list. Bring a government-issued ID
(if you have a Federal Government PIV badge, please bring that).
You'll need to go through security screening. Please arrive no
later than 1:50 to clear security.
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Time: 2-3:30 pm
This month Dees Stallings' presentation focuses on the potential for three "enablers" of plain writing standards: writing centers, style guides, and productivity measurements.
Learn how 21st-century writing centers and style guides - especially virtual ones - will allow unprecedented document quality control. Also consider how productivity measurements, including assessment methods and ROI calculators can foster a culture of continual improvement. These topics should be useful for all attendees, including managers, editors, consultants, and writers. Participants will be able to test the concepts with colleagues. Handouts provided.
Directions: Location:
USCIS, 20 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington DC. 20 Massachusetts Ave
is one block west of Union Station. Take the main Mass Ave exit and walk
right towards the U.S. Postal Museum. 20 Mass Ave is adjacent the Sun
Trust bank at the corner of North Capitol Street.
Security: Your name will be on a security list. Bring a
government-issued ID (if you have a federal gov't badge, please bring
that). You'll need to go through security screening and then a PLAIN
member will escort you to the room.
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Time: 2-3:30 pm
With the second annivesary of the Plain Writing Act of 2010 coming up this October, PLAIN still has very little data concering how well federal agencies are complying with the law. Please join us for a brainstorming session on encouraging agencies to collect, share, and use data on their use of plain language.
Directions: Location: The Federal Register Office is located three blocks north of the Union Station Metro at: 800 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 700, Washington DC 20001. Go through security in the lobby; you must have a government-issued photo id. The Federal Register is located on the 7th floor. Follow the sign saying public inspection to enter the lobby.
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Time: 2-3:30 pm
Come
join us for an exchange of information and ideas on editing and a
discussion of editing problems and solutions. No edit question is
too small or “dumb.” For those who can't attend, we will provide call-in information the day of the meeting.
Directions: Time: 2-3:30 pm
Location: VA
Office of Inspector General, 801 I Street, NW, TechWorld Building,
Room 1105
Directions: We
are located two blocks from the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro
station—exit at the big “fan” art and come out beneath the
Chinatown Gate. Walk one block up 7th
Street (you’ll pass Fadó
Irish Pub on your left and Nando’s Peri Peri on your right), turn
left at I Street, and walk one block to TechWorld. The VA OIG offices
are in the left-side building of TechWorld.
Security: Your
name will be on a security list. Bring a government-issued ID
(if you have a Federal Government PIV badge, please bring that).
You'll need to go through security screening. Please arrive no
later than 1:50 to clear security.
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Time: 2-3:30 pm
Yikes - our compliance plan is due! Join us in February to get a head start on writing your
agency's compliance plan. According to the Plain Writing Act, the head of each
agency must publish on the plain writing section of the agency’s website a
report on agency compliance with the requirements of this
Act.
- how you're measuring
compliance,
- what's
working,
- what's not,
and
- how you're going to
put this report together.
Directions: Time: 2-3:30 pm
Location: NOMA, Room
1101, Constitution
Square
Directions: 1275 First
St, NE.
Nearest metro: New
York Avenue/Florida Avenue/Gallaudet University
Security: Your
name will be on a security list. Bring a government-issued ID
(if you have a Federal Government PIV badge, please bring that).
You'll need to go through security screening. Please arrive no
later than 1:50 to clear security.
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Time:
We are not meeting this month. Enjoy August vacation!
Directions:
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Time: 2-3:30 pm
Speakers --
-- Linda Joy, NOAA public affairs officer -- "Why science needs plain
language"
-- Michael French Smith, anthropologist, author -- "Why scientists need
plain language"
Special tour: at 1:30, the new NOAA Gateway exhibit will be open for the
Plain group -- this is located by the Silver Spring Metro exit leading onto the
NOAA campus in 1325 East West Highway -- this small, but informative exhibit is
a great way to quickly get a sense of the scope of the science and services NOAA
provides every day. Directions: NOAA
1311-B East West Highway (follow the signs -- next to the building with the
Hand statue - 1315 East West Highway)
Please note: Metro if you can (Silver Spring Metro, exit via the south side
entrance OPPOSITE the construction)- a short walk between Buildings 1-2 (NOAA
Gateway will be on your left) meeting room is on East West Highway - there will
be signs posted and a map at the Gateway.)
Parking is practically non-existent at NOAA -- those parking in the Giant
lot across the street WILL BE TOWED.
Security: Your
name will be on a security list. Bring a government-issued ID
(if you have a Federal Government PIV badge, please bring that).
You'll need to go through security screening. Please arrive no
later than 1:50 to clear security.
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