Why Plain Language is Right for Business
Have you heard of plain language? Plain language is language that helps readers find, understand, and use the information you present to them. It is based on 5…
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Category: Health Literacy
Celebrating the Gift of Friendship and Shared Knowledge
I want to wish a Happy New Year to everyone in 2021. Last year was a challenging year that had, for me, some serendipitous silver linings. On the challenging…
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Access for All Conference
Organized around, International Plain Language Day (held on 13 October each year), 2020’s virtual edition of Clarity International’s Conference “Access for…
Read more »Health Literacy Month is Coming!
October is Health Literacy Month. Health Literacy Month is a time for organizations and individuals to promote the importance of understandable health…
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A Brief History of the Spanish Language
(¿Lo quieres leer en español? Aquí está.) The word “grammar” refers both to the rules that govern language production and comprehension and to the study of…
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Respect and Tolerance: Plain Language can Help!
We can all do our part to keep each other safe, to promote respect, to care for our planet. In this moment of painful events–that bear witness to how much work…
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Event 201 Explained: a Pandemic Simulation about a Fictional Coronavirus (not Covid-19)
In October 2019, the World Economic Forum, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation worked on a pandemic…
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The Unintended Good from an Unexpected Evil: Covid-19 Effects on Nature, Will They Last?
Covid-19 is causing the most disruptive effect on lifestyle seen in the 21st century. The news on global climate change didn’t prompt people to change habits.…
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The Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 and Plain Language
The virus is spreading as a disease (so far over 90,000 people infected and over 3,000 dead) but is also spreading a lot of confusion. As a pathogen (a cause…
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Health Literacy is Multidimensional
Health Literacy has been understood as literacy applied to health information. But we now know that communication is a dialogue, so even at the federal level,…
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Don’t “you know?” Them: Turning the “Teach-Back” Technique Around on Doctors for Patient Advocacy
Language is key at the doctor’s office. Improving physician-patient communication can have huge benefits. In fact, an AHRQ study found that after implementing…
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Plain Awesome PLAIN 2019 Conference in Oslo
How fitting that the 2019 Plain conference, whose theme was “Clear communication – clear results” was in Norway! The true north of plain language is actionable…
Read more »The Spanish Editors Association
SEA, the new Spanish Editors Association in the US The Spanish Editors Association is the brainchild of the determination and daydreaming of a group of…
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