Department of Citywide Administrative Services

Course Writing in Plain Language and Clinic - (CMPD-7833-F24)

Portfolio Personal Development

Cost $ 485.00 Per Participant

Prerequisite(s) None

Credits CEU:0.9, CPE:12, PDC:9

Modality Instructor Led Classroom Training

Classroom Room 24-8

Address 1 Centre Street, 24th floor south, NY, NY 10007.

Instructor(s) Philip Vassallo

Class Description

Writing in Plain Language and Clinic

The Federal Plain Language Writing Act of 2010 requires government employees to write in a plain language that is “simple and easy to understand, with the goal of minimizing uncertainty and litigation”. The one-day workshop and half-day clinic are designed to provide you with the tools to write in plain language while maintaining a level of professionalism reflective of your position and agency. You will have many opportunities to practice the course principles through writing, revising, editing, and proofreading activities.

The workshop covers all the course content. You may bring to the seminar a work-related writing sample for a confidential review by the course leader. Between the workshop and half-day clinic, approximately one month later, you will have an opportunity to write a new work-related assignment and e-mail it to the course leader. During the clinic, you will again receive confidential feedback on your writing development based on plain language principles. It is a computer-assisted course to reflect the way you write on the job.

Objectives:

• Organize ideas effectively
  • Use visual design to reinforce the content
  • Edit sentences for fluency
  • Use active and passive voice effectively
  • Maintain conceptual and grammatical consistency in sentence structure
  • Employ techniques to reduce verbiage and highlight key ideas
  • Proofread messages for correct grammar and proper diction

Target Audience: Professional staff who need to convey complex language in simple terms to enhance readability