Language awards salute the good and the gobbledygook in government, business

In a not-so-subtle jab at bureaucratic language often found in U.S. Code or the Federal Register ("in witness thereof," "notwithstanding" and "directive," among other classics), the Center for Plain Language awarded its National ClearMark Awards on Thursday for the best and worst examples of language in government, business and the nonprofit community.

The center distributed ClearMark awards for examples of good language and WonderMark awards for examples of the worst. HealthWise, an Idaho-based nonprofit group, won the Grand ClearMark Award for a video describing a back pain product. Four federal agencies earned either recognition:

ClearMark Awards

The Federal Trade Commission won the "Best Original Public Document" award for its new financial model privacy form, essentially a document that financial institutions can use to develop privacy notices for consumers. Judges said the form "reflects a balance of required regulation and industry comments, and an easy-to-read and well-organized design."

HealthFinder.gov, a Web site operated by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, won for best public sector Web site. It was developed after extensive research involving more than 750 people.

"This site hits the mark with its simple-to-use and easy-to-understand format. It provides people at all levels of literacy with relevant health-care information," judges said.

WonderMark Awards

U.S. Customs and Border Protection won the Grand WonderMark Award for the I-94 form, the document tourists must complete before entering the country. One judge described the form as "rife with language that is confusing, arcane, bureaucratic, bizarre, and downright offensive." (Questions on the form include "Have you ever been or are you now involved in espionage or sabotage?")

A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman would not comment on the honor but noted that the form will be phased out and replaced in coming months with an electronic version that includes tutorials in several languages.

The Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education was also cited for a final regulation it issued last July about student loans. The regulation included two sentences of 84 and 75 words and was cited for "confusing languages, legalistic terms and incomprehensible lists."

"Paragraphs do not start with main ideas," one judge noted. They recommended tables and charts instead.