Plain Language
Plain language is defined as content that helps an audience find what they need and understand that information on their first encounter.
At the Office of Unemployment Insurance Modernization, we recognize that plain language is critical to how we communicate about Unemployment Insurance. It helps claimants better understand the complexities of the UI system and more easily access benefits for which they’re eligible. It also helps states by enabling more efficient internal and external communication.
We've developed this portfolio of plain language resources for states to use as they continue to improve their UI content. Use whichever resources will benefit your team the most, and if you have questions or feedback, please contact us - we'd love to hear from you.
Featured Articles
Plain language content workshops
The Plain Language team developed three workshops to provide states with introductory knowledge and selected resources on the topics central to the questions.
UI Lexicon research work
Learn about the research we did to create the UI Lexicon, a collection of the most commonly used UI terms across states.
Use Plain Language for UI Applications
Clearer questions mean better understanding and fewer mistakes for everybody, regardless of reading level or English fluency. Arkansas, New Jersey, and U.S. Department of Labor collaborated with content strategist to develop the sample language and approaches based on plain language best practices.
Resources
Plain Language Repository
Browse our collection of plain-language notices and forms you can customize to use in your state.
Our Plain Language Approach and Resources
We’ve created this document for states to use in their content engagements with vendor teams. It outlines how we define plain language, resources we use as we’re writing new – or editing existing – content, and some traits we look for in the teams we work with.