The Plain Language Act directs agencies to write in clear, understandable language. At NASA we have many types of correspondence, ranging from scientific summaries to press releases to rules and directives. As you can imagine, technical terms can be hard to understand. Our goal is to do our best to follow the intent of the Plain Language Act and make our communications easier to read and to understand. Like other Federal agencies, we are used to certain styles of writing and find it hard to “break that mold.” However, we pledge to do our best to write in a common-sense style that will make it easier for you to understand what we are trying to say. We have many fascinating missions going on across the Agency, and we hope that our new emphasis on plain language writing will help keep you interested and informed.
Please take a look at the Government’s Plain Language Web site at www.plainlanguage.gov/index.cfm and at NASA’s Open Government Web site at http://www.nasa.gov/open/plainlanguage.html and tell me what you think. There are several links on these sites that will give you a good look at what plain language is all about. I look forward to hearing from you.