The City of Eden Prairie is committed to communicating to the public using language that is easy to understand.

This effort is a continual work in progress and stems from the Plain Writing Act of 2010, which requires all federal agencies to write "clear government communication the public can understand and use." The goal is for agencies to produce "writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and consistent with other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience."

The City shares this goal and believes that plain writing should be used in all government communications, not just at the federal level. Therefore, we have adopted the federal standards for Eden Prairie communications.

Why use plain language

Millions of Americans have limited English literacy, and we all struggle with unfamiliar jargon. Benefits of using plain language include:

• Increased audience satisfaction and understanding of message
• Increased access to services and benefits and increased compliance with regulations
• Decreased costs to the organization through reduced phone calls and faster processing

In addition, documents written using plain language are more likely to meet accessibility standards and are easier to have translated.

For more information on the benefits of using plain language, visit PlainLanguage.gov.

Let us know how we’re doing

You can help us meet our plain language goals by telling us when we fall short. If you have trouble understanding any of our documents or any material on our website, please contact the Communications Division.