Resources for producing government documents written in plain, clear, easy-to-understand language. PLAIN is a community of federal employees dedicated to the idea that citizens deserve clear communication from government and that using plain language saves federal agencies time and money and provides better service to the American public.

General principles of writing provided for those who work for government, either as communications professionals or content specialists.

Designed to achieve uniform word and type treatment and economy of word use in the writing and printing of U.S. government publications.

Quick reference for dividing words into syllables, as well as a spelling and pronunciation guide.

This guide from the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Legislative Council provides key questions to consider, a simple template to follow, and other information that can be useful to someone organizing and drafting a bill as well as to anyone who is analyzing a bill.

This guide from the House Office of the Legislative Counsel provides a detailed explanation of the forms of legislation, organizational structure, use of particular legislative provisions, and important conventions used in drafting a bill for the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Office of the Legislative Counsel is the legislative drafting service of the U.S. House of Representatives. This manual provides a method for insuring a uniform style of drafting federal laws.

This Congressional Research Service (CRS) report was written to help members of the U.S. Congress and their staff prepare legislation for introduction. It explains essential elements of the process, including how to draft a bill, the mechanics of introduction, and the roles played by key House offices involved in the drafting, submission, and referral of legislation.

"A principal responsibility of House committees is to conduct markups—to select legislation to consider, to debate it and vote on amendments to it (to mark up), and to report recommendations on passage to the House. This manual examines procedures and strategy related to committee markups and provides sample procedural scripts."

This Congressional Research Service (CRS) report was written to assist U.S. senators and staff in preparing legislation to be introduced. It explains the process of introducing a bill, including drafting the bill, the mechanics of introduction, and the roles played by key Senate offices involved in the drafting, submission, and referral of legislation. Statistics on introduced bills and resolutions are appear in the final section to illustrate patterns of introduction in recent congresses.

The resources on this subject guide include federal and state drafting guidance, CRS reports, glossaries, and miscellaneous resources useful for researching current proposed federal legislation.

Instructions and template for drafting a bill to be submitted to the Princeton Model Congress, the oldest model congress in America. Students are encouraged to model their bills after real congressional legislation, but also to carefully examine real bills and improve upon them as they see fit.

This article from the Harvard Law School Journal on Legislation provides practical advice on drafting legislation for any jurisdiction, based on the author's experience on the New York State Legislative Bill Drafting Commission.

This manual explains how legislative drafting is done by the staff of the Texas Legislative Council and can be used as a training aid for new drafters, a reference for experienced drafters, and a resource for nondrafters who would like to understand more about drafts and the drafting process. Although this manual focuses on the more technical aspects of drafting such as citation form, style, and English usage, the drafter should not neglect the more challenging task of developing general legal skills and working with a legislator to develop from scratch a legally sound and workable legislative solution to a real life problem.

This resource from the National Council of State Legislatures (NCSL) compiles all the legislative drafting manuals for every state in the U.S. that has a manual available online. It also includes some congressional manuals and a few city or county manuals.

In order to help agencies produce clear, enforceable regulatory documents, the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, presents this guide to legal writing. It includes information on organizing; writing clearly; using words and expressions properly; punctuation, typography, and spelling; and proper format for regulatory documents.

Tips on writing to a state legislator or U.S. congressperson. Adapted from an article published by the American Library Association.

Reprint of an article by Representative Morris K. Udall, giving tips on how to write a letter to your congressman.

Tips on the most effective way to write a political letter to a British agency or official to express an opinion or urge a particular course of action.

Links to numerous Web sites that provide advice on how to write proposals seeking grants or contracts from government agencies and private sources.

Tips from Fedmarket on how to outline a proposal, how to put together a proposal writing library to draw information from, how to develop a template, how to write the proposal, and what to avoid.

The format for a Request for Proposal (RFP) from a federal government agency is mandated by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). They are typically broken down into sections that are identified by letter. This article explains what is contained in each section.

Advice on how to run an effective public relations operation.

Step by step instructions on how to use a press release, what information to include in it, and how to format it. Includes a template and numerous sample press releases.

This handbook and anthology provides a plethora of practical pointers to help federal government officials develop skills in public speaking and interacting with the media. It covers such communications basics as preparation, delivery, and follow-up, and includes reprints of articles by and about experts in public relations and image building.

This guide for members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers giving presentations to groups of other
employees or individuals outside the organization explains how to implement presentation techniques that will result in clear, concise communication via newspapers, mail, telephones, television, radio, and other media.

This bulletin from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention provides simple, step by step instructions for preparing any sort of presentation be it a speech, a panel discussion, a debate, a skit, a display, a demonstration, or a dramatic or musical performance. Any of these media can be used to stimulate discussion about an issue, educate people on a topic, or generate action in a community.

This bibliography from the Congressional Research Service lists numerous books and articles that give advice on how to give a speech and how to prepare a speech for oneself or someone else. In addition to practical how-to manuals, there are examples, analyses, and critiques of well-known speeches; anthologies of quotations and humorous anecdotes to liven up a speech; and a list of "info packs" containing material prepared by the Congressional Research Service to help members of Congress give speeches during specific holidays and other events such as graduations. Sadly, the info packs are only available to members of Congress.

An anthology of the most popular quotations that have been requested by members of Congress for inclusion in their speeches. This endlessly browsable anthology of quotations is organized by topic and includes an author index and a keyword and subject index,

This manual by communications expert John A. Kline takes speakers in the Air Force and other federal agencies step-by-step through the stages of effectively developing and presenting briefings, lectures, and speeches. Includes tips on overcoming nervousness and incorporating logical thinking, visual aids, humor, body language, and other techniques to keep the audience captivated from the introduction to the conclusion of any presentation. Kline has also authored a companion volume entitled Listening Effectively.

“Rhetoric,” wrote Aristotle, “is the power of determining in a particular case what are the available means of persuasion.” This Congressional Research Service report reviews some effective means for incorporating the rhetoric of persuasive communication in speeches written by congressional staff for members of the United States Congress.