Plain Language Awards

Celebrate the stories of our clearest business communicators

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A line-up of the best for 2022 | Photo by Nicola Welby


Congratulations to all our 2021 winners — what a fabulous achievement! Our judges were so impressed with the quality of entries this year and you deserve all the praise you’ve received.

We loved hearing the plain language stories that you shared with us. And we’re proud that you’ve kept the torch burning bright for clear communication in such a busy year. So pat yourselves on the back for a job well done!


Our Awards champions — raising the bar for clear communication

An extra special shoutout to Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand, winner of the Plain English Champion — Best Organisation category. And another one to Lauren Kelindeman from Legalite in Australia, winner of the Plain English Champion — Best Individual or Team category. Your contributions to the plain language movement are making all the difference to the lives of everyone in our corner of the world.

As our founder Lynda Harris said,

Whether you’re a bold visionary, a passionate campaigner, or a quiet doer, you have qualities that the world needs more of. You have stories to tell about people who need clarity and connection. And you have the skills to inspire others to be champions like you.

So keep up the good fight and stand up for what’s right! Because you’re our champions for 2021 and we couldn’t be more proud.


Find out more about the 2021 winners

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Breathe new life into your documents and make them worthy of the Turnaround Award | Photo by Bryn Parish on Unsplash


What does it take to win the Best Plain Language Turnaround category? What does a winning entry in this category look like?

More than an edit or redesign

A top submission in the Best Plain Language Turnaround category will be more than an edited version of an original document. It’ll be more than a website that has been redesigned. More than information that has been restructured to be more reader-focused. More than information that has been user-tested for its target audience.


Coming from a place of care

A winning entry in the Best Plain Language Turnaround category will include many of the above qualities and then some. Above all, it will clearly have come from a place of care. An individual or team will have looked at the communication and thought, ‘This information is important and the people it’s serving deserve our time to make the information better serve its purpose’. In other words, the writers will be caring for their readers.


What judges have said about previous winning entries

Have a read of what our judges have said about some of our past turnaround winners.

Winner 2018: Infinite Possibilities Limited

‘This is a damn clever turnaround. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.’

‘A remarkable change! You’ve taken a legal document and turned it on its head. It’s brilliantly unconventional, witty, exudes personality, and was a pleasure to read.’

‘The word choice is casual and direct with a very distinct tone. Some people will clearly consider it unbusiness-like and will not do business with this company. Others will find it refreshing and will move forward — exactly the intent to weed out those clients who find it offensive and to sign on those who find it refreshing.’

Winner 2017: Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management

‘This is a terrific turnaround from a dull, wordy website to one that is lively, engaging, and easy to navigate. This organisation has done a great job of using multimedia, and their restructuring of the content works really well.’

‘The scenario-based navigation on the home page is friendly, colourful, and relevant, and this flows well into the more text-heavy pages further down in the site. The scenarios capture the reader’s attention and the short videos are hilarious — a great way to get people involved in thinking through how to be ready for a disaster or emergency.’

‘The layout and formatting are much cleaner, with good use of white space and headings to focus the eye. The tips are helpful and the key messages are brought to the fore much more than in the original. Great work!’

Winner 2015: OSPRI

‘You’ve done a great job with this rewrite. It’s a vast improvement on the original. This is a usable and useful document, which does the job well. Nice work!

Find out more about the Best Plain Language Turnaround category


Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards, Communications, Plain English Awards, Plain English Turnaround

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