We’re excited to announce that entries are open! | Photo by James Lee on Unsplash
The Awards are officially open for entries in all categories. After a break in 2020, the Awards are back for 2021 — and they’re better than ever! We all saw the amazing benefits of clear and plain communications from the Government and health agencies. This heightened awareness of clear communication has set the scene beautifully for the return of the Plain English Awards.
Here’s what you need to know about the Awards in 2021. We’ve got a new unifying theme for the Awards, a combination of new and familiar judges, and all your favourite categories.
Tell the story of your plain language project
This year we’ve introduced a Story theme — and we’re offering you the chance to share your plain language stories through our video gallery. We’re particularly looking for people in workplaces to share stories about the benefits of their plain language projects. No project is too big or too small!
These stories will inspire others to embrace the benefits of plain language for organisations and their customers. We hope the gallery will become a go-to resource for people to get plain language inspiration.
Our judges and sponsors are joining in the fun as well. You can share a video without needing to enter the Awards. But we hope you’ll feel inspired to enter once you read about the available categories.
Check out the first videos in the gallery
Meet our judging panel
From Dunedin to Denver, Gisborne to Edinburgh, this year’s judging panel is made up of plain language experts from around New Zealand and the world. You’ve met some of them before and others are joining us for the first time in 2021. Together they make up an experienced and insightful team of plain language pros!
Find out more about this year’s judges
Choose your Awards category and get your entry ready
The Awards have a range of categories to suit almost every type of document (and websites).
If you’re starting off or pressed for time, you might consider entering the short and sweet Best Plain English Sentence Transformation. If you’ve transformed a whole document, you might be ready for the Best Plain English Turnaround. You can enter a Best Plain English Document or Website — with a choice of public or private sector.
For specialist business documents, you’ll find a Best Plain English Legal Document category and Best Plain English Annual Report. We’re seeing some of the finest examples of these documents coming through, with the quality of entries rising every year.
Specialist technical communicators have a category just for them. And those working on a team project or an organisation-wide project can enter the Champion categories.
Discover whether you’re a contender for the Champion category
Get some inspiration for the Sentence Transformation category
Review all the categories and find out how to enter
Nominate a best or worst communication
The Awards also include two categories that any member of the public can nominate communications for, to be judged by our People’s Choice judging panel. These are the People’s Choice Best Plain English Communication and the Worst Brainstrain Communication categories. These categories are always lots of fun — we love giving a voice to all of New Zealand.
Read about the People’s Choice in 2019
Get involved in the 2021 People’s Choice awards
Anne-Marie Chisnall May 31st, 2021
Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards, People's Choice awards, Plain English Awards
Tags: Best Plain English Communication, clear communication, clear writing, judges, People's Choice, People's Choice Awards, plain English, Plain English Awards, Worst Brainstrain
Media release: 7 May 2021
After holding off entries last year, the full Plain English Awards are back in 2021. The Awards will look a little different this year, with a virtual ceremony and some new ways for entrants to share their inspiring work in clear communication.
Fresh Awards with a new theme
This year’s theme for the Awards is Story. We’re inviting the public to share the stories behind their plain language projects in short videos. We’ll showcase these videos in a gallery to inspire and enlighten the wider public. The video gallery is open now.
‘A major goal for the Awards has always been to bring plain language into common use,’ says chair of the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust, Gregory Fortuin. ‘We know that stories raise awareness and inspire action. The more visible the stories of our entrants, the more sparks of possibility and innovation will be lit.’
All the familiar categories are back
This year’s Awards will feature all categories, including the two People’s Choice categories for Best Communication and the infamous Brainstrain.
‘As we’ve seen in the events of 2020 and beyond, clear communication makes a real difference in people’s lives,’ Gregory says. ‘Here’s a chance to celebrate all the great work that people having been doing over the past couple of years.’
Important dates for the 2021 Awards
- 1 June: Entries open
- 31 July: Entries close
- 30 September: Finalists announced
- 14 October: Winners announced
Big thanks to our media partner, Newsroom
The goodwill and support of our sponsorship partners keeps the Plain English Awards ticking. We’re immensely grateful to New Zealand-based news and current affairs site, Newsroom.co.nz for believing in our cause and being our media partner.
ENDS
Get more information
www.plainlanguageawards.org.nz
Jonathan Tan, project manager, 2021 Plain English Awards | enquiries@plainlanguageawards.org.nz
OR
Gregory Fortuin, Chair, WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust | 021 465 254
Nicola Welby May 7th, 2021
Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards, Communications, Media release, Plain English Awards, Story theme
Tags: 2021 Plain English Awards, Best communication, Best Plain English Communication, Brainstrain, clear communication, People's Choice, plain English, Plain English Awards, plain language, recognition, writing for the public
Great news! The Plain English Awards are back for 2021. Photo by Natalia Łyczko on Unsplash
Here’s the news we know lots of you have been waiting for — the Plain English Awards are back for 2021! They’ll look a little different this year, with a virtual ceremony and some new ways to share your inspiring work in clear communication.
Fresh Awards with a new theme
This year’s Awards will have the theme of Story. We’ll be inviting all entrants to share the stories behind their plain language projects in short videos. We’ll showcase your stories on the Awards website so that others can be inspired and enlightened by your work.
As Awards patron Chloe Wright puts it:
We need to be innovative and adapt to the current circumstances. I’m right behind the idea of sharing stories and as a storyteller myself, I will love reading of these experiences.
The Awards aim to bring plain language into common use and raise awareness in the community. So we hope the stories you share will show others the what, why, and how of your projects. You’ll get the opportunity to share what excites you about plain language, and the impact your work has had on the world.
Watch for more guidance soon on our Story theme.
All the familiar categories are back
We’ll have all categories available in 2021, including the two People’s Choice categories for Best Communication and the infamous Brainstrain.
Entries will open soon. Meanwhile put your thinking caps on and start creating the stories behind your potential entries.
Read about the 3-step process for entering the 2021 Awards
Take a note of these key dates
Here are the key dates we’ve planned so far for the 2021 Awards.
- Mid-April: Video story submissions open
- 1 June: Entries open
- 2 August: Entries close
- 16 September: Finalists announced
- 14 October: Winners announced
Let’s keep in touch
Sign up to our newsletter for the latest news
And if you’re interested in sponsoring the 2021 Awards, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Melissa to find out about sponsor benefits at enquiries@plainlanguageawards.org.nz
Anne-Marie Chisnall March 3rd, 2021
Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards
Tags: clear communication, People's Choice, Plain English Awards, plain language, recognition, sponsors, Story, video submission
Write Ltd. are proud sponsors of this year's People's Choice Awards. Image by Romain Vignes. Unsplash licence.
Like all great things, the Plain English Awards only exist because of the combined vision and ongoing commitment of a group of valuable supporters.
Many hands make light work
At the beginning of our 14-year history, it took a group of passionate professionals, led by Write Limited founder and CEO Lynda Harris, to develop the idea of the Awards and get them started.
Over the course of our history, we’ve relied on various supporters to help us maintain our momentum and keep us working towards our goals. Some have joined us for short periods of time; others have been with us from the start. Check out this year’s sponsors.
Write Limited is one of those long-standing supporters. New Zealand’s premier plain language consultancy, Write is also our founding sponsor. Write believes in using the power of words for good, so sponsoring the Awards fits perfectly with that purpose.
Find out more about why Write chooses to support the Plain English Awards every year
Discover the benefits of sponsorship
Curious about the benefits that sponsoring the Plain English Awards brings to your organisation? Please get in touch — we’d love to discuss sponsorship options with you.
Contact Awards project manager Melissa Mebus on enquiries@plainlanguageawards.org.nz, or call 04 384 6447 if you’d like to sponsor the Awards.
Nicola Welby July 29th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Sponsors
Tags: People's Choice, People's Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards 2019, plain language, power of plain English, Sponsorship, Write Ltd
Do you know someone whose writing makes you prickly? Nominate them for the 2019 Brainstrain award.
If you’ve been marking off the days on your calendar, you’ll know the time has come. Nominations for the 2019 People’s Choice Awards opened last Saturday.
Success worth being proud of
What we love about the People’s Choice Awards, and what many of you have told us you love too, is how our winners react to their success. Winners of our People’s Choice Best category are invariably enormously proud — and rightly so! Who wouldn’t be? Your work will have been singled out by a member of the public, judged against other outstanding entries, and deemed by the international judging panel to be the best!
Recognition to take in good humour
What about the winner of our award for the worst communication? Our Worst Brainstrain category recognises a document or website that a member of the public has found confusing, frustrating, obscure, or downright horrible. With all the potential fallout from winning this unenviable title, we love that our winners invariably accept their ‘success’ in good humour. And they see it as an opportunity to start over again, so that their communication serves its audience better.
Check out the acceptance speeches by some past winners of the People’s Choice Worst Brainstrain award:
Nicola Welby June 5th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Brainstrain, Winners
Tags: Best Plain English Document, Brainstrain, People's Choice, Worst Brainstrain
Is your writing like a can of worms? Image by Sam Howzit, Creative Commons 2.0 licence.
You’re in for a plain English treat over the next couple of years. This year we’re pushing the People’s Choice Awards to the fore (we’ll be back with the full Awards next year). So right now, in 2019, we’re giving all of you in the public domain the chance to nominate your most and least favourite communications.
Here are three great reasons to get involved this year.
You want to do something about frustratingly confusing communications
When you nominate a communication for the not-so-coveted Brainstrain award, you’ll be helping to make a positive difference to the way organisations communicate. Almost without exception, organisations step up to ‘take it on the chin’ when nominated for the dreaded bin of sour worm lollies. With the public scrutiny they get from winning the Brainstrain category, they’re motivated to change.
You want to share a wonderful example of clear communication with the world
We love to celebrate the great work happening in so many organisations that are improving the way they communicate. Winning the award for Best Plain English Communication is a public pat on the back for New Zealand’s clearest communicators. Help them get the recognition they deserve.
You want to help improve the lives of everyday Kiwis
The People’s Choice Awards help organisations to keep things real with their communications. If they win the Best Plain English Communication award, they’re recognised for getting things right for their audience. If, however, they win the dreaded Brainstrain award, they have plenty of incentive to change for the good.
Don’t muck about. It’s time to send your nominations for this year’s People’s Choice Awards!
Nicola Welby May 27th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Industry awards, People, Social good
Tags: Brainstrain, clear thinking, jargon, jargon-busting, People's Choice
'We worked for 3 years to get this!' Winner of the Best Plain English Document — Private sector Jacqueline Taylor celebrates her success. Photo by Rebecca McMillan Photography.
What an amazing ceremony last night! Congratulations to all our 2018 winners — you deserved all the recognition you got. The feedback you each received from your judges truly shows that plain English is alive and kicking in New Zealand. It also shows that, as a Trust, we’re making great strides towards fulfilling our goals.
‘Keep going and spread the word!’
A special mention to the winners of our Plain English Champion — Best Individual or Team category. The work that’s gone into the Better Letters Project at the Ministry of Social Development is seriously changing the lives of everyday New Zealanders.
Our judges got it right when they said, ‘Keep going and spread the word! Imagine what New Zealand’s public service might look like if every government department took this approach!’
Find out about this year’s winners
Take a look at photographer Rebecca McMillan’s wonderful photos of the ceremony
Melissa Wardell November 16th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 awards ceremony, 2018 winners, Finalists, Social good, Winners
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, 2018 Winners, Champion, clear communication, People's Choice
They're the sparkle on the plain English cupcake. Well done to this year's finalists. Photo by Audrey Fretz on Unsplash
Our judges have announced this year’s finalists. Find out who they are here
What makes an entry good enough to become a finalist? According to our judges, it’s all about being like this:
- ‘Overall, we have a strong example of how a company can take complex information and share the details both with clarity and with compelling storytelling. Kudos!’
- ‘I would certainly use this product as an example of effective plain writing and information design.’
- ‘This is an exemplary document.’
Now the countdown begins to our Awards ceremony on Thursday, 15 November, where we’ll announce and celebrate this year’s winners. Watch this space for details about how to get tickets.
Melissa Wardell October 18th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards, Finalists, Plain English Awards
Tags: 2018 finalists, 2018 Plain English Awards, Industry awards, People's Choice
We were lucky enough to have five judges make last year's Awards ceremony. From left are Simon Hertnon, Kylie McGrath, Rachael Fogarty, Rachel McApline, and Maryland Spencer. Image by A Beautiful Photo
Meet our incredible line-up of plain English experts — from around New Zealand and the world — who’ll be judging entries in this year’s Awards. We’re proud to have such a wonderful pool of experts, and honoured that they’ve all offered their time to help us decide on our finalists and winners. We’re also grateful for the feedback they’ll give to all shortlisted entrants.
Judges for the 2018 Plain English Awards
Melissa Wardell September 3rd, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards, Communications, Judges, People's Choice awards, Plain English Awards
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, champions, clear communication, People's Choice, Plain English Awards
You, the public, call the shots in the People's Choice awards. Photo by Stuart Guest-Smith on Unsplash.
Members of the public can praise a paragon of clarity or put forward a perplexing paper in the People’s Choice category of the Plain English Awards.
You can enter documents and websites for two awards:
- Best Plain English Communication — for the most outstanding example of a plain English document or webpage nominated by a member of the public
- Worst Brainstrain Communication — for a publicly available or widely used document or website that causes problems for many people.
How a Brainstrain award can help
The Brainstrain typically gets a lot of publicity. But even the winners of this category can turn the event into something positive. By shining a spotlight on entries in this category, Award organisers hope the entries will be rewritten in beautifully plain English.
Winners are welcome to blow their own trumpet
The winners of the Best Plain English Communication can share news of their win. They receive a logo to display on the winning publication and their email footer. They’ll also often have people blowing their trumpet for them — take a look at what stuff.co.nz had to say about last year’s winner, the Wellington City Council.
Entries come from everywhere
People nominate documents from likely and unlikely places.
The Wellington City Council’s newsletter Our Wellington Tō Tātou Pōneke won the ‘Best’ award in 2017. Judges said vibrant design and friendly language made the document appealing. ‘Successfully combines drier council initiatives with more exciting information on events.’
In 2016, a paper from researchers NZIER with the forbidding title ISDS and Sovereignty won. It succinctly explained a key point of contention in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It was ‘a breath of fresh air to readers used to struggling through lengthy, jargon-filled advisory documents’, said the judges.
KiwiSaver documents have won both the ‘Best’ and ‘Brainstrain’ awards.
How you can enter
You have until 3 September to enter a website or document. You need to submit an electronic copy of the entry — so if you’re entering a printed document, you’ll need to scan it.
Entries must:
- be whole documents or webpages, not extracts
- be in current use for business purposes
- be owned by an organisation that operates in New Zealand
- not be owned by the organisation you work for
- not be a book, or an extract from a book.
Your identity will not be revealed to the organisations you nominate, or to the judges.
Enter the People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication
Enter the People’s Choice — Worst Brainstrain Communication
Melissa Wardell June 29th, 2018
Posted In: People's Choice awards
Tags: Brainstrain, clear communication, People's Choice, People's Choice Awards, Plain English Awards
