Plain English Awards entries up

Plain English Awards entries up

WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust

Judges in this year’s WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards are bracing themselves for another busy bout of judging. For the second year in a row, a bumper crop of nominations has been received.

Organisers say this shows the general public is less prepared to settle for gobbledygook and that businesses are increasingly recognising the value of communicating in plain English.

The Awards are held every year to acknowledge and reward companies and government departments that communicate clearly. Organisations proud of their documents can enter them for a range of awards and prizes.

Members of the public can tell businesses they appreciate their clear way of communicating by nominating them for a People’s Choice category award. Confusing documents full of jargon and gibberish can be nominated for People’s Choice—‘Brainstrain’ awards.

The deadline for entries is 27 July, so organisations and the public have less than two weeks left to enter. They can find out more and make nominations at the Plain English Awards website: www.plainenglishawards.org.nz.

WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards founder Lynda Harris says there’s a new plain English mood in the market and it is easy to spot.

“Watch TV for a couple of hours and count how many advertisers associate the words ‘plain’, ‘easy’, or ‘simple’ with their products, and you’ll get the idea.

“It is now more important than ever to keep customers happy or attract new business. Organisations are positioning themselves on how easy they are to understand and deal with, and we think that’s great!”

A top prize of $10,000 will go to the organisation with the best over-all plain English culture and prizes to the value of nearly $5,000 will be given for the Best Plain English Project, and the Best Plain English Individual or Team.

There are also many smaller prizes, including one for transforming a single sentence from gobbledygook into plain English.

“It’s our way of saying you don’t have to be perfect at plain English to be acknowledged. You just have to have made a start,” says Ms Harris.

She says a new streamlined assessment process has been put in place to ease judges’ workload without compromising integrity, and that more judges may be needed in future years.

An international panel of four plain English experts will judge entries, and winners will be announced at a ceremony on 18 September.

The Plain English Awards are a non-profit event hosted by the WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust.

ENDS

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