Xero
Winner: Best Plain English Sentence Transformation 2013
Kylie McGrath’s sentence from 'Add or edit a fixed asset'
Maryland Spencer, Awards judge, with Kylie McGrath, Technical Writer at Xero
Original sentence
Any opening balances for accumulated depreciation set on the asset will have been entered from your previous Trial Balance as at your conversion date to Xero and once you have set your start date you'll need to enter the fixed assets and relevant depreciation for all the assets so that the total accumulated depreciation of all individual assets equals your opening balances.
Rewritten sentence
After you set your start date, enter each fixed asset and its depreciation. The cost of all fixed assets less their accumulated depreciation must equal your start date balance.
Judges' comment
This sentence transforms a meandering, longwinded communication into two short, sharp sentences. The degree of change between versions is extreme. The original was barely comprehensible while the rewrite says simply, clearly, and concisely what needs to happen. Full marks.
Media statement
I’m thrilled to be named as a winner in this year’s WriteMark Plain English Awards.
Xero's Help Centre team uses plain English standards when writing content. Writing short and clear sentences is just one of the ways we're improving content for our users.
It’s fantastic to have our improvements recognised by a panel of national and international plain English experts.
Kylie McGrath