Have you heard the news? Our judges have chosen their finalists. Image by Rakicevic Nenad. Pexels license.
They said it wasn’t an easy task. However, after running over their shortlisted entries with a fine-tooth comb, our judges have settled on this year’s finalists.
Who are our Best finalists?
The following nominations are finalists in our People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication category:
Who are our Brainstrain finalists?
The following nominations are finalists in our People’s Choice — Worst Brainstrain category:
- Auckland City Council — Proposed Plan Change letter
- Christchurch City Council — Te Wai Ora o Tāne Draft Integrated Water Strategy
- Rabo Capital Securities Limited — Redemption Notice letter
What happens next
Our judges in each category will now review their selected entries and decide on a winner. Our media partner, Newsroom, will announce this year’s winners on their website on Thursday, 28 November.
Rhiannon Davies October 18th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Brainstrain, Finalists, Industry awards
Tags: Best Plain English Communication, Finalists, People's Choice 2019, Worst Brainstrain
So often we hear stories about the people behind a plain English initiative in an organisation. To make sure these people get their own time to shine, we’ve got a Champion award — for the Best Individual or Team.
These sometimes unsung heroes are those who’ve worked hard to make plain English a reality in their organisation.
Are you a plain English hero in your organisation? Here are a few signs that you need to enter for Best Individual or Team — of course, we know you’ll be able to think of many more!
You’ve talked to your leaders about the need for a plain English project
You’re the one who went to the management or board meeting and talked about all the good reasons for starting a plain English project (large or small).
Or maybe your team got the project started, and took proof of the benefits to management to advocate for wider adoption of plain English throughout the organisation.
If you’re a plain English leader, we recommend you enter and get industry-wide recognition.
You’ve trained your colleagues in plain English
Not content to be the only plain English writer in your team or business, you’ve created a programme of training. You’re spreading the word about the advantages of plain English and giving your colleagues tools and techniques to help them write more clearly.
Perhaps you make sure you include a slot at team meetings on plain English tips — and that slot has become the highlight of the meetings.
Or are you the go-to person or team that is consulted before a major report goes out or content is loaded on the website?
If you’ve become indispensable as guide or mentor for people who want to write clearly, it’s time to get that entry in.
You’ve produced resources to support clear writing
You’ve compiled all you know into a resource for your organisation — a writing how-to, or brand guidance on clear writing. You’ve created intranet resources and newsletter articles to help build a culture of clear communication.
Or perhaps you decided those terrible templates had to go. You’ve restructured, rewritten, and rebuilt templates to make standard communications easier to produce — and easier for the target audience to receive and understand.
Sometimes this background work needs to be brought to the fore — enter the Champion category and let your light shine!
Read about last year’s winner
Find out if your organisation is a contender for the Best Organisation category
Enter the Awards
Anne-Marie Chisnall August 27th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, Best Individual or Team, Champion, Finalists, Industry awards, recognition, winners
Last year's Plain English Champion — Best Organisation winners Hannah Morgan-Stone, left, William Meldrum, second from right, and Jerome Chapman, from Utilities Disputes, with Write CEO Lynda Harris. Photo by A Beautiful Photo.
We’re grateful this year to once again have the support of TechCommNZ, who’s sponsoring our Best Plain English Technical Communicator category. As part of their sponsorship, TechCommNZ recently published an article we wrote for them about our Trophy Tips Seminar. With their blessing, here’s that same article for your reading pleasure.
Winning an award is the best way to have your work recognised — or your team’s. And for business or technical writers, or people working in communications, the annual Plain English Awards are as good as it gets.
Tips for success from those in the know
In the build-up to the opening of this year’s Plain English Awards, we held a Trophy Tips Seminar in Wellington last month. We also broadcast this seminar through Facebook Live.
Before the seminar, we surveyed former winners and judges of the Awards to gather some tips for aspiring winners. While responses varied slightly, their main messages were clear and simple.
Best advice for aspiring winners
In short, the people we surveyed said that winning entries demonstrated similar traits.
- Short sentences
- Crystal-clear headings
- Readers’ needs prioritised
Common mistakes to avoid
To ensure your entry gets through the first phase of judging, survey respondents recommended that entrants avoid some common pitfalls.
- Unclear headings
- Long-windedness
- Excessive wordiness
- Poorly organised content
For more tips on how to submit a winning entry in the 2018 Plain English Awards, view our Trophy Tips Seminar.
Get in touch if you have any questions
You’re welcome to ask questions at any time: [email protected]. We’re here to help! See more about the Awards on our website.
Melissa Mebus June 21st, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards, Plain English Awards, Trophy Tips Seminar
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, clear communication, Finalists
From shortlists to finalists — decisions have been tough. Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash
After some tough deliberations from our judges, here are the finalists in the 2017 Plain English Awards.
As with our shortlists, entries are in no particular order. We haven’t published finalists in some categories so we don’t let the cat out of the bag.
‘Ooh — awesome’
Read some of the feedback we’ve had from judges about this year’s finalists below.
- ‘All three judges found this to be the very best group of entries we have seen in our many years judging these awards.’
- ‘We applaud the effort everyone has made to follow the principles of plain writing.’
- ‘You can be especially proud to win this category among these excellent entries!’
- ‘The friendly, light tone in this rewrite is a delight.’
- ‘When I finished the rewrite I said aloud “Ooh – awesome”.’
- ‘Overall this is an excellent effort.’
Winners will be announced on 23 November
We’ll announce our winners at the Awards ceremony in Wellington on 23 November. We’ll also publish the list of winners on our website later that evening.
Nicola Welby October 20th, 2017
Posted In: Awards brand, Communications, Finalists, Plain English Awards
Tags: clear communication, Finalists, Plain English Awards, plain language
