The 2020 Plain English Awards open on 31 March. Image by Kevin Bidwell / Pexels licence

On 31 March 1889 Gustave Eiffel’s tower opened in Paris. On 31 March 1959, the Dalai Lama trekked across the Himalayan Mountains from Lhasa to seek asylum in India. On 31 March 2011, a deadly Egyptian cobra was found alive one week after escaping the reptile house at New York’s Bronx zoo.

On 31 March this year, New Zealand’s Oscars for clear communication turns on the lights and rolls out the fancy carpet for entries in the 2020 Plain English Awards.

Everyone’s a winner

The Awards recognise outstanding efforts in communicating clearly. They’re proof of the power of good communication in doing good.

While the winners get rightful recognition, the real winners are the people and communities who get the information they need. And people feel good when they know what a writer is trying to say and that has their interests at heart.

This year the Plain English Awards has 13 categories open. The Plain English Awards Trust is looking forward to receiving quality entries across all these categories.

Plain English Awards categories

• Plain English Champion
  • Best Organisation
  • Best Individual or Team
• Best Plain English Document
  • Public Sector
  • Private Sector
• Best Plain English Sentence Transformation
• Best Plain English Annual Report
• Best Plain English Legal Document
• Best Plain English Technical Communicator
• Best Plain English Turnaround
• People’s Choice
  • Best Plain English Communication
  • Worst Brainstrain Communication

More than prizes

Apart from the accolades and feathers in caps for winning, past finalists have found that they gained a huge amount even from the judges’ comments they received. Feedback from an anonymous survey of entrants referenced the value of this feedback.

‘The judge’s feedback is priceless – WOW… whatever we paid to enter is nothing compared to that feedback document.’

The Awards get great publicity each year and help boost awareness that the public doesn’t need to put up with poorly written information.
Winners also benefit by being seen as an attractive organisation that can lure strong writers and talented team members.

‘It reinforces that we don’t just say that we communicate with people in clear and plain language — that we actually do.’

It’s clear at the top. Image by Mário Simoes / Flikr licence

You can see your effort has paid off

Writing in plain English and winning an award for your craft can be like mountain climbing. The effort is immense, but the views from the top are crystal clear.

On 29 May 1953 Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest. And 29 May 2020 is the last day for entries…
Here’s how to enter