What happens to the documents you've nominated once they're entered? Image by Lorie Shaull. Flickr licence.
Submitting your entry in this year’s People’s Choice Awards is one thing. What happens to your entry after that is another.
Your nomination joins the list so experts can decide who’s best and worst
After you submit a nomination, it joins a catalogue of other entries in our professional submission platform Submittable, where it’ll sit until entries officially close. Soon after that, the Awards administrators open up entries for the Best and Worst categories to their respective judging panels.
Our judges then sort through entries to come up with a shortlist, followed by a more in-depth assessment to create a list of finalists.
Finally, the judges decide which entries are our ultimate winners. This year’s winners will be announced on Thursday, 28 November.
The judges assess the entries using plain English criteria
Because our Awards are all about plain English, our judges use specific criteria to decide which entries are best and which are worst. These criteria are based on the following aspects of clear communication:
- Purpose
- Structure
- Usability (for websites)
- Headings and main messages
- Paragraphs
- Sentences
- Words
- Layout and presentation
Read more about our judging criteria
Find out how to nominate communications
Thanks to the Wellington band Fly My Pretties for being the inspiration for our blog title! Visit their website flymypretties.com
Nicola Welby July 17th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Judges
Tags: Brain Strain Award, clear thinking, clear writing, improved writing, Industry awards, jargon, jargon-busting, PEA, People's Choice Awards, plain English, Plain English Awards, plain language, power of plain English, writing for the public
Consumer NZ wants the best for New Zealand communication. Image by Daria Nepriakhina. Unsplash licence.
The Plain English Awards and Consumer NZ have something very important in common — we both want what’s best for New Zealanders.
The Plain English Awards is a not-for-profit charity that aims to raise the bar for clear communication. We want everyday New Zealanders to understand what’s written for them.
Consumer NZ is a non-profit organisation dedicated to getting New Zealanders a fairer deal. So it’ll be no surprise that Consumer NZ is a long-term supporter of the Plain English Awards. In particular, Consumer NZ has supported our People’s Choice categories for many years.
Consumer’s Chief Executive, Sue Chetwin, has been a member of our judging panel for several years, focusing specifically on our People’s Choice categories. She’s returning again this year as one of the panel judging our Worst Brainstrain category.
We’re sure you’ll join us too by nominating the best and the worst communications you find in your daily life. All of us want New Zealanders to be able to make legal, financial, health, and all sorts of other decisions with ease.
Take a look at what Consumer NZ has to say about this year’s People’s Choice Awards
Find out how to nominate documents here
Nicola Welby July 12th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Sponsors
Tags: Brain Strain Award, clear writing, Consumer NZ, Industry awards, PEA, People's Choice Awards, People's Choice Awards 2019, plain English, Plain English Awards, plain language, power of plain English, writing for the public
It's time to celebrate this year's winners! Image by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash
Tickets are available now for this year’s Plain English Awards ceremony
Where? City Gallery Wellington
When? Thursday, 15 November
Come along and celebrate at this year’s ceremony. Join finalists, judges, sponsors, and other supporters for an evening of fun, festivity, and above all celebration.
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester will give an opening address at 5.30pm. And lawyer and comedian James Elliott will be our MC for the evening. Financial advisor, wealth coach, and author Martin Hawes will also return as a guest speaker.
You’ll have a chance to mix and mingle, with drinks and canapés, following the official segment of the ceremony.
Get your tickets now!
Melissa Mebus October 25th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 awards ceremony, 2018 Plain English Awards, Finalists, Winners
Tags: 2018 finalists, 2018 Plain English Awards, Celebration, Industry awards, winners
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 Mebus 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
Deciding on our shortlists was no mean feat. Photo by Cathryn Lavery on Unsplash.
From what we’ve heard from our judges, finalising this year’s shortlists has been no mean feat. We received many outstanding entries from across both the public and private sectors. We’re thrilled to announce which of those entries made our shortlists.
Take a look at our 2018 shortlists
We’ll make our next big announcement — this year’s finalists — some time around 19 October. Watch this space!
Melissa Mebus September 20th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards, Judges, Shortlists
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, 2018 shortlists, clear communication, Industry awards
You now have 3 whole days more to submit your entries!
Entries for the 2018 Plain English Awards now close at midnight next Monday, 3 September. That means you’ve got 3 extra days to create your winning entry!
Read about our categories
See who won at last year’s Awards
Melissa Mebus August 30th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards, Industry awards, People's Choice awards, Winners
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, clear communication, entry, Industry awards
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
Ever had that 'feel good' feeling from transforming a piece of text into really clear, readable content?
It’s 10am on a workday morning and a bunch of us are, accidentally and animatedly, tweaking some text on a neglected webpage we administer. ‘Too long!’ ‘It’s so long-winded.’ ‘Uggh, it sounds stodgy and dull’. ‘Look at that next sentence – why, just why?’
We’d intended to check on only a small detail but quickly ended up editing with a passion. Honestly, we didn’t mean to! But, oh, the satisfaction at the glorious transformation. It felt good. Very, very good! The world was now a better place. Instructions were clear. Readers would breeze through it. Job done!
If you too get a happy burst of dopamine from turning around bad writing, you’ll totally get this and probably be nodding in agreement. And if you’ve been on top of the world after some of your own transformations, you’d better share! Enter them in the Turnaround category of the annual Plain English Awards
We’ll be cheering you on, every step of the way!
The Turnaround award recognises the best plain English rewrite of a document or website that was originally difficult to read.
Lynda Harris August 24th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, benchmark, Industry awards, plain language, recognition, transformation, Turnaround Award
Trophies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of entering industry awards. Photo by Photo by Jennifer Latuperisa-Andresen on Unsplash
What’s the first image that comes to mind when you think about industry awards? For many people the answer might be trophies and photos in the newspaper, but those overt benefits are often just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
The benefits of entering an industry award, and perhaps winning, go much deeper than you might first think. Public recognition is one of the most rewarding benefits, of course. But that benefit is often one of many.
Setting standards and demonstrating value
We’ve been running the Plain English Awards for 13 years. Over this time we’ve seen a steady increase in the quality of the entries. We’ve also seen a steady increase in interest in the Awards. And we’ve witnessed and recorded the benefits that organisations and individuals, as well as sponsors, reap from association with the Awards.
What are these benefits?
- Optimal benchmarking: the recipient of an award is seen as setting a standard
- Building credibility and strength: awards validate an organisation’s position with prospective customers and clients
- Demonstrating value: winning an award provides clear evidence of the value an organisation brings to its clients
- Communicating that you’re professional: winning an award shows that you’re a reputable professional whose achievements stand out
A long-term commitment to quality
What about those individuals and organisations that win more than once? This kind of achievement reinforces all the points above, and shows that you’ve committed to quality for the long term. What more could a client or customer wish for?
Read about how one organisation won our Best Organisation award in 2007 — and won again 8 years later in 2015.
Melissa Mebus August 10th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards, Industry awards, Winners
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, clear communication, Industry awards
