It only takes a sentence to enter the Awards! Get transforming, using these simple steps.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to enter an awards competition? The award for Best Plain English Sentence Transformation makes entering the Plain English Awards as simple as 1 – 2 – 3!
1. First, catch your sentence
Complex, long-winded sentences abound in official publications, on business websites, and around the office.
To find a suitable sentence, first of all, track down something that’s really long with multiple clauses, that maybe even includes more than one main idea, and also uses unnecessary, surplus words and phrases and convoluted language, which nevertheless might be regarded by some as adding a certain element of essential formality. See what we did there?
2. Rewrite your sentence in plain English
Rewrite your sentence in plain English so that it becomes simple and beautifully crafted. Keep your sentence short. If needed, you can use more than one sentence to express the ideas of your original text.
3. Enter your sentence in the award for Best Plain English Sentence Transformation
Enter your original and rewrite in the category that gives well-written sentences the attention they deserve. You can enter up to three sentence transformations in one entry. And feel free to enter more than once!
Enter the Best Plain English Sentence Transformation award
Check out last year’s winner here
Check out one of last year’s finalists here
And check out the other finalist from last year here
Anne-Marie Chisnall August 29th, 2018
Posted In: 2018 Plain English Awards
Tags: 2018 Plain English Awards, Best Plain English Sentence Transformation, clear communication, entry, recognition, sentence, transformation
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
Plain English Awards
Have you heard about the People’s Choice — Worst ‘Brainstrain’ Communication award? It’s the sibling of the People’s Choice — Best Communication award. Here are three things you need to know.
1. The Brainstrain award is the one award that organisations don’t really want to win. It reveals, in good humour, the document or website most notable for confusing and dumbfounding its target audience with obscurity and gobbledygook.
2. The ideal entry is a publicly available or widely used document or website that causes problems for many people.
3. By putting these confusing documents and web pages under the spotlight, we hope that the organisations responsible will rewrite them in beautifully plain English. And we’ve had some great turnaround stories prompted by this publicity.
So why not nominate a great or not-so-great document or website for one of the People’s Choice Awards.
Get involved with the People’s Choice Awards
Plain English Awards
Nicola Welby June 16th, 2017
Posted In: Communications
Tags: Brainstrain, consumers, gobbledygook, plain language, transformation
