Bouquets to the good; brickbats to the bad

Have you entered the 2012 WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards? Enter for your own organisation, or put some other organisation under the spotlight. Let us see the best, and the worst.

Entries close on 21 September, so don't miss out!

The annual Awards honour the organisations and people who are trying to make the world a better place by banishing jargon and gobbledygook.With consumers increasingly demanding clear communication, the Awards celebrate the efforts of government and business organisations that have made a commitment to plain English.

Nominate another organisation in one of the People’s Choice categories. The Best Plain English Communication category recognises a document or website that exemplifies plain English. And because a bit of adverse publicity can inspire change too, the Worst ‘Brainstrain’ Award invites you to ‘dob in’ your most confusing, jargon-filled document or website.

This year sees the addition of the Best Plain English Turnaround Award where previous nominees for the "Brainstrain’ Award can redeem themselves.

The award categories are:

• Plain English Champion Best Organisation Best Individual or Team
• Best Plain English Document Public Sector Private Sector
• Best Plain English Website Public Sector Private Sector
• Best Plain English Sentence Transformation
• Best Plain English Technical Communicator
• Best Plain English Investor Document
• People's Choice Best Plain English Communication Worst 'Brainstrain' Communication
• Best Plain English Turnaround

Entries will be assessed by an international panel of plain English experts and advocates.

The finalists in each of the award categories will also be recognised with an Award of Distinction. Winners will be announced at an Awards ceremony in Wellington on 29 November.

For more information or to enter online, visit www.plainenglishawards.org.nz