Win–win for writers and readers

Working together to bring clarity out of confusion. Image by Adi Goldstein. Unsplash licence.

What’s better than a ‘force for good’ advancing the quality of communication for everyday New Zealanders?

Two forces for good.

WriteMark is the founding sponsor of New Zealand’s Plain English Awards — a celebration of clear communication and a public pat on the back for plain English champions.

 

Recognising the highest-quality communication

For 14 years WriteMark has backed the Plain English Awards Trust to fund, organise, promote, host, and celebrate the annual Awards. The Awards recognise commitment to clear language on all scales — whether it’s across an organisation as a whole or down to a sentence that shines.

But it’s not just about wiping out the waffle. It’s about everyone’s right to take part in society. Information needs to be easy to read, understand, and act on — for all of us.

Making a real difference

The effect of WriteMark joining forces with the Plain English Awards has been profound. Feedback has shown that the Awards:

• are highly valued by entrants, winners, judges, and sponsors
• offer a benchmark for organisations to assess their own performance
• have resulted in positive, meaningful change in communications for all New Zealanders
• can transform organisations — the process leading to success in the Awards has created widespread change for some organisations.

Working together for all

A piece of communication displaying the WriteMark, or that has won a Plain English Award, shows the world that writers have thought carefully about their readers. And it shows readers that they can expect to easily understand and act on the information in front of them.

Now that’s a winning combination.

Anne-Marie Chisnall September 11th, 2019

Posted In: Plain English, Plain English Awards, WriteMark Holders

Tags: clear language, clear thinking, clear writing, improved writing, industry standards, plain language, power of plain language, Quality writing, writing for the public