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September 2011 newsletter
Have you decided to enter the Plain English Awards?
Have you decided to enter the Plain English Awards?The fact that you are receiving this newsletter means that you’re interested in clear communication. So don’t hide your light under a bushel! Are you proud of a document or website you’ve worked on in the past year? Do you want to recognise your team’s efforts at making information really clear and user-friendly? Or, on the other hand, is there a dire document or website you’ve encountered outside of your organisation that’s giving you ‘brainstrain’?
Celebrate the great, and spotlight the bad. Add your voice to the call for clarity. Enter the 2011 WriteMark New Zealand Plain English Awards.
Write is a major Awards sponsor. We welcome the way the Awards raise the profile of plain English — both publicly and within the organisations that enter.
Enter at www.plainenglishawards.org.nz before 30 September.
Recognising clarity in the financial sectorCould plain English have prevented the world financial crisis? Would anyone have bought a junk mortgage if they’d known they would lose the house?
Throughout the financial sector many organisations are turning to plain English to give borrowers, investors, and customers a clear picture of their rights, obligations, and risks.
The WriteMark Plain English Awards are recognising this with a Financial Document category. Working in the world of finance
We’ve been working with several organisations in the financial sector recently, helping them transform key documents. How do we approach the task of making the complex simple? Write’s Chief Executive, Lynda Harris, spoke about the way we worked with these organisations at the recent Securities Law Conference.
Read our paper, and gain an insight into how you can transform a complex financial-sector document
Workplaces evaluate training — but is it effective?
In our June and July 30-second survey, we asked two questions. Feedback on the dayThe vast majority of participants said their organisation asked for feedback on the day, straight after the training. Far fewer organisations went to the trouble of assessing staff before training to create a benchmark. Interestingly, no organisations did a cost-benefit study to measure the return on their investment. Measuring return on investment: the highest form of evaluation
Kirkpatrick, who is famous for his four-level model of evaluation, suggested there may be a fifth level: measuring return on investment. It makes business sense to work out whether training has been worthwhile.
Financial sector ‘jargon help’ booklet underway
We’re working on a new financial sector 'jargon help' booklet. Writing tip: However
Use the adverb ‘however’ carefully. Careless use of ‘however’ can lead to ambiguity. For example: The forecast was for sunshine, however I took my coat just in case. (incorrect)
The forecast was for sunshine. However, I took my coat just in case.
The forecast was for sunshine; however, I took my coat just in case.
The forecast was for sunshine, but I took my coat just in case.
Upcoming WorkshopsBusiness WritingFor anyone who writes business or government documents — from brief emails to long reports You’ll quickly improve your writing skills and see how to write clear, purposeful documents that get the results you want.
Upcoming workshops:
Find out more about Business Writing Speech Writing
Develop speeches with confidence
Upcoming workshop:
Find out more about Speech Writing
Persuasive Proposals — improving the odds
Workshop + follow-up proposal review
Upcoming workshops:
Find out more about Persuasive Proposals
Technical Writing Lab
Your material — two trainers — small group — hands-on
Upcoming workshops:
Find out more about Technical Writing Lab
Bullet Point Bootcamp
Everything you ever wanted to know about bullet points
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