The picture below is of a fridge magnet sent out to all (or at least most) homes in the ACT by the ACT Government a few weeks. The fridge magnet was part of a set of literature outlining the current water conservation efforts, procedures and rules in the ACT.
[1]
The reason that I am showing this to you, is not to highlight ACT water conservation, but to bring to your attention a government document which is written is plain english (I’ll excuse the “high-pressure low-volume cleaner” as I think they have well and truly drummed the meaning of that term into us in other publicity campaigns). Not only does this document outline the rules in place in the ACT in a very clear and straightforward manner, it also adds little pictures for quick reference and to add context to the text. Contact details and the people behind the production of the magnet are also clearly identified.
I must say that this is a darn sight better than the Chief Turnip’s incoherent babbling [2] from a few weeks ago.
I will be nominating this fridge magnet for an award in the “Plain English” category of the Plain English Campaign [3] awards.
Samuel
Comments Disabled To "Water Conservation Measures in the ACT (an example of a good, clear, plain english government document)"
#1 Comment By John B1_B5 On May 19, 2006 @ 2:49 pm
It’s a good design . Looking forward to receiving MY fridge magnet .
#2 Comment By Samuel On May 20, 2006 @ 12:21 am
The fridge magnet has now been nominated for a plain english award. Judging of the awards takes place in October, with results to be announced in November.
I’ll keep you posted!