A request to judge a writing contest used
to make me a little nervous. Now, however, I have become more confident. Maybe
it comes from years of teaching and designing rubrics for grading, which have
given me some insight.
To begin,
a judge should always ask two questions: “What are the judging criteria?” and “What
is the deadline?”
When the
judging criteria are stated clearly, your job is easier. The main thing I’ve
learned about grading/judging is that objectives should be clearly stated, and match the
evaluation process. That means the criteria is tied directly to the outcome.
So if
there is a mystery writing contest that must be set in North Carolina, then the
winning story should be a North Carolina mystery. Sounds simple, but it may not
be so easy. There’s always an outlier that sneaks in with wonderful writing,
but doesn’t quite match the requirements. Don’t give in. Stick to the rules and
you will always be able to defend your decision.
Using a rubric
(or judging criteria sheet) helps to quantify the work, and if one is not
supplied, you may want to develop one. I did that a few years ago when asked to
judge books, because there were so many areas to address that I had trouble
keeping it straight until I came up with a general form that addressed key issues
such as plot, character development and tension/pace. By applying numerical
measurements to the key issues, a clear winner emerged.
So the
next time someone asks you to judge a writing content, go ahead and do it,
confident in the knowledge that even though some writing is subjective, using a
consistent rubric means the strongest writing will emerge as the winner. And if
you enter any writing contests, knowing the judging criteria may give you a leg
up! (That means you should read the instructions carefully!)
And don't miss a deadline, ever.
Write
soon,
Mary
