JUDGING THE REGIONAL

POETRY R

ECITATIO

N

CONTEST 2014

The Purpose • to promote the art of poetry in both the classroom and

the community • to encourage Armenia’s youth to learn about great

poetry through exploration, memorization and performance

• to develop English skills in reading and speaking

The ParticipantsStudents from your community in grades 7 – 12 .•Students select poems from the official Poetry Samplers distributed by the 2014 National Poetry Recitation Committee.

•Students practice with teachers, parents, and peers to develop their skills in poise, voice, and interpretation.

•Students are expected to be prepared and to follow the rules.

Teachers and parents from your community.•Adults provide support and encouragement for young people to try a new experience, to set goals, to rehearse and apply their new skills.

The Process for a Judging SessionParticipants are grouped by grade level for their recitation session. For example,

all 7th form students will recite during one session and compete against each other, but not against students from other grade levels.

The number of students reciting in each session will vary. Some sessions may have as few as two students and other sessions may have 30 or more students.

Judges welcome the participants and remind everyone of the rules for the session. For example turn off cell phones, no talking, no leaving the room.

The order of recitation is determined by participant numbers. Each registered participant will wear a number tag and should be called to recite in order.

Participants should remain in the session to act as attentive audience members. Applause is encouraged, but students are to remain quiet during presentations.

The Judges TableA panel of three judges will judge each sessionPanels include both native English speakers and at

least one proficient Armenian English speakerJudges have a variety of backgrounds in education,

interests, experiences and perspectives

Judges cannot be related to any of the presentersJudges cannot be coaches or teachers of the presenters

The Judges RoleThe integrity of the contest rests on the work of judges at each level of competition: school, regional, or national

Judges need to evaluate accurately and sensitively the quality of each performance according to the evaluation criteria

Judges must work quickly to score many performances of a wide variety of poems

To avoid the appearance of conflict of interest judges should avoid interacting with students, teachers or parents before and during the competition

The Judging Rules Judges work independently to evaluate the quality of

student recitations. You will not confer with other judges.

Judges must only use the official evaluation rubric and score sheet distributed by the 2014 NPRC Committee

Judges fill out the evaluation sheet immediately after each student recites, circling one number for each category. You will have a minute or two between presenters.

The Judging Rules

When the session ends, using a calculator, judges tally their independent scores. The three judges combine their totals for each student. This is the raw score. The highest raw score is awarded first place and the next highest scores go to second and third place.If there is a tie in the raw scores, judges will consult their individual scores to break the tie.

Scores are confidential. You must not share the scores with participants, parents or teachers.

Judges’ decisions are final.

The Judges MaterialsPrior to the Regional Contest , the organizer will send judges:

The evaluation criteria

Scoring sheet sample

Poetry sampler

Judges will receive training on how to use these materials.

At the contest, judges will receive

A name badge identifying them as a Judge

A set of scoring sheets

A copy of the evaluation criteria

Pencil, scratch paper, calculator

The Judging Criteria

Preparedness and Physical Poise

Voice

Interpretation

The Judging Rubric- PREPAREDNESS AND PHYSICAL POISE

Poor Fair Good Excellent1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Many errors including words omitted, repeated and out of orderNoticeable reaction to making a mistake

Some errors, such as words repeatedMade smooth recovery from errors

One or two errors 

No errors 

Long pauses, hesitations or fillers (uh, um)

Short hesitations for recall 

Confident delivery with no hesitations for recall

Fluent and confident delivery

No eye contact with audience 

Fixed eye contact (for example with judges)

Eye contact with most of audience

Used eye contact to engage all of audience

Many distracting gestures/movements revealed tension

Some gestures or posture revealed nervousness

Calm presence, natural gestures 

Confident stance and gestures

VOICE

Poor Fair Good Excellent1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Voice was too quiet to be heard clearly

Voice projection varied; sometimes too quiet

Consistent voice projection Voice projected comfortably to the back row

Too fast or too slow for comprehension

Rate remains the same and may have sing-song pattern

Appropriate and natural rate of delivery

Pacing appropriate to the nature of the poem

Many errors in pronunciation

Consistent mispronunciation of certain sounds

Generally correct pronunciation including sounds and syllable stress

Near native pronunciation

Voice was flat;no logical grouping of words

Some phrasing and use of intonation /inflection

Appropriate phrasing and intonation/inflection

Variety of intonation/inflection greatly enhanced the recitation

INTERPRETATION

Poor Fair Good Excellent1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Presenter did not appear to understand the meaning of the poem

Demonstrated understanding of some, but not all, lines of the poem

Demonstrated understanding of every line and every word of the poem

Subtle dramatization enhanced the audiences understanding of the poem

No interpretation attempted

Emotion expressed was not appropriate for the meaning of the poem 

Expressed appropriate emotional tone of the poem

Revealed shifts in tone or purpose of the poem

The Evaluation CriteriaPreparedness and Physical PoiseThis is an important category, but also one of the easiest to evaluate.• This can only be judged by looking at the person reciting.• The student should be poised – but not artificially so – projecting

ease and confidence by his or her physical presence. • A weaker performance will be one in which the student appears

nervous or awkward, or loses eye contact with the audience. • Astronger performance will be commanding and captivating.

The Evaluation CriteriaVoiceThe meaning of the poem will be revealed by how well the student

uses his or her voice.• Listen for volume, rate, inflection, and pronunciation. • The voice should be clear and loud enough to catch the attention

of all the audience without yelling. • The rate should suit the nature of the poem; not rushed or too

slow.• Words should be pronounced correctly.• There should be no sing-song pattern with poems that rhyme.

The Evaluation CriteriaInterpretationThe student should interpret the poem for the audience.▪demonstrate that they know the meaning of every line and

every word of the poem. ▪make difficult lines or passages clear for the listeners.▪communicate the correct tone of the poem— humor, awe,

sadness, joy, fear, etc.• A great performance deepens and enlivens the poem. • A weak performance obscures the meaning of the poem.

The Evaluation CriteriaFor each of the evaluation criteria, a good performance should be

given scores that range from 4 to 7. A score of 9 or 10 is rare. It should be saved for truly exceptional

recitations. Judges should be careful to score each category separately. Don’t

let the score in one category influence your score in another category.

Judges should check they have circled a number in each category before handing in their evaluation sheets.

Judges Preparation 1. Familiarize yourself with the evaluation criteria and

scoring rubric 2. Review video examples of outstanding recitations at

www.poetryoutloud.org 3. Review the poetry sampler 4. Ask organizer any questions you may have about the

poetry contest or the judges role 5. Attend orientation and judges training session

Thank You!

For being part of our Regional Poetry Contest