Click HERE to download the Short Form Documentation sheet.
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The material on this page is to help judges and contestants in poetry competitions held at SCAdian events. 
Please feel free to download and use in local or other competitions.

Download a pdf file of this form (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to read)

Competition Name/Date:
Entrant Name (Modern & SCA):
Classification & Category:
Title of Work:
Judge's Name (Modern & SCA Contact Info):

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE TO JUDGES:
 
Please award points, provide comments, fill out your name and contact information & return to Poeta who will total the scores.  Use the back for additional comments.  Thanks!
 
Performance, the poem itself and its documentation all weigh equally (ties determined by highest score in documentation).
 
112 Point Scale

Category	Totals	Comments
i) Use of Period Imagery (Poem itself) (12)
ii) Use of Period Style & Conventions (Poem Itself)(12)
iii)Complexity of the Piece (Poem Itself) (4)
iv)Documentation Written (Documentation)(25)
v) Documentation Oral (Documentation) (3)
vi) Skill In Performance (Performance) (11)
vii) Entertainment Value (Performance) (11)
viii) Presentation Within Time Limits (Performance) (6)
ix) Poem's Appropriateness To Theme (Judge's Discretion) (6)
x) Overall Impression (Judge's Discretion) (10)
xi) Poetic Challenge (Bonus) (12)
Total Score
Percentile:
Rank Within Competition:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU JUDGE
 
TOTAL POINTS TO AWARD:  112
 
You can award partial points.  These guidelines are just suggestions and not meant to replace the Judge's own discretion but merely to give judges an idea of what I was thinking in designing the competition.
 

1. TECHNIQUE/POEM ITSELF (TOTAL of 28 points to award)
   1. Use of Period Imagery (12 points for this topic)
      • If some of the themes were SCA-related was it blended well with period style?
      • Was subject matter period?
   2. Use of Period Style and Conventions (12 points for this topic)
      • Did they use period devices (e.g. alliteration, Allegory, narrative verse, advice)?
      • No obvious anachronistic elements and obvious modernities unless for effect?
      • Did they have appropriate use of language (complex versus simple rhymes, or alliteration)?
      • Where they time period appropriate (suggest worth 4 points)?
   3. Complexity of the Piece (4 points for this topic)
      • Was it a difficult rhyme scheme and/or structure?
      • Complexity of ideas conveyed?
      • Did you get the message they were trying to convey?
2. DOCUMENTATION (TOTAL of 28 points to award)
   4. Written Documentation: (25 points)
      • Did they describe how their rhyme scheme and structure were period?
      • Did they discuss what period style and conventions they used?
      • Did they explain how they differed from period and why?
      • Did they show they had an understanding of the period style/conventions they were trying to use?
      • Did they provide useful documentation?
      • Give them extra points for using primary sources (direct comparisons with period poems)?
      • Did they judiciously use secondary sources (critical commentary)?
      • Did they explain how their poem fit into Medieval and/Renaissance literature?
   5. Documentation in Introduction to Performance: (3 points)
      • Did they briefly give documentation in their performance?
3. PERFORMANCE (TOTAL of 28 points to award)
   6. Skill In Performance (11 points)
      • Could you hear them/did they project well?
      • Did they have expression in their voice?
      • Were the gestures they used appropriate and not distracting?
      • Did they make appropriate eye contact with you and the audience?
      • Did they introduce their piece well?
   7. Entertainment Value (11 points)
      • Would you be willing to sit and listen it if you were not a judge?
      • In a crowded court or feast hall would people stop to listen?
   8. Presentation Within Time Limits (6 points)
      • Did they stay within the time limits set for the competition?
      THIS IS AN ALL-OR-NOTHING CATEGORY
4. JUDGES DISCRETION (TOTAL of 28 points to award)
   9. Poem's Appropriateness To Theme (6 points)
      • Was the poem appropriate given the theme or did they give a good enough explanation to make it fit?
      • Did they explain this in their performance and/or documentation?
   10. Overall Impression (10 points)
       • Anything you were particularly impressed with?
       • How good was the presentation?
       • Did you enjoy it?
       • Did it leave any type of lasting impression with you/inspire you?
   11. Challenge Form (12 points)
       • How well did they stay within the requirements for this category?
       • Only apply if they entered in this category.
       This is not necessarily an all-or-nothing category.

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