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The evaluators who will be reading the critical papers will be given the following criteria as guidelines.
Content: To what extent is the claim a strong one? How clear is the argument or premise? Does the work have a clear focus? Is it thoughtful?
Structure: Is the work well organized? Is each main point clear and well-placed? Does the work have a clear organizational plan? Is the organizational plan appropriate for the topic? Is the reasoning that supports the argument sound?
Originality: For student work, is this an imaginative or fresh approach to the topic or argument? To what extent is this approach creative? Would this work spark discussion?
Support: Is the work detailed enough and fully explained? Does the student include research and documentation as appropriate to the topic? Is borrowed material (both paraphrases and quotations) clearly identified as borrowed and correctly documented? How strong is the support, including explanations and borrowed material?
Polish: Are the sentences well-crafted? Does the student use appropriate diction? Is the piece well-written and free of unintentional grammatical mistakes, typos, or other errors?
The evaluators who will be reading the original creative works (nonfiction, poetry, fiction, drama) will be given the following criteria as guidelines. Note that although poetry and flash fiction submissions may be a collection of works, each evaluator will be providing one evaluation for the collection as a whole.
Content: Does the work have a clear focus or convey a central image? Does the work have depth of emotional or tonal complexity? How clear are any themes? Is it thoughtful?
Structure: Is the work well organized for its genre? Does the work have a clear organizational plan? Is the organizational plan appropriate for the topic and approach?
Originality: For student work, is this an imaginative or fresh approach to the topic or theme or genre? To what extent is this approach creative? Would this work spark discussion or reflection?
Support: Is the work detailed enough and how convincing are the details? How vivid or rich are the images? Do the details and explanations recreate the experience for the reader?
Polish: Are the sentences and phrases well-crafted? Does the student use appropriate diction for the subject matter and approach? Is the piece well-written and free of unintentional grammatical mistakes, typos, or other errors?
Email 2016 Convention Co-Chairs, Felicia Jean Steele and Diane Steinberg at [email protected].