[4] Score Card/Judge Rubric

[Karl Jak]

This is not a score card of my creation (I actually had my own at some point), but it's one that I've grown to like.

I'm not saying that this system/rubric is better or worse than anything else anyone is using, it's just the one that I have always used (either purposefully or just unofficially in my skull).

Plus I'm a teacher, so I like having rubrics and standards and blah blah blah educator talk.

Sections

Description and Clarity:
This section covers how effectively the writer created the world around the reader. How they staged the scene. Making sure that the reader can understand what is being described, using vivid or appropriate descriptions of items, events and people in the story and having good word choice all go into this section of the review. Note that using “purple prose” is not always effective, nor is consistently using flat, dry description. A writer that gets a good score in this section draws the reader into the world and allows them to see through the eyes of the character/narrator.

Voice:
No two writers write in the same style, nor should they. Even individual stories call for individual writing styles, a mood that creates a tinted lens through which the story is viewed. This is traditionally called the “voice” of the writer and it is a very important part of writing. A writer with a high score in this considers tone, pacing and including/disincluding detail throughout the entire story, and carefully selects words that epitomizes the character and the scene.

Characterization:
Character development, the actions and motivation of characters and dialogue are all important in this section. The goal is to create “round” characters as opposed to “flat” ones. Making the people in your writing seem real, not just archetypes following a plot progression is the goal here. The writer should consider who the people they are writing as are as individuals, why they take certain actions, their personal problems and boons, how they interact with the world around themselves and how they approach problems are all considerations for a writer in this section. Note that not all GOOD characters are LIKABLE characters. If you really hate a character that’s well written, this section deserves a good score! You should be grading ALL of the characters the writer is working with, even the opposition's. It's entirely possible that a writer portrays a character more compellingly than that character's "owner".

Story:
Every body of creative writing, no matter how short or long, follows a storyline. How well the themes, events, messages and twists grab the reader is what makes the difference between a decent story and a great story. The writer must capture the reader’s attention hold it with the actions of characters and the world around them. This isn’t to say that a writing must be packed with action or intrigue, even something as simple as eating breakfast can be made into a great story. The presentation of events and how those events tie into the writer’s voice is what makes it good reading.

Technical:
This is the clerical work of the body of work. Spelling, punctuation, grammar and anything else that can be considered technical goes into this section. Generally every major grammatical error per 500 words moves this section down one grade. Additionally, look for length of sentences,the size of paragraphs, and the general presentation of the finished writing. If it looks unprofessional in presentation, then this section should suffer. If you could see the current format being accepted for the pages of a novel, this should be a high score.

Points
So, honestly, the consistency of the points only matters within a single fight. It's very difficult to maintain a specific standard, even for the same judge, between each writing. However, giving too many or too few points will dramatically interfere with the Damage and SP bonus that is given after this section.

Remember that MOST writers should be scoring about a 10. "Average" isn't a bad thing, and even if the writing is of a high quality, it is being compared to the standards of the site. 4's and 5's should be rarely awarded, and even good writers should not be getting them every time they post.

"1: There is room for improvement. Generally the reviewer should highlight how the writer could improve this area as well as direct them to outside sources that can give more help.

2: This section was about average. The writer has room for improvement but about par with the rest of the site’s writing ability. Reviewer should highlight areas to improve and site specific errors or weak spots.

3: This section is above average. The writer has shown a competency higher than the average writer on the site, but can still notably improve. The reviewer can be vague with their ideas for improvement but still include specific details and weak spots.

4: This section was fantastic! The writer took the reins and really took the reader on a journey. Few errors or room for improvement can be found by the reviewer but anything that the reviewer feels could be cleaned up should be noted.

5: This section is one of the best the reviewer has ever seen. This level of writing is on par with professionals with very few errors and the reviewer should have a hard time finding room to improve. This grade should be handed out rarely, and only to the very best writing!"

If you are interested/"want to do your homework", I highly recommend you delve into the old tournament run in Camelot two years ago. This was the scoring standard used, and there was like... a 'crap ton' of fights you can check out if you have questions or want to see 'real life' examples.

EDIT:

Please note that, as it stands, SP-usage is purely for the sake of enriching your writing/the story/the scene you want to create. I wanted to prevent people from just squatting on their SP, because I think that's lame.

"Stats?" - I feel compelled to point you to the last FAQ on the 'Fighting and Competition Rules' page of the manual. When it comes down to stats and game mechanics, my philosophy is that such things exist to enhance and guide what you're writing. If your opponent has an advantage over you in some regard (physically or because they have a complex move set), I want to see your character adapt and adjust. I want to see you work your writer brain and create a compelling piece. On the other side of the spectrum, if you take your first post to go Tier 3 and you literally just bitch slap everyone around... that isn't going to be fun to read and it's not doing your character any favors. Again, I think that FAQ answer sums it up pretty nicely.