Colosseum Tournament

[Monkey D. Luffy]

erm, not really disputing my score, and not that it matters, but:

which was the very infrequent misplaced comma.

Doesn't that fall under the oxford comma situation, where it's technically acceptable depending on context to put a comma before a connecting word?
It's a very minor complaint and even if it somehow affected my score wouldn't affect the win, but did feel it was worth bringing up, as to my knowledge it's not improper grammar.

Sentence in question:

Under ordinary circumstances she might have grunted at the pain of it, but compared to the agony that left her in hurried gasps of pain too weak to be called screams she didn't notice.

To my knowledge as the sentence requires it is grammatically permissible to put a comma alongside a connecting word.

Actually, in my grammatically critical opinion, that sentence needs more commas to break it up, so as to read smoothly. If it were me, I would alter it to:

Under ordinary circumstances she might have grunted at the pain of it, but compared to the agony that left her in hurried gasps of pain, too weak to be called screams, she didn't notice.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Agreeing with Luffy. You'd essentially be following rule 4 here. Not so much a misplaced comma as in this case an 'unpaired' comma. Though I'm not an English major, so take this with a grain of salt.

[Weiss Schnee]

erm, not really disputing my score, and not that it matters, but:

which was the very infrequent misplaced comma.

Doesn't that fall under the oxford comma situation, where it's technically acceptable depending on context to put a comma before a connecting word?
It's a very minor complaint and even if it somehow affected my score wouldn't affect the win, but did feel it was worth bringing up, as to my knowledge it's not improper grammar.

Sentence in question:

Under ordinary circumstances she might have grunted at the pain of it, but compared to the agony that left her in hurried gasps of pain too weak to be called screams she didn't notice.

To my knowledge as the sentence requires it is grammatically permissible to put a comma alongside a connecting word.

Actually, in my grammatically critical opinion, that sentence needs more commas to break it up, so as to read smoothly. If it were me, I would alter it to:

Under ordinary circumstances she might have grunted at the pain of it, but compared to the agony that left her in hurried gasps of pain, too weak to be called screams, she didn't notice.

yeah, I should probably have added a couple more. I'm more wondering whether the oxford comma is considered valid or invalid(As whether connecting words need it is disputed and to my knowledge in fiction it's fairly universal that writers mix and match that as it suits the impact they're attempting to make in a scene.)
Edit: Also going to note, as much as I can, I'm not attempting to dispute anything. Oxford Comma being valid or invalid depends entirely on the institution, however, and if it's not considered correct here I'll avoid using it here to avoid that problem in the future.


Also, just to note:
I'll be returning the favor here eventually, Okor.

[Kakashi Hatake]

I don't think it's factored in, as it's more or less a style choice (judges feel free to correct me). Though in the sentence you've mentioned it's not an oxford comma, as that only comes into play when listing 3 or more terms with said conjunction. In this case it would just be a comma before a 'nonessential element'.

[Gildarts]

I did not take off a point because of that one sentence, as there were other errors, some of which I quoted above this. However acute factors do attribute to the overall score of the grammar category. If it is desired that I go through and annotate all errors or certain corrections I see, I don't mind as long as it makes it feel fairer.

[Weiss Schnee]

I did not take off a point because of that one sentence, as there were other errors, some of which I quoted above this. However acute factors do attribute to the overall score of the grammar category. If it is desired that I go through and annotate all errors or certain corrections I see, I don't mind as long as it makes it feel fairer.

Given I'm looking for ways to improve my writing I would very much appreciate that in all reality.
I've no issue with it feeling unfair, and it's not as though a point here or there was going to save my score, but when the score's less than 5 It means there's room to improve and I appreciate hearing how and where I went wrong.

[Okor]

My rotting god, I actually thought I was going to lose that. I had a great time writing with Weiss, and I've taken your criticism to heart! Can't wait for the next fight!

[Black☆Star]

Congratulations to Magus! Well fought!

[Proto Man]

I did not take off a point because of that one sentence, as there were other errors, some of which I quoted above this. However acute factors do attribute to the overall score of the grammar category. If it is desired that I go through and annotate all errors or certain corrections I see, I don't mind as long as it makes it feel fairer.

Given I'm looking for ways to improve my writing I would very much appreciate that in all reality.
I've no issue with it feeling unfair, and it's not as though a point here or there was going to save my score, but when the score's less than 5 It means there's room to improve and I appreciate hearing how and where I went wrong.

Just for the record, on that scoring scale, a 5 would mean you should be a professional author. As Sinbad (who authored that template) would say, no one should receive a 5 on anything, and I wouldn't be surprised if he felt most people shouldn't receive 4s.

I think that's the entire reason why he made a post a few days ago that different judges will give out different scores.

[Gildarts]

I did not take off a point because of that one sentence, as there were other errors, some of which I quoted above this. However acute factors do attribute to the overall score of the grammar category. If it is desired that I go through and annotate all errors or certain corrections I see, I don't mind as long as it makes it feel fairer.

Given I'm looking for ways to improve my writing I would very much appreciate that in all reality.
I've no issue with it feeling unfair, and it's not as though a point here or there was going to save my score, but when the score's less than 5 It means there's room to improve and I appreciate hearing how and where I went wrong.

Alright, but I don't feel comfortable listing it all under the grading stuff for the judge template (which is why I did not post it extensively there in the first place) but I'll PM it to you when I get the chance. (Expect tomorrow or late this evening).

[Gildarts]

Everyone who posted Friday, be careful of the deadlines !

[Monkey D. Luffy]

A minor suggestion to all judges: Maybe it would add some ease of comparison if you all instilled increments of .5 in your judging, instead of whole numbers. 1.5, 2.5, so on. That way, if two combatants are equal in every category, the victory could be decided by a measly 1/2 a point above their opponent.

It would also allow participants to more accurately gauge where they stand and identify the severity of their flaws.

[Weiss Schnee]

I did not take off a point because of that one sentence, as there were other errors, some of which I quoted above this. However acute factors do attribute to the overall score of the grammar category. If it is desired that I go through and annotate all errors or certain corrections I see, I don't mind as long as it makes it feel fairer.

Given I'm looking for ways to improve my writing I would very much appreciate that in all reality.
I've no issue with it feeling unfair, and it's not as though a point here or there was going to save my score, but when the score's less than 5 It means there's room to improve and I appreciate hearing how and where I went wrong.

Just for the record, on that scoring scale, a 5 would mean you should be a professional author. As Sinbad (who authored that template) would say, no one should receive a 5 on anything, and I wouldn't be surprised if he felt most people shouldn't receive 4s.

I think that's the entire reason why he made a post a few days ago that different judges will give out different scores.

Yeah, don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying I'm ever expecting a 5 on anything, just that it's something I'm constantly striving for and trying to get to.
"professional author" is the goal I'm working towards, and while I RP for a bunch of reasons, "to get better at it" is close to the top of the list.

[Magus]

Congratulations to Magus! Well fought!

You too! Good luck on your next adventure, you candy-raver ninja assassin, you!

[Bandit With No Name]

OH yo, so quick addendum to the post I made before I left this weekend:

I was in no way trying to say that the other judge was BAD at grading, I am just desperately trying to make sure that people don't feel unduly crappy about themselves if you see score differences. I have full faith in all of our judges, especially Gildarts (because we've worked together so closely on the site). Also, she wasn't even the one that judged that round. The point still stands:

The important parts of a tournament judging isn't the specific points. It's about getting a solid C&C and a numeric display of your strong and weak aspects and comparing them to your opponent's.

<3 all of ya'll, I'mma catch up on the posts now.

[Sarah Kerrigan]

My rotting god, I actually thought I was going to lose that. I had a great time writing with Weiss, and I've taken your criticism to heart! Can't wait for the next fight!

And I can't wait To throw enough hellfire at Okor to turn him into a puddle for when we fight later, either.

[Kakashi Hatake]

So even though my opponent was a no-show...can I still have my posts graded? Just want to be able to improve however I can for the next match.

[Gildarts]

So even though my opponent was a no-show...can I still have my posts graded? Just want to be able to improve however I can for the next match.

Of Course! Thanks for enduring, I wasn't able to get on yesterday evening, so I'll be doing some grading tonight. I had planned on giving you feedback. Also just wanted to say it takes a good writer to work with (nothing.)

[Trixie]

OH yo, so quick addendum to the post I made before I left this weekend:

I was in no way trying to say that the other judge was BAD at grading, I am just desperately trying to make sure that people don't feel unduly crappy about themselves if you see score differences. I have full faith in all of our judges, especially Gildarts (because we've worked together so closely on the site). Also, she wasn't even the one that judged that round. The point still stands:

The important parts of a tournament judging isn't the specific points. It's about getting a solid C&C and a numeric display of your strong and weak aspects and comparing them to your opponent's.

<3 all of ya'll, I'mma catch up on the posts now.

btw Gildarts didn't do the grading you were referring to. Tartaros and Rin's fight was graded by me. Just y'know FYI

[Kakashi Hatake]

So even though my opponent was a no-show...can I still have my posts graded? Just want to be able to improve however I can for the next match.

Of Course! Thanks for enduring, I wasn't able to get on yesterday evening, so I'll be doing some grading tonight. I had planned on giving you feedback. Also just wanted to say it takes a good writer to work with (nothing.)

Awesome, thank you! And no rush at all. I only asked because since I technically didn't have opposition I thought that if I didn't mention it I would just be hand-waved to the next round =P.