Young Writers Contest Judging Criteria

Contestant's entries will be measured on a scale of 1-5 (1 = poor, 3 = average, 5 = great). To achieve the highest possible score, focus on these criteria:


CONTENT

The story hooked and held the reader’s attention to the end.

The story had a distinct beginning, middle and end.

The story focused on the contest theme.


SYNTAX

Correct punctuation used.

Correct subject-verb agreement used.

Tense shifts used appropriately.

Sentence and paragraph usage aided the story’s structure.


STYLE

The story had a clear point of view.

The story had a distinct voice.

The author’s word choices describe the setting without being verbose.