The scoring rubric is meant to provide a consistent measure against which to evaluate recitations. It is not intended to be comprehensive but serves as a companion to the evaluation criteria. We suggest you review it before the competition to get a sense of what you should look for in individual performances. The rubric, Judge’s Guide, and model recitations are tools to use in preparation for judging.
Weak Below Average Good Excellent Outstanding
Average Poised; Authoritative; Stiff or agitated; Timid; Body Comfortable; body body language lacks connection unsure; body language is at Physical confident language shows with audience; language times unsure, Presence appears reflects at times body reveals compelling language strong stage stage uncomfortable nervousness confident presence presence Audible, but Very clear, Very clear, quiet; too crisp, crisp, Inaudible; slow; Clear, Clear, loud; effective use mastery of Voice and distracting rhythm; adequate appropriate monotone; of volume, rhythm and Articulation singsong; hurried; paced intonation, intonation intonation, pace, skillful mispronunciations even pacing and pacing unevenly; rhythm, and use of volume affected tone pacing and intonation Poem is secondary to Poem is Poem is style of enhanced by Style of overshadowed by Style of delivery; style of delivery significant delivery includes Poem is delivery; any reflects distracting reflects instances of neither gestures, internalization gestures, facial precedence Dramatic distracting overwhelmed facial of poem; all expressions, of poem; Appropriateness inflections or gestures, nor enhanced expressions, poem’s gestures and facial by style of and movements accents; acting out voice is well expressions, delivery movement feel essential of poem; singing; conveyed and vocal are to poem’s over-emoting; inflections; appropriate success inappropriate tone inappropriate to poem tone Masterfully Doesn’t Interprets interprets Satisfactorily sufficiently Conveys poem very poem for Evidence of Obscures meaning communicate communicate meaning of well for audience, Understanding of poem meaning of s meaning of poem well audience; deftly revealing poem poem nuanced poem’s meaning Inspired Captivating Ineffective or performance Inadequate Sufficient performance— inappropriate Enjoyable shows grasp recitation; recitation; whole equals recitation; does recitation; of recitation Overall lackluster; lacks “more than the disservice to poem successfully skills and Performance does meaningful delivers enhances sum of the disservice to impact on parts”; shows poem audience’s poem audience mastery of experience recitation skills of the poem *Note that all elements need not be present. Semicolons often represent “or,” especially in the negative categories.