The ARMY Awards 2022 [JUDGING]

Judging Criteria and Rounds

This section will cover 2 things: how judging will work and what the judges will be looking for

How Judging Will Work

As you can see, there has been a set limit for how many participants can enter for both authors and judges. This is because I am implementing a "rounds" or tournament system. The system will go as follows:

First Round:
- Will start with 20 books
- Judges will judge 4 books

Second Round:
- Will have 15 books left from the previous round
- Judges will judge 3 different books than the last round

Third Round:
- Will have 10 Books left from the previous round
- Judges will judge 2 different books than last round

Fourth Round:
- Will have 5 books left from the previous round
- I will be personally judging these books for the final 3

Final Round:
- The last 2 eliminated books will be announced and the 3 winners will be revealed

Each round will also have an elimination chapter. The books that have the lowest score out of each round will be eliminated and they will be posted after every round with their score and a short synopsis of the judge's review. 

The google forms from last year will also be used this year as I have gotten positive responses from it. It was very easy to use and perfect for my own records! You will be able to submit your completed judging forms and reviews in this form and also be able to submit more than one, so you can use them over and over again!

Judging for certain categories will go on at the same time, I know some categories take some time to fill up and that is okay! The preferable number for categories is 20, which is where judging will start, but if the number doesn't change after a while then it will be judged as is. 

Judging Criteria

Grammar: _/10
- Are there spelling mistakes?
- Is the punctuation correct?
- Are you able to fully understand what is going on in the story?
- Are there any general spelling errors?

Sentence Fluency: _/15
- Are the paragraphs in the correct position on the page?
- Does the dialogue have its own paragraph?
- Does the author have fragments?
- Are the events in the story in chronological order? 
- Are the sentences run-ons?

Characters: _/10
- Do the characters seem realistic?
- Can you relate to them?
- Do they fit in well with the story?
- Are they developing like they should?
- Does the author allow them to interact with the other characters in a realistic way?
- Are the characters carrying out the plot well?

Pacing: _/15
- Does the story move too fast or slow?
- Chronologically, are the events easy to follow?
- Does the main protagonist develop too fast? Too slow?
- Does everything move like a normal plot should?
- Does the story begin in the middle of the plot or does it have a clear beginning?

Content: _/25
- Is the story able to excite you?
- Does it have enough chapters to get a full understanding of the plot?
- Does the content make you want to read on?
- Does the story make sense in general?
- Do you see yourself wanting to finish the book?

Emotions: _/15
- Does the author use pathos correctly?
- Were you personally emotionally invested in the book?
- Did the story pull at your heartstrings?
- If the book is completed, did the ending satisfy you?
- Were there parts of the story that made you feel "meh"?
- Were there parts that should have been more expressive?

First Impressions: _/10
- Based on the cover and title, were you drawn to the book?
- Was the description too short or too long?
- Is the title, cover, and description relevant to the story?
- Does the writing style make sense?
- Based on the first chapter, did you want to keep reading?
- Was the plot introduced in a relevant and realistic way?

Total: _/100
This total is the collective total from each criterion above.

Along with the completed form, you will write a review of the book. You must be thorough and critical, authors are looking for actual things to work on, not a congratulatory sentiment (unless it's a score of 100/100).

You may vote on chapters and yes, you may also comment. Only comment things about the story you find entertaining, do not comment about any score or give them tips to work on, you will save that for your review. You can read the first 5-10 chapters but are more than welcome to read more to make an accurate review. 

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to comment here --->