7.

Poetry Out Loud Scoring Rubric*

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.

JUDGING POETRY OUT LOUD 10