Poetry Out Loud Scoring Rubric for ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Period __________
Comments:
Outstanding (4)
Physical
Presence
Voice &
Articulation
Dramatic
Appropriateness
Level of
Complexity
Evidence of
Understanding
Overall
Performance
Excellent (4-)
Good (3+)
Average (3)
Below Average (3-)
Weak (2)
Authoritative; body
language and eye
contact show
compelling stage
presence
Very clear, crisp
mastery of rhythm and
pace; skillful use of
volume and intonation
Style of delivery
reflects internalization
of poem; all gestures
and movements feel
essential to poem’s
success
Poised; body language
and eye contact reveal
strong stage presence.
Comfortable; steady
eye contact and
confident body
language
Body language and eye
contact are at times
unsure, at times
confident.
Timid; unsure; eye
contact and body
language reflects
nervousness.
Stiff or agitated; lacks
eye contact with
audience; appears
uncomfortable
Very clear, crisp,
effective use of volume,
intonation, rhythm, and
pacing
Style of delivery
reflects precedence of
poem; poem’s voice is
well conveyed.
Clear, appropriate
intonation and pacing
Clear, adequate
intonation; even pacing
Audible, but quiet; too
loud; monotone; paced
unevenly; affected tone
Poem is enhanced by
style of delivery; any
gestures, facial
expressions, and
movement are
appropriate to poem
Poem is neither
overwhelmed nor
enhanced by style of
delivery
Poem is secondary to
style of delivery;
includes instances of
distracting gestures,
facial expressions, and
vocal inflections;
inappropriate tone
Contains extremely
challenging content and
language; length is
challenging for a poem
of this complexity
Masterfully interprets
poem for audience,
deftly revealing poem’s
meaning
Captivating
performance – whole
equals “more than the
sum of the parts”;
shows mastery of
recitation skills
Contains very
challenging content
and language; length is
appropriate to the
complexity of the poem
Interprets poem very
well for audience;
nuanced
Contains two elements
of challenging content,
language, or length
One element of
challenging content:
language or length
Straight-forward
language and content;
moderate length
Inaudible; slow;
distracting rhythm;
singsong; hurried;
mispronunciations
Poem is overshadowed
by significant
distracting gestures,
facial expressions,
inflections or accents;
acting out of poem;
singing; over-emoting;
inappropriate tone.
Simple content, easy
language, short length
Conveys meaning of
poem well
Satisfactorily
communicates meaning
of poem
Doesn’t sufficiently
communicate meaning
of poem
Obscures meaning of
poem
Inspired performance
shows grasp of
recitation skills and
enhances audience’s
experience of the poem
Enjoyable recitation;
successfully delivers
poem
Sufficient recitation;
lacks meaningful
impact on audience
Inadequate recitation;
lackluster; does
disservice to poem
Ineffective or
inappropriate
recitation; does
disservice to poem
ACCURACY SCORING:
Minor Inaccuracies, resulting in a 1-point deduction for each instance:
 Confusing a pronoun (“he” instead of “she”)
 Confusing an article (“a” instead of “the”)
 Pluralizing a word or vice-versa (“horses” instead of “horse”)
 Replacing a word with a similar word (“jump” instead of “leap”)
 Confusing the order of words (“hops and skips” instead of “skips and hops”)
 Skipping a word
 Repeating a word
 Adding a word
Major Inaccuracies, resulting in larger deductions per occurrence, include:
 One line out of order (-2)
 Repeating a line (-2)
 Skipped 1 line/Skipped three or more words in the same line (-3)
 Reversed 2 stanzas (-5)
 Skipped 1 stanza (-6)
PHYSICAL PRESENCE
Eye contact, body language, and poise.
Tips:
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Present yourself well and be attentive. Use good posture. Look confident.
Use eye contact with the entire audience. Don’t focus solely on the judges.
Nervous gestures, poor eye contact with the audience, and lack of poise or confidence will detract from your score.
Relax and be natural. Enjoy your poem—the judges will notice.
Qualities of a strong recitation:
Ease and comfort with the audience. Engagement with the audience through physical presence, including appropriate body language, confidence, and eye
contact—without appearing artificial.
VOICE AND ARTICULATION
Volume, pace, rhythm, intonation, and proper pronunciation.
Keep in Mind: Contestants will use a microphone at the National Finals.
Tips:
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Project to the audience. Capture the attention of everyone, including the people in the back row. However, don’t mistake yelling for good projection.
Proceed at a fitting and natural pace. Avoid nervously rushing through the poem. Do not speak so slowly that the language sounds unnatural or
awkward.
With rhymed poems, be careful not to recite in a sing-song manner.
Make sure you know how to pronounce every word in your poem. Articulate.
Line breaks are a defining feature of poetry. Decide whether a break requires a pause and, if so, how long to pause.
Qualities of a strong recitation:
All words pronounced correctly, and the volume, rhythm, and intonation greatly enhance the recitation. Pacing appropriate to the poem.
DRAMATIC APPROPRIATENESS
Recitation is about conveying a poem’s sense with its language. It is closer to the art of oral interpretation than theatrical performance. (Think storyteller or
narrator rather than actor.) A strong performance will rely on a powerful internalization of the poem rather than distracting dramatic gestures. You represent
the poem’s voice, not a character’s. You must subtly enhance the understanding and enjoyment of the poem without overshadowing the language.
Tips:
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Do not act out the poem. Too much dramatization distracts from the language of the poem. Movement or accents must not detract from the poem’s
voice.
 You are the vessel of your poem. Have confidence that your poem is strong enough to communicate without a physical illustration. Let the words of
the poem do the work.
 Depending on the poem, occasional gestures may be appropriate, but the line between appropriate and overdone is a thin one. When uncertain, leave
them out.
 Avoid monotone delivery. However, too much enthusiasm can make your performance seem insincere.
Qualities of a strong recitation:
The dramatization subtly underscores the meaning of the poem without becoming the focal point. The style of delivery is more about oral interpretation
than dramatic enactment. A low score in this category will result from recitations that have affected character voices and accents, inappropriate tone and
inflection, singing, distracting and excessive gestures, or unnecessary emoting.
LEVEL OF COMPLEXITY
A poem with complex content conveys difficult, sophisticated ideas, that are challenging to comprehend and express. A poem with complex language will
have intricate diction and syntax, meter and rhyme scheme, and shifts in tone or mood. Poem length is also considered in complexity. Please keep in mind
that longer poems are not necessarily more difficult. Poems with significantly challenging content and language may not need length to score well.
Tips:
 For competitions beyond the classroom level, select poems of various styles, time periods, themes, and tones. Diversity of poem selection will allow
judges to see your mastery of various elements of complexity.
 Make sure each poem you choose is one that speaks to you. If you are able to connect with a poem, that internalization will ripple positively throughout
all of your scores.
EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING
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You must understand the poem fully. Be attentive to the messages, meanings, allusions, irony, tones of voice, and other nuances in your poem.
Be sure you know the meaning of every word and line in your poem.
Listen to track 4 on the audio CD (or in the audio section) in which poet David Mason introduces Yeats’s “The Lake Isle of Innisfree.” He advises
you to think about how you should interpret the tone, volume, and voice of your poem. Is it a quiet poem? Is it a boisterous poem? Should it be read
more quickly or slowly, with a happy or mournful tone? Your interpretation will be different for each poem, and it is a crucial element of your
performance.