CRITERIA FOR JUDGING PAPERS
TECHNICAL MERIT
Research Statement
Significance:
Selection and Use of
Resources:
Critical Assessment
QUALITY
Spelling and Grammar
Readability:
ORGANIZATION
Formality:
Reference and Insertions:
ARGUMENT
Development:
Conclusion:
Clarity of Argument:
Presentation Style:
Responding to Questions:
Is there a precise statement of the research question or problem?
How convincingly does the paper describe the background of
current research on the topic?
How convincingly does the paper argue the literary, theoretical or
practical significance of the research topic?
Are the number and type of resources appropriate? Are the
selected resources credible and current? Did the student make
good use of the resources in writing the paper?
Does the paper provide a critical assessment of the student’s own
research and others’ research?
How many spelling and grammatical errors occur in the paper?
How well does the paper read? Does the paper exhibit a
consistent and easily accessible flow in the overall argument and
organization of sections, paragraphs and sentences? Is the paper
interrupted with irrelevant information?
Does the organization of the paper conform to an acceptable
standard do scholarly research? Is the paper organized into
meaningful sections and subsections?
Does the paper include properly cited references and
footnotes/endnotes? If they exist, do boxes, tables, figures, etc
enhance the paper? Are they clear and understandable, or are they
distractions? If they exist, do appendices provide necessary and
understandable information?
Throughout the paper, is the argument clear and convincing?
Based on the research question, is the flow of information and
development of ideas logically consistent?
Does the paper convincingly answer the initial research question?
Doe the evidence in the paper substantial the conclusions? Does
the paper offer new avenue of research based on the conclusions?
Is the thesis well defined? Is there evidence to support it?
Does the student speak clearly, make eye contact, and use audiovisual aids (if used) effectively? Does it seem that he or she has
rehearsed the presentation?
Does the student answer questions adequately?
A minimum of three judges (not from the applicant’s school) will read every finished research paper
prior to the event and provide comments. During the presentation sessions, the panel and audience will
listen to each student’s presentation and ask questions. Papers selected for publication will be
announced at the closing.
TECHNICAL MERIT
Research Statement: Is there a precise statement of the research question or problem? How
convincingly does the paper describe the background of current research on the topic?
Significance: How convincingly does the paper argue the literary, theoretical, or practical significance of
the research topic?
Selection and Use of Resources: Are the number and type of resources appropriate? Are the selected
resources credible and current? Did the student make good use of the resources in writing the paper?
Critical Assessment: Does the paper provide a critical assessment of the student’s own research and
others’ research?
QUALITY
Spelling and Grammar: How many spelling and grammatical errors occur in the paper?
Readability: How well does the paper read? Does the paper exhibit a consistent and easily accessible
flow in the overall argument and organization of sections, paragraphs, and sentences? Is the paper
interrupted with irrelevant information?
ORGANIZATION
Formality: Does the organization of the paper conform to an acceptable standard of scholarly research?
Is the paper organized into meaningful sections and subsections?
References and Insertions: Does the paper include properly cited references and footnotes/endnotes?
If they exist, do boxes, tables, figures, etc. enhance the paper? Are they clear and understandable, or
are they distractions? If they exist, do appendices provide necessary and understandable information?
ARGUMENT
Development: Throughout the paper, is the argument clear and convincing? Based on the research
question, is the flow of information and development of ideas logically consistent?
Conclusion: Does the paper convincingly answer the initial research question? Does the evidence in
the paper substantiate the conclusions? Does the paper offer new avenues of research based on the
conclusions?
ARGUMENT
Is the thesis well defined? Is there evidence to support it?
PRESENTATION STYLE
Does the student speak clearly, make eye contact, and use audio-visual aids (if used) effectively? Does
it seem that s/he has rehearsed the presentation?
RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS
Does the student answer questions adequately?