Evaluation Criteria:

Physical Presence

Voice and Articulation

Dramatic Appropriateness

Level of Difficulty

Evidence of Understanding

Overall Performance

Accuracy

PHYSICAL PRESENCE

Eye contact, body language, and poise.

Tips:

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:

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.