2026 NTE Finals JUNIOR POETRY

Scoresheet

Judge Number
Contestant Name
Scoring

JUDGING CRITERIA
17-20 Superior; 13-16 Excellent; 9-12 Good; 5-8 Average; 1-4 Work on this area
1. CONTENT
Originality, Interest, Logic and accuracy
Support (specific and convincing)
Must be a number between 1 and 20
JUDGING CRITERIA
17-20 Superior; 13-16 Excellent; 9-12 Good; 5-8 Average; 1-4 Work on this area
2. ORGANIZATION
Thesis (purpose is clear throughout), Introduction
Body (main points clear, unified and supported/amplified and easy to
understand), Conclusion
Must be a number between 1 and 20
JUDGING CRITERIA
17-20 Superior; 13-16 Excellent; 9-12 Good; 5-8 Average; 1-4 Work on this area
3. STYLE
Sentence variety and structure; Diction and imagery
Must be a number between 1 and 20
JUDGING CRITERIA
17-20 Superior; 13-16 Excellent; 9-12 Good; 5-8 Average; 1-4 Work on this area
4. SPELLING/GRAMMAR
Mechanics (spelling, punctuation, grammar)
Unity, coherence, emphasis (sentences clearly related to one another
and all related to the thesis)
Must be a number between 1 and 20
JUDGING CRITERIA
17-20 Superior; 13-16 Excellent; 9-12 Good; 5-8 Average; 1-4 Work on this area
5. RHYME/RHYTHM
Meter regular, Rhyme smooth
Must be a number between 1 and 20
JUDGING CRITERIA
17-20 Superior; 13-16 Excellent; 9-12 Good; 5-8 Average; 1-4 Work on this area
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