Poetry By Heart
Scotland
Competition Organisers’
Handbook 2014-15
1
Contents
Introduction
Poetry By Heart Scotland at a glance
10 Steps to Success
Rules
Step 1: Inspire your students to take part
Step 2: Set a competition date, time and place.
Step 3: Help students believe they can do it.
3
4
5
6
8
9
10
A Voice and a Breath: Liz Lochhead’s tips
Step 4: Plan your competition event.
Sample competition schedule
Step 5: Find some volunteers to help run the
competition
Step 6: Help students polish their performance
Step 7: Prepare your judges
Step 8: Pick a winner
Step 9: Celebrate everyone’s achievements
Tell local radio and newspaper journalists what
you’re doing
Step 10: Support your winner in preparing for
the regional heat
11
12
13
14
Appendix
Poetry By Heart Judging Criteria
Contest Score Sheet
Accuracy Score Sheet
2
15
16
17
18
20
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Introduction
The Scottish Poetry Library is thrilled to announce our new
competition, Poetry By Heart Scotland which is designed to
encourage pupils in S4-S6 to learn and recite poems by heart. There
are no props, no costumes, no technical wizardry, just the vocal
expression of poems that have been understood and enjoyed.
Central to the competition process is the development of deep
personal connections between students and their chosen poems,
poems that are then introduced to classmates, families and the local
community.
We aim to engage young people from diverse social backgrounds and
all types of school in Poetry By Heart, facilitating individual and group
discovery of the pleasures of poetry. Liz Lochhead, the Scots Makar,
is championing our cause and will be a judge at the 2015 National
Finals of Poetry By Heart Scotland. Liz says, “Poems need to be
learned by heart, not by rote. I don’t think I would have become a
poet, I wouldn’t even have become a person who reads poems, if I
hadn’t learned them by heart.”
So if you want to encourage your pupils to be the next generation of
poetry readers and poets, Poetry By Heart Scotland could be just
what your school is waiting for. Following in this handbook is the
information you need to establish your school competition. Further
downloads, resources and inspiration can be found at
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk.
Also we are very grateful to Julie and Tom at Poetry By Heart in
England who have generously shared their existing competition
resources with us. Be sure to visit their website at
www.poetrybyheart.org.uk for further resources and activity ideas.
Wishing you good memories for and of your competition!
Georgi Gill
Learning Manager
Scottish Poetry Library
3
Poetry By Heart Scotland: at a glance
WHO takes part?
Pupils in S4-S6 as competitors; non-competitors can also be given
supporting roles in running your contest.
Schools are welcome to host their own competitions for S1-S3 but
there is not currently a national competition for these year groups.
Any school staff member can organize their school’s competition.
WHAT do competitors have to do?
Memorise and recite poems by heart, bringing them alive for the
audience. Poems can be chosen from the Poetry By Heart anthology
of 200 poems, the Scottish Poetry Library’s online tags or from a
combination of both lists.
School contests: one poem published before 1914 plus one poem
published after 1914.
Regional semi-finals and the national finals: one pre-1914 poem
plus one post-1914 poem plus a third poem from the World War 1
poetry showcases
At each stage one of the poems selected from the list must be by a
Scottish poet. (This includes poets resident in Scotland who may not
have been born here.)
WHAT do school organisers have to do?
Register your school by emailing [email protected]
Arrange a contest according to the guidance and rules in this
handbook and promptly report the date set to Georgi at the
Scottish Poetry Library.
Select a winner and runner-up using the judging criteria and scoring
system in this handbook and report the details to
[email protected] by 12 noon on Friday 9th January 2015.
Support the winner in participating in the regional heat and if
successful, we’d love you to come to Edinburgh to cheer on your
winner in the national finals!
WHERE & WHEN is it all happening?
First rounds - in any Scottish secondary school based in a
participating local authority by 19th December 2014.
Regional semi-finals - during the spring term by 1st March 2015
National finals - 28th March 2015 at the National Gallery of
Scotland.
HOW do I contact the Poetry By Heart Scotland Team?
By email: [email protected]
By phone: 0131 557 2876
By post: Poetry By Heart, Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close,
Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DT.
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10 STEPS TO SUCCESS
1.
Inspire your students to take part.
2.
Set a competition date, time and
place.
3.
Help pupils believe they can do it.
4.
Plan your competition event.
5.
Find some volunteers to help run
the competition.
6.
Help students polish their
performances.
7.
Prepare the judges.
8.
Hold your competition and pick a
winner.
9.
Celebrate everyone’s
achievements.
10.
Support your winner in preparing
for the regional heat.
5
RULES
These rules will apply throughout the competition. If you are in any doubt,
talk to us at by email at [email protected], by phone on 0131 557 2876,
or via Twitter @ByLeavesWeLive or facebook.com/scottishpoetrylibrary.
Student eligibility
School registration: only schools and colleges that have registered
with Poetry By Heart Scotland by 16th December 2014 are eligible to
send their competitors forward to the regional heats of the
competition. Register by emailing [email protected]
Year group: only students currently enrolled in S4, S5 or S6 are eligible
for progression to regional Poetry By Heart Scotland competitions.
Progression: a student may not advance to the regional round without
first competing in his/her school competition.
Poem selection
Anthology: all poems MUST be selected from Poetry By Heart
Scotland’s tagged poetry anthology available at
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk AND/OR the 2014-15 Poetry By
Heart anthology available online at www.poetrybyheart.org.uk.
Poems on the Scottish Poetry Library website which are NOT tagged
as part of Poetry By Heart Scotland CANNOT be used for recital in this
competition. Also poems from other sources CANNOT be recited in
this competition.
At each stage of the competition at least one poem recited by each
student MUST be Scottish. This definition includes poets resident in
Scotland who may have been born in other countries.
Optional: if your school is having class heats, students must perform 1
poem from any part of the Poetry By Heart Scotland or Poetry By
Heart anthologies.
School competition: students must perform 2 poems from the Poetry
By Heart Scotland tags AND/OR the Poetry By Heart anthology - 1
published before 1914 AND 1 published in or after 1914.
Regional finals: students must prepare to perform 3 poems from the
Poetry By Heart Scotland tags AND/OR the Poetry By Heart anthology
- 1 published before 1914 AND 1 published in or after 1914 AND 1
from the 2014-15 Poetry By Heart Scotland OR Poetry By Heart
showcases of World War 1 poems. These may be the same poems as
performed in the school competition or different.
National finals: students must perform 3 poems from the Poetry By
Heart Scotland tags AND/OR the Poetry By Heart anthology - 1
published before 1914 AND 1 published in or after 1914 AND 1 from
the 2014-15 Poetry By Heart Scotland OR Poetry By Heart showcases
of World War 1 poems. These may be the same poems as performed
in the regional final or different.
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Competition
Valid contests: for a contest to be valid at any stage, at least 3
eligible students must compete.
Judging criteria: students must be judged fairly according to the
Poetry By Heart Scotland judging criteria available in this
booklet and online at www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk.
Scoring: Judges must use the official scoring sheets to evaluate
each performance. These scores should be added together at
the end of the contest to provide a basis for agreement the
winner and runner up. Judges must not discuss performances or
scores during the contest but may retire to discuss the
cumulative scores before announcing the winner.
Number of winners: 1 winner only should be selected to
progress to the next round. If that champion is unable to attend
the next round, the runner-up should be sent. Please keep
Georgi at the Scottish Poetry Library informed of all changes.
Small contests: in the event that a regional heat fails to recruit
more than the minimum required number of contestants,
school runners-up will be invited to compete as well.
Ties: in the event of a tie, or judges not being able to announce
a clear winner, the top-performing students must recite 1 poem
again for a separate tie-break score. Students may choose which
poem to recite from the ones already recited in that contest.
Props: students must not use props, stage furniture, music or
costumes during their recitations.
Regional heat entries: schools/colleges must report the required
details of their school/college winners and runners-up to Georgi
at the Scottish Poetry Library no later than 12 noon on Friday
9th January 2015.
School/college competition date: should be reported to Georgi
at the Scottish Poetry Library as soon as it is known.
Student chaperones: students must be accompanied by a
responsible adult to the contests which take place out of
school/college. For the national finals, it is hoped that this will
be a teacher or other staff member from the student’s school
however in some cases this may be the student’s parent.
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STEP 1
Inspire your students to take part.
Why not launch your competition in a specially themed school
assembly?
Have teachers, support staff, lunch staff, parents, librarians, and
whoever else wants to get involved, sharing a poem they love
aloud. They might not know it by heart yet, but you could get
them involved in the challenge too!
Have a taster session in class or assembly or at lunchtime where
everyone gives it a go. Make the poem short, make the activity
fun and give it a go together. You will find good examples of
short poems online at www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk. They
aren’t eligible for the official competitions but they’re a great
introduction to reciting. Be prepared for surprises! It’s not
always the students you think that will be good at it!
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STEP 2
Set a competition date, time and place.
You can hold your school/college competition on any date in the
Autumn term 2014 as long as all winners and runners up are
notified to Georgi at the Scottish Poetry Library by 12 noon on
Friday 9th January.
Your competition could happen in class, in a lunch break, in
assembly, after school or as a razzmatazz evening event. It’s up
to you to decide what works best in your situation. Bear in mind
that everyone always says how moving and special the students’
poetry recitations are - why not invite an audience to share that
experience? Other students? Parents? Teachers?
If your competition is small, a familiar classroom might be the
perfect place, but there are lots of other spaces you might want
to consider: the school library, the hall or theatre. You don’t
need fancy audio visual equipment (though you’re welcome to
use it!) – you just need to make sure that everyone present,
especially the judges, can see and hear the competitors.
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STEP 3
Help students believe they can do it.
Ask students to find one poem they like. Encourage inclusivity and a
wide definition of poetry. It could be as basic as a nursery rhyme or
a limerick, something heartfelt or humorous – as long as it gets them
started. Ask them to learn it by heart. Next time you have a lesson,
or form group, or poetry lunch club, invite them to recite. Give lots
of praise and encouragement.
Set a homework challenge of learning the first four lines of a shorter,
more straightforward poem from the competition anthology. See
how far everyone has got and then learn the rest together. Have
pairs learning a line or two each; do repeat-after-me; invent actions;
have the lines on the board and gradually cover over the rhyme
words, then whole lines and stanzas until they have it.
Have non-competing friends or members of staff volunteering to
mentor competing students. They might help choose poems, practise
memorizing them, try out different ways of performing them, and
prepare for the competition.
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A Voice and a Breath:
Liz Lochhead’s tips for learning poems by heart
1. Learn poems by saying them out loud – that way the
muscles of your mouth and your face will remember
them.
2. Picture what you’re saying. See the poem in your mind as
well as saying it.
3. Don’t worry about the learning of the poem. Keep saying
it and gradually it will go into your memory.
4. Don’t be led too much by the tum-ti-tum rhythm of
poems; focus on the sense.
5. To help focus on the sense, type out your poem in
ordinary sentences. It won’t look like a poem anymore the rhythm (the tum-ti-tum) will still come across when
you say it aloud but it won’t take over.
6. We’ve all got a voice; we’ve all got a breath in our body.
Use them when you’re learning as well as when you’re
performing.
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STEP 4
Plan your competition event.
You must have a minimum of 3 competitors to select a school
winner to take part in the next round. Ideally you will have 6-12
students competing in the school/college final, though you could
have many more involved than that in classroom taster sessions,
trials or preliminary heats.
How long your competition takes will depend on how many students
are taking part. As a guide, you should allow five minutes for each
poem for each student – that gives plenty of time for the poem recital,
for the judges to do their scoring and the scorer to tally up the scores.
It also allows for students to move on and off the stage or other
performance space.
Draw up a running order with the names in sequence of the students
performing and which poems they will perform in which round. A
sample schedule is shown over the page. You will need this in order
to prepare the judges and their materials, as well as to ensure the
smooth running of the competition.
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Sample schedule for a competition with 7 contestants
3.00pm Welcoming remarks by the MC and introduction of the
competitors, judges and prompter, and any special guests. Explanation by
the MC of what will happen when, and how the recitations will be judged.
3.05pm Round 1: pre-1914 poems
1) John Fraser: William Earnest Henley, Invictus
2) Tracy Mears: Mary Elizabeth Coleridge: The Witch
3) Duncan Johnstone: Lord Byron, She Walks in Beauty
4) Lewin Angelotti: Chidiock Tichborne, Elegy
5) Mhairi Taylor: Robert Burns, To a Louse
6) Shona Johnson: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ozymandias
7) Jade Lee: Ben Jonson, Song to Celia
3.40pm Short break with encouraging words from the MC while scorers
tally the scores and judges have a breather; at more elaborate events you
could have student musicians performing as an interlude.
3.50pm Round 2: post-1914 poems
1) John Fraser: Alun Lewis, Goodbye
2) Tracy Mears: Allen Ginsberg, A Supermarket in California
3) Duncan Johnstone: Kit Wright, The Boys Bump-Starting the Hearse
4) Lewin Angelotti: Michael Hofmann, Marvin Gaye
5) Mhairi Taylor: Alice Oswald, Wedding
6) Shona Johnson, Grace Nichols, Blackout
7) Jade Lee: Seamus Heaney, St Kevin and the Blackbird
4.25pm Judges complete scoring and identify winner and runner-up.
Announcements, certificates and prize-giving. Thank yous.
4.30pm End.
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STEP 5
Find some volunteers to help run the
competition
An MC: ensures everyone feels comfortable, gives the event a
sense of occasion and celebration and also keeps your wellplanned schedule running on time! They will make sure judges
have enough time to score the recitations before moving on to
the next, and will announce the winner at the end.
Some judges: preliminary heats can be judged by one adult,
usually a teacher or school/college librarian. If you have form
group heats, for example, each form group tutor could judge
their heat. For a whole school or college contest, there should
be a minimum of 3 judges: two judges of the overall
performances and one accuracy judge. The accuracy judge is the
only person to use the Accuracy Score Sheet and focuses on this
aspect of the performance.
A prompter: to support students who need a little extra help.
They should be seated within easy eye contact of the
performing student and pointed out at the start of the
competition so students know who to turn to. This role can be
combined with that of accuracy judge. The prompter (and the
accuracy judge if a different person) will need copies of all the
poems, in order of their recitation.
A scorer: to collect the score sheets from the judges after each
recitation and tally them up. This person will provide the judges
with the final scores which will be used as the basis for their
judgment of the overall winner. Make sure the scorer is seated
near to the judges – or have a runner.
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STEP 6
Help students polish their performance
Our lovely friends south of the border at The Poetry By Heart
website have lots of videos of students from previous finals
reciting their poems. Find them from the home page, the <filter
poems> tab, or on individual poem pages. Select a range of
videos and invite discussion of what performance features they
like or would want to change.
Have little rehearsal sessions where students can try out their
poems in front of supportive peers or adults, and get feedback
on how it sounds.
Get students judging two or three of the video performances
using the score sheets, so they can explore how the judging
criteria and how they might want to develop their own
performances in the light of that.
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STEP 7
Prepare your judges
Your judges need briefing about their roles and responsibilities.
Getting them together in advance of the competition is the
most effective way of doing this, but if that’s not possible at
least make sure they are briefed well in writing.
Judges need to know how the scoring system works and the
judging criteria they need to apply. Copies of the scoring sheets
and judging criteria are available as pdf downloads from the
Poetry By Heart Scotland section of the Scottish Poetry Library
website, and are reproduced in this handbook. Send them a
copy in advance and explain how the rounds of the competition
will be organized. Invite questions.
Judges can prepare – together or on their own – to score poem
performances. As our judging criteria matches that of Poetry By
Heart in England you can advise judges to go to the “resources
and downloads” section of www.poetrybyheart.org.uk where
there are videos in which Andrew Motion talks through
a couple of performances from the English 2013 contest,
explaining what each of the students does well. From their
homepage judges could also follow the link to watch videos of
all eight finalists from the English 2014 contest. Having a go at
scoring a few will help judges “get their eye in” before your
event.
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STEP 8
Pick a winner
The MC should welcome each student briefly by name as they
come up to recite, and if appropriate invite applause. They
should not intrude on the students’ concentration and should
create a calm and encouraging atmosphere. The student must
state clearly the poet and poem they have chosen, e.g. “This is
‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley.” No other comments are
allowed.
The poem must be delivered by heart using only the prompter
for support if required. The prompter should give the students a
few seconds to recover the line, and then provide just a word or
two and only if the student asks for it.
If a performance is interrupted, e.g. by someone entering the
room, a coughing fit by another student or audience member,
or a loud noise outside the building, it is fair and reasonable to
allow the student to re-start their recitation. It is a good idea to
have water available for all performers to help prevent
coughing.
Once the scorer has calculated the scores of both rounds, the
judges may retire to consider their verdict. In 99% of cases this
will be straightforward, with the scores confirming a clear
winner. In the event of a draw, judges should try to come to an
agreement about the winner; only if that is not possible should
the tied students be invited to pick one of their poems and
perform it again.
A winner must be selected, and a runner-up named in case the
winner is unable for any reason to progress to the regional heat.
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STEP 9
Celebrate everyone’s achievements
There is a Poetry By Heart Scotland certificate available for
download as a pdf at www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk Some
schools and colleges choose to supplement that with extra
prizes for the winner and runner-up. Learning two poems by
heart, performing them in public and being judged for doing so
is no mean feat: lots of praise and recognition is richly deserved!
Think about having someone take photographs at the event so
that you can prepare nice material for your school website or
parents’ e-newsletter. If students are nervous, avoid taking
pictures during the recitations unless this can be done very
unobtrusively but have a big photo-shoot at the end as part of
the prize-giving and general celebration of achievement.
Don’t be shy about contacting the local press or radio about
your pupils’ achievements. Following in this handbook is a
template press release you could use or adapt to do this. Or a
group of media-savvy students might like to take on this task?
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Poetry By Heart Scotland
[Recipient’s name]
[School winner/runner up]
[School name]
[Date]
_______________________________
Poetry By Heart Scotland Winner’s Certificate
Download at www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk
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Tell local radio and newspaper
journalists what you’re doing
Use or adapt this template press release to tell local newspapers,
magazines and radio stations about your contest and winner’s
achievements. Why not get some non-competitors to take photographs
and organise this? You could use this material on your school website, blog,
or parent’s newsletter too.
POETRY BY HEART - Press Release Template
For use by: Competition Organisers
From: Your Address/ Contact Details
To: Recipient Address/Contact
Details
Photograph details and caption if available and sent with press release.
Re: Poetry By Heart Competition at (insert name of school/college)
Talented students from (insert name of school/college) have been taking
part in an inspiring competition designed to encourage students in
Scotland to learn and to recite poems by heart.
(Insert short description of who organised the competition, where it was
held and when.)
(Insert number of students) recited two poems from the 200+ available in
the online anthologies which support the competition at
scottishpoetrylibrary.co.uk and poetrybyheart.org.uk.
The winner was (insert student’s name) who recited (insert poem details in
format - poem 1 by poet 1 and poem 2 by poet 2 - and add any descriptive
detail, such as what the judges said about the winning performance, or a
quote from the winner).
The Scottish Makar, Liz Lochhead, will be a judge at the National Finals of
Poetry By Heart Scotland in March. She commented:
‘Poems are for the heart. I don’t think I would have become a poet or even
a poetry reader if I hadn’t learned poems by heart at school.’
Notes to Editors:
1. Poetry By Heart Scotland is an educational initiative established in
Scotland by the Scottish Poetry Library.
2. Online information about Poetry By Heart Scotland is available at
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk and includes details about the
competition and links to the selection of poems students choose
from.
3. Students recite poems from specially selected anthologies at
www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk and www.poetrybyheart.org.uk.
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STEP 10
Support your winner in preparing for the regional
heat
First your student will need to decide which poems to recite. (You might
want to have your runner-up prepare too in case your winner is ill.) They
can reprise their existing poems or they can choose new ones. It is worth
noting that criteria such as “level of difficulty” can become critical in later
stages of the competition, though this has to be weighed against student
confidence of course.
Your student also needs to choose a third poem from the First World War
showcase collections on either the Scottish Poetry Library or the Poetry By
Heart websites. They need to choose a poem they love but they might also
think about the range and variety of poems in their selection of 3. This too
can become significant in the judges awarding higher scores.
We will give you all the detail you need about the regional heat and put
you in contact with the organizers. You might want to check whether
students will need to speak into a microphone. If so, get them some
practice in school until they feel as comfortable as possible performing in
this way.
A member of school staff should take the student to the regional heat.
Depending on the size of the venue, regional organizers may encourage
classmates or families to attend the regional heats so that they can support
their student. Check with your regional organizer - it can be more daunting
than it needs to be if one student turns up with a support crew worthy of
Andy Murray and another has no-one...
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Poetry By Heart Judging Criteria
Student performances in all rounds of the competition must be judged and
scored using these criteria.
Voice and articulation 1-6 points
This category evaluates the auditory nature of the recitation. Consider the
student’s volume, pace, rhythm, intonation and pronunciation. In a strong
performance, all words are pronounced appropriately in the student’s
natural accent and the volume, rhythm and intonation greatly enhance the
recitation. If Scots language poetry is recited, students should pronounce
this vocabulary appropriately and fluently. Pacing is appropriate to the
poem.
Evidence of understanding 1-6 points
This category evaluates whether the student exhibits an understanding of
the poem in his or her recitation. A strong performance relies on a
powerful internalisation of the poem rather than distracting dramatic
gestures. In a strong performance, the meaning of the poem is powerfully
and clearly conveyed to the audience. The student displays an
interpretation that deepens and enlivens the poem. Meaning, messages,
allusions, irony, tones of voice and other nuances are captured by the
performance. If the interpretation obscures the meaning of the poem or
makes use of affected character voices and accents, inappropriate tone
and inflection, singing, distracting and excessive gestures, or unnecessary
emoting, it is likely that a low score will be awarded.
Level of difficulty 1-6 points
This category evaluates the comparative difficulty of the poem which is the
result of several factors. A poem with difficult content conveys complex,
sophisticated ideas that the student will be challenged to grasp and
express. A poem with difficult language will have complexity of diction and
syntax, metre and rhyme scheme, and shifts in tone or mood. Poem length
is also considered in difficulty but bear in mind that longer poems are not
necessarily more difficult than shorter ones. Judges may also consider the
diversity of a student’s recitations with this score; a student is less likely to
score well in this category when judges note that a student’s style of
interpretation remains the same regardless of poem choice or challenge.
Overall performance 1-8 points
This category is to evaluate the overall success of the performance, the
degree to which the recitation has become more than the sum of its parts.
Has the student captivated the audience with the language of the poem?
Did the student bring the audience to a better understanding of the poem?
Did his/her physical presence enhance the recitation, engaging the
audience through appropriate body language, confidence and eye contact?
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Does the student understand and show mastery in the art of recitation?
The judges will use this score to measure how impressed they were by the
recitation, and whether the recitation has honoured the poem. A low score
will be awarded for recitations that are poorly presented, ineffective in
conveying the meaning of the poem, or conveyed in a manner
inappropriate to the poem.
Accuracy 1-4 points
A separate judge will mark missed or incorrect words during the recitation.
Students will score a full 4 points for a word-perfect recitation; 3 for a small
number of errors which do not significantly affect meaning and/or flow; 2
for a recitation where the errors do affect meaning and/or flow; 1 for a
recitation where occasional use is made of the prompter; 0 for a recitation
which requires considerable prompting.
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CONTEST SCORE SHEET
NAME OF STUDENT
TITLE OF POEM
VERY WEAK
WEAK
AVERAGE
GOOD
EXCELLENT
OUTSTANDING
VOICE AND ARTICULATION
1
2
3
4
5
6
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY
1
2
3
4
5
6
EVIDENCE OF
UNDERSTANDING
1
2
3
4
5
6
OVERALL PERFORMANCE
1
2
4
6
7
8
TOTAL (Max. 26 points)
POINTS
FINAL SCORE (Max. 30 points)
ACCURACY JUDGE’S SCORE (Max. 4 points)
POINTS
POINTS
ACCURACY SCORE SHEET
NAME OF STUDENT
TITLE OF POEM
GRADING CRITERIA
4 points: a word perfect recitation
3 points: a recitation with no more than 10% minor
inaccuracies*
2 points: a recitation with more than 10% minor
inaccuracies*
1 point: a recitation with 1 major inaccuracy
0 points: a recitation with more than 1 major
inaccuracy.
*HOW TO CALCULATE % INACCURACY
___minor inaccuracies divided by ___lines in poem x 100 = ___%
e.g
5 minor inaccuracies divided by 25 lines in poem x100 = 20%
FINAL ACCURACY SCORE
POINTS
MINOR INACCURACIES INCLUDE
Confusing a pronoun (‘he’ instead of ‘she’)
Confusing an article (‘a’ instead of ‘the’)
Pluralising a word or vice versa (‘kangaroo’ instead of
‘kangaroos’)
Replacing a word with a similar word (‘jump’ instead of ‘leap’)
Confusing word order (‘pans and pots’ instead of ‘pots and pans’)
Missing out a word
Repeating a word
Adding a word
MAJOR INACCURACIES INCLUDE
One line out of order
Repeating a line
Skipping a line, or three or more words in the same line
Reversing two stanzas
Missing out a stanza