This week: Formatting for a Review as a Judge Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Contests & Activities Newsletter by Dawn
As a contest judge and someone who enters them on a regular basis, I've seen my share of reviews and given my own. Having a template with a little bit of form added is helpful when someone judges more than one contest but can be used even for a single contest. A discussion on options for the templates when doing reviews. |
When it comes to the end of a contest or when doing a review challenge, there are some different ways to help review process. Some people like to go off the cuff and just write out in paragraphs or a couple of sentences to display their thoughts. This is a nice component but if you have the time, it might be helpful to direct feedback and have a form or template to use. The template also provides help for the use of signature images and to distinguish between different types of reviews. If you happen to own more than one contest or if you help judge someone else's contest, having a specific template for that review will be more useful than just writing out the each one at the time of review.
This is also where writingml can come in handy. I might not be a big fan of contest entries using emoticons or colorful font, but they can be used in a review. However, one also has to note that the writingml are noted in the review counts, so many organizations will check the character count without ml in order to see if the review is long enough for set amounts of compensation. Think of them as some way to help organize, divide up or focus thought but not as something to use for adding extra characters to a review.
The template option available on the site is one very useful option. I have several because I have had a couple of contests over the years and I've been members of groups that do reviews. Plus there are some groups that do rewards reviews when adding an affiliation. I also have just done specific ones based off the item type. I have different focuses for comments whether it's a poem or a story, for example. Each one has a little header that uses bold to help distinguish the section. I also have a spot where I comment on the contest or prompt if that is relevant to the review. And that is why I have different templates for my reviews, because I know some entries are a specific type and some are done in order to fit a prompt because they are entered in a contest. And at the bottom, I can use different images as signatures when it's related to a group or particular contest. This helps me out more than it might help with person getting the review. But it might also help the person being reviewed.
Let's look at how to create a review template. This feature is found when you open the review tool, which is located at the bottom of the item where you can start a review. Some might do it just there at the base of the item. I recommend clicking on "open in review tool" because that will open the review spot in a new window. "The Review Tool"
Luckily, here we have the book that gives 101 help for anything you might need. This includes information about templated and how to create one, like here: "Creating Review Templates" . Or if you have questions there is even a forum that hasn't been used in a while where you can ask questions about template options and what to do: "Template Talk" [ASR]
Here is a little tip about the use of a template. It doesn't have to always stay the same when you are writing the review. I have a few different things mentioned in my poem reviews, for example, but I don't use every one when I'm doing a review because some of them aren't very relevant as I'm not going to comment on every single element. When I'm reviewing a poem, it might have a prompt or contest, there might be a line that I really like, or it might have a specific form used. I have a section in my poem review for things like prompt, form, imagery, favorite part, flow/rhythm. Often, I will delete any part that I'm not going to use when I am working on the review. I may also reword one of my sections of a template depending on the review. I might adjust the introduction depending if I'm reviewing someone I know or not. I might reword how the last section with my final comments or such is written to make it sound better. The template is just a helpful tool to guide the review, it's not going to stand in for the actual content. That will be up to me every time I review something. This might be why some of my reviews are rather long because it helps me to have the small bit of help that a template can provide.
Here is an example of my review template for my contest, What If...
{b}First Impression:{/b}
{b}Prompt:{/b}
{b}Characters/Story:{/b}
{b}Other Notes:{/b}
{b}Thanks for your entry. Good Luck!{/b}
{center}{Image:1520387-55%}{/center}
This gives me a little something as starting points but as you can see there isn't a lot to the template. It highlights each particular topic to give focus to the review without being too much or taking up a lot of space. I don't use them to try and add to my character count for the reviews. Also, I will do changes. At times, depending on the story, I will do separate sections to talk about character elements or story ones. I might do both or I might just do one. It depends on what the contest entry needs and what elements speak to me. It's not always about pointing out what may look wrong but also just getting to share my personal opinion, reactions or ways that I might connect with a story. It is a helpful tool and I hope that other people find it useful too.
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Do you have a template set up for reviewing contest entries? Have you noticed judges using formatting with their reviews when you enter contests?
Last month, I discussed the prizes in contests and was curious what people wanted to get for winning. Here is a comment sent for the topic and question:
Comment by Beholden  :
I'm really only interested in gift points. I can't buy membership with MBs or awardicons.
- Thank you for sharing. You do make a good point because the merit badges and awardicons might be pretty and add a little community recognition, they aren't helpful in paying for a membership to keep posting things.
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Contests & Activities: August 13, 2025 Issue [#13286]
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