04. Review Rubric
It’s Time to Review Reviews!
Your rubric, otherwise known as the marking criteria, is the basic structure of your review, in terms of marking and scoring. There isn’t any particular rule that dictates how many marks you should allot to each section, but it is important to make sure you are splitting up the marks in a suitable way.
Below is the rubric I came up with myself and use when reviewing:
Title: /5
Description/Foreword: /10
Characterization: /20
Plot/Originality: /20
Mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation): /20
Flow/Pace and Style: /10
Appearance/Layout (fonts, posters, backgrounds): /5
Overall enjoyment: /10
Total: /100
Comments:
Please note that this is only an example – one way you can structure your review – and that you do not have to follow the rubric above. Feel free to create your own, reallocate the number of marks available for each section and name them as you please (as long as they are done so appropriately).
I personally find it a lot easier and preferable to make 100 the total number of marks available. However, there have been instances where some reviewers have used total scores that are either above or below 100, and while I personally do not favour it, that’s just my own inclination; measure and decide what’s best for you and your preferences.
As I have mentioned, there is no definite rule or guide to follow when creating your rubric, but there are some general patterns that I think should be taken note of. I believe the plot/originality/characterization sections should occupy the majority of the score, as these are predominantly the most important aspects of story-telling and writing, namely for fictional pieces. While I, as a writer and reviewer who tries to strive for meticulous perfection when it comes to grammar/spelling/punctuation, have assigned quite a heavy amount of points for the mechanics section, some reviewers have expressed that they do not believe this section is in need of such a hefty amount of attention. I would beg to differ, but then it also really depends on the circumstances and context of your review, too. This concept will be discussed in further detail in the chapter dedicated to mechanics.
I only touched very briefly on some of the sections of the criteria here. Each criterion will be assigned a separate chapter of its own, where I will be discussing my views and some things to take note of for each of them.
Comments