Before I venture on to write about the various parts and sections of a review, I think it’s important to discuss the concept of scoring in general.

For some reviewers, scoring plays a significant role in the overall review and has the effect of defining their overall impression of the story in a two-digit number (well, hopefully it’s two-digit). For others, however, the marks allocated and overall total score do not mean much at all; these reviewers see the actual paragraphs of advice as playing the most integral part.

No matter what type of reviewer category you fall under, there are still essential “rules” that need to be heeded when giving out those trusty scores.

First and foremost, you must be able to justify the score you give. I’ve seen reviewers dock one or two marks for a particular section, then say, ‘Everything was perfect!’ They why have you not given the person full marks? Why did you deduct marks, even if they were only a few?

Every time you deduct a mark, you must explain clearly and straightforwardly why you did so. If you have absolutely nothing to pick on for a criterion and genuinely believe that it is as perfect as it can get, give them full marks. Some reviewers are, for some reason, quite reluctant to give an author full marks for a section. But if they deserved it, give it to them. If you aren’t going to be giving them definite feedback and pointing out specific things to improve on, then you shouldn’t be docking any points. Every deducted mark needs to be justified and explained.

As for the polar opposite, it is okay to give someone zero for a section. However, you must be extremely careful and positive that this is truly what it calls for. In fact, I don’t highly recommend it. I’ve given out zero before, particularly for the mechanics section, but such a decision must be sensibly thought through. It really should only occur when the reviewer believes that there is absolutely nothing redeeming or worth praising or crediting for that section. But when such an instance does arise, don’t feel guilty or horrible for giving them no marks at all for said criterion. It is slightly “mean”, but you then need to go on to provide them with plenty of sufficient advice on how to improve. Every reason that induced you to give them such a score would need to be clarified with valid reasons; failure to do so may give the impression that you are reckless and insincere, perhaps not taking the review very seriously.

Another point to mention is the concept of “pity points”. I, for one, am quite against such an idea. To me, personally, it comes across as, well, literally “pitying” the author. They don’t need your pity; they need your advice and constructive criticism. A lot of pity points are given in a baseless manner, anyway, and serve no other purpose than to give the author a few extra points they can slip into their pockets. They usually don’t know they’ve received pity points, though, but that doesn’t mean those extra one or two marks should be distributed so heedlessly. Does it help the author improve? No. Does it make them feel better, though? Yes. And is that important? Well, coming from a reviewer who does not see the point in being overly sentimental when reviewing, not really, no. The idea of pity points also ties in closely with “brownie points”, which are even more of a subject considered taboo. Do not ever give out brownie points. It doesn’t matter if the person is your best friend or your favourite author or your biggest fan or someone who has advertised your story for you in the past. Once brownie points are involved, the review loses all legitimacy, credibility and honesty. As for “bonus marks”, I personally don’t really see the point of them, since all areas that are eligible for points should very well be addressed and covered in your main criteria. Bonus marks would need to be very carefully pondered over, and must contain absolutely no biasness, whatsoever. This all ties back with my incessantly adamant reminder to be objective. Honestly, I would say ‘no’ to the concept of bonus marks altogether, unless they are entirely appropriate and relevant, which is most often not the case.

Some authors request for reviews before their story has really gotten very far. In this case, it can become quite difficult to review the story and give justifiable, appropriate scores, as the plot and characters are only beginning to develop. While using the aforementioned reason as an explanation to reject the request is perfectly acceptable, sometimes you can give them what I like to call a “mini review”. When writing up such mini reviews, I dismiss the whole notion of scoring; it simply isn’t fair or practical to be scoring a story that has barely started. Instead, focus on providing them with short pieces of advice and perhaps some tips to help them on the way to improving their story as they continue to write and build on it. (This is just a personal habit and merely a suggestion, by the way.)

As for the actual numbers used, I do believe that whole numbers and integers are sufficient. If needed, you can use halves, such as 9.5, but I really wouldn’t recommend going into decimal points that are too confusing. It’s really unnecessary, and I’m sure everyone’s lives would be made a lot easier if 5.8 were rounded off to 6. This isn’t a mathematical tutorial, though, and I’m not particular apt in that department myself, so that’s all I’ll say.

In short, giving full marks or no marks for a particular criterion is okay, and it is vital that the scores are being given sensibly and with thought and contemplation. Every score given and every deducted point needs to be justified with advice and explanations to back it up.

Beginning from the next chapter onwards, I’ll be focusing on one particular review criterion per chapter to discuss in further detail. However, they will be split according to the review rubric I posted in chapter 4; the categories/sections are merely a guide, and if you have your own rubric, it shouldn’t be too hard to take the concepts and reallocate them accordingly to your own version.

Thank you to all the people who commented/congratulated me while this story was advertised. And for everyone who thanked me, you don't need to; I just hope you all get something out of this and find it useful and helpful in some way. :) <3

As a bit of a sidenote: I've received a few review requests since this was advertised, so the next update(s) may be slightly delayed, as I am aiming to complete the reviews within the next few weeks or so. Won't be too long, though. Thanks again! ^^