Weak  3

Average 5

Good  7

Excellent  8

Outstanding 10

Physical Presence

Timid; unsure; poor posture

At times unsure, at times confident

Poised, good eye contact and posture

Confident and relaxed; posture and eye contact show commanding stage presence

Authoritative; posture and eye contact show compelling stage presence

Voice and Articulation

Audible, but

quiet; too loud; monotone; paced unevenly; affected tone

Clear, sufficient tone, natural pacing

Very clear, appropriate inflection, good pacing

Very clear, crisp, well-paced, appropriate volume

Very clear,

mastery of rhythm and pace, appropriate volume

Appropriate-ness of Dramatization

Some distracting gestures; distracting vocal inflections & accents

Minimal distracting gestures or distracting voice inflection

Only gestures that enhance interpretation; embodies poem

Embodies the poem well; gestures illuminate poem’s meaning

Best embodies poem; gestures deftly reveal poem’s meaning

Level of Difficulty

Straight-forward language and content; moderate length

Some challenging content,

language, or length

Contains multiple elements of challenging content, language and/or length

Contains multiple elements of very challenging content, language and/or length

Contains multiple elements of extremely challenging content, language and/or length

Evidence of Understanding

Doesn’t sufficiently communicate meaning of poem

Satisfactorily communicates meaning of poem

Conveys meaning of poem well

Interprets poem very well for audience; nuances

Masterfully interprets poem for audience

Overall Performance

Weak performance; does disservice to poem

Sufficient performance, nothing notable

Successful, enjoyable performance

Very strong, compelling performance

Captivating performance—whole equals “more than the sum of the parts”