Sample Judging Score Sheet - New England Romance Writers

2024 New England Romance Writers Readers’ Choice Awards

Judging Scoresheet (Sample)

After providing your name, email, and the name of the author and book you are judging, please check one of the five answers to the following eleven questions. Answers are scored on a scale of one (low) to five (high) points. If your response to any question is a one or a two, you will be prompted to give a one-two sentence explanation for your score.

Please contact the contest coordinator at [email protected] if you have any questions about how to complete this form.

My first name:

My last name:

My email:

The author of the book I’m judging (Last name, first name):

The title of the book I’m judging:

1. The book’s opening (choose one)

This book engaged me immediately, right from its first paragraphs; I didn’t want to stop reading! (5 points)
This book’s first chapter engaged me; I was eager to read more (4 points)
This book’s first chapter interested me enough that I was willing to keep reading (3 points)
One or two things in this book’s first chapter interested me, but I wasn’t compelled to keep reading (2 points)
The opening of this book didn’t grab my interest at all; I wanted to stop reading after the first chapter (1 point)

2. The book’s main characters (choose one)

The book’s main characters engaged me deeply; they had unique personalities, compelling backstories, and goals and motivations that kept the story moving forward (5 points)
The book’s main characters engaged me most of the time; they had interesting personalities and backstories, and clear goals and motivations (4 points)
The book’s main characters sometimes interested me; their personalities, backstories, goals, and motivations made sense (3 points)
The book’s main characters rarely interested me; had personality/backstory/goals and motivations were unclear, confusing or nonexistent (2 points)
The book’s main characters did not interest me at all; they had no personality and/or backstory, were stereotypical, or had no clear goals or motivations (1 point)

3. Diversity of the book’s entire cast of characters, across one or the more of the following categories: age; body size; class and income; gender; gender identity; physical and mental ability; political affiliation; race and ethnicity; religion; sexuality and or sexual orientation.

The book includes characters with diverse identities, and those characters are depicted without bias or harmful stereotypes (5 points)
This book includes characters with diverse identities, but those identities were depicted with occasional inaccuracies and/or stereotypes (4 points)
The book includes characters with diverse identities, but those identities are only superficially portrayed; the characters could have been replaced by characters with dominant identities with no change to the character or story (3 points)
The book did not attempt to represent characters from a variety of backgrounds/identities (2 points)
The book’s depiction of diverse characters was entirely stereotypical or harmful (1 points)

4. The book’s romance (choose one)

I desperately wanted the protagonists to get together (5 points)
I was eager to see the protagonists get together (4 points)
I was happy to see the protagonists get together (3 points)
I was fine with the protagonists getting together (2 points)
I didn’t care at all whether the protagonists got together (1 point)

5. The book’s story/plot (choose one)

I found this book’s storyline original, engaging, and compelling (5 points)
I found this book’s storyline interesting and understandable (4 points)
Every event in this story made sense; I wasn’t ever confused by the story/plot (3 points)
I was sometimes confused by the way this story unfolded; some of its scenes seemed extraneous, or off-topic (2 points)
I felt this book’s story had no plot, or had a plot that was boring, confusing, overly familiar, and/or clichéd (1 point)

6. The book’s pacing (choose one)

I thought the story moved at just the right pace; it never dragged or felt too rushed (5 points)
I thought the story moved at a good pace; it rarely dragged or felt too rushed (4 points)
I thought there were a few places where the story moved too slowly or too quickly (3 points)
The pace of the book was often too slow and/or too fast for me (2 points)
The pace of the book was entirely too slow and/or too fast for me (1 point)

7. The book’s writing: mechanics (choose one)

I never stopped reading this book because of a grammar or spelling error (5 points)
A spelling or grammar error pulled me out of the book once or twice (4 points)
I was pulled out of the book several times due to spelling or grammar errors (3 points)
I often stopped reading because this book had a lot of spelling or grammar errors (2 points)
The book had so many grammar and/or spelling errors, I wanted to put this book aside (1 point)

8. The book’s writing: style (choose one)

The writing in the book was excellent; I often took pleasure in the words themselves, as well as the story they were telling (5 points)
The writing in this book was good; I sometimes took pleasure in the words themselves (4 points)
The writing in this book was fine; it neither added to or detracted from the pleasure I took in reading (3 points)
The writing in this book was occasionally awkward or clunky, which sometimes detracted from the pleasure I took in reading (2 points)
The writing in this book was so awkward and/or clunky that I took little or no pleasure in reading (1 point)

9. The book’s setting/World-Building (choose one)

I got an excellent feel for the world in which this story was set; it was consistent, clear, and vibrant, with a lot of intriguing detail (5 points)
I got a good sense for the world in which this story was set (4 points)
I understood the world in which this story was set (3 points)
The world in which this story was set sometimes confused me, or lacked detail (2 points)
I didn’t get a clear sense at all of the world in which this story was set, or found it inconsistent and/or confusing (1 point)

10. The book’s ending (choose one)

The resolution of the book’s plot and romance surprised and emotionally satisfied me. I couldn’t imagine how the author would resolve the issues keeping the protagonists apart, but they did, and it all made sense. (5 points)
The resolution of the book’s plot and romance both made sense and satisfied me (4 points)
The resolution of the book’s plot and romance both made sense to me (3 points)
I found the resolution of the book’s plot OR romance unsatisfying: predictable, unconvincing, confusing, and/or rushed (2 points)
I found the resolution of both the book’s plot AND romance unsatisfying: predictable, unconvincing, confusing, and/or rushed (1 point)

11. My overall response (choose one)

I absolutely loved this book (5 points)
I liked this book a lot (4 points)
I thought this book was okay (3 points)
I disliked a few things about this book (2 points)
I disliked a lot of things about this book (1 point)

Any specific comments you’d like to share with the author? Add them here:

Any specific comments/issues you’d like to call to the attention of the Contest Coordinators? Add them here: