I’ve never had to judge a competition until today, so I wanted to share what I learned in case anyone was ever in the same position.

Until now, I’ve graded essays with the assumption that it’s good, say 100% and I take away points for things that don’t quite add up. It turns out that this is way too lenient, and may not be the best thing for the student.

From today, I learned that a fairer way would be to start with the assumption that it is average, say 50-60% and that it either needs to really stand out for the score to really improve, and vice versa.

I think this is a fairer way to go about doing it, but more than that, I feel it’s also more motivating too. However, it might be harder for the marker, but in the end, you’re not doing it for the person who marks it anyway, right?