JUDGING CRITERIA

 

    Your project will be judged for the features listed below.  In the space provided, you should write your responses to any questions that come to mind about your specific project.

            1.  CREATIVE ABILITY  (30 points)
Is this an original idea or an original approach to a new idea?  Both are good.  Did you show ingenuity in the materials, apparatus and techniques, or did you just buy a kit?  Did you demonstrate the ability to improvise and adapt?  If the project is a collection, is it a purposeful one?

            2.  SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT (30 points)
Does your exhibit show:  organized procedures, accurate observations, controlled experiments, cause and effect reasoning, theories, analysis and synthesis.  Weight is given to the likely amount of real study and effort represented in the exhibit.  The project cannot be just a demonstration or an attractive display.

            3.  THOROUGHNESS (15 points)
How completely have you explored or studied the problem?  You should record evidence you have gathered as data in notebooks, journals, or log books.  Include bibliographies, charts, tables, and graphs.  Be sure to identify experimental organisms and/or apparatus.

            4.  SKILL (15 points)
Is your workmanship good?  Do you show evidence of mastery of techniques?  Did you construct your own apparatus?  Overall construction and "look" of the project should be neat, organized, easy to read, sturdy, and self-supporting.

            5.  CLARITY (10 points)
Does the display clearly explain what you did?  A neatly written, well organized backboard that is easy to follow provides clarity.  Things which insure clarity are:  labels, guide marks, well written descriptions, emphasis on important items, labeled graphs, labeled tables, and legends underneath graphs and tables.  Which of these does your display have?