Re: STC Letter to the Editor

[Cheryl Magadieu <leftymagoo -at- attbi -dot- com>]

What's a surprise to me is that there are so many people who seem to think 
the STC competitions are based solely on an analysis of layout and design. 
I'd be interested in knowing how many of the detractors have been STC 
judges before. If you have not been an STC judge, how can you evaluate 
whether STC judges have been trained to try to be as fair as possible and 
to evaluate more than just layout and design? It is best to make this 
decision after you have undergone judges' training, seen the judging forms, 
and experienced an interactive judging session.

I was a judge for the STC's Boston Chapter last year. I felt that we were 
given sufficient guidelines for evaluating how well an entry met the 
criteria in the categories of audience and purpose, organization, content, 
writing and editing, illustrations and graphics, layout and design, and 
production. I also felt that the judges were committed to trying to 
evaluate the entries as fairly and objectively as possible. As Karen said, 
we are human, so there's no guarantee that judges will be entirely fair and 
objective. I would not mind having my entry judged by someone who has 
relevant experience, has received good training about how to evaluate an 
entry, and cares enough to try to be fair and objective.

The STC competitions are not perfect, but then, how often is any kind of 
feedback ideal? I can't say I've ever received feedback--whether it be from 
the STC, my documentation manager, my co-workers, or anyone else--that was 
entirely thorough, fair, and objective. But I can say that I've received 
feedback that helped me improve my skills, broaden my perspective, and feel 
more motivated to do my best. I might not always agree with the feedback, 
but I'm willing to overlook the things that aren't helpful and learn what I 
can from the things that are.

Cheryl

At 01:51 PM 11/3/2002 -0800, Tom Murrell wrote: