Comment-In-A-Box

I have finally put words to the Writing.Com rating system. I am going to start accompanying my rating numbers with a link to this item. That way, authors not only have a rating, but a general guideline to look at, as well. Call it my "Comment-In-A-Box" for items I don't feel like reviewing in detail.

The following outline describes what each number represents to me when I rate an item on Writing.Com. Please consider this method next time you decide to rate an item on Writing.Com.

I will rate your items by these guidelines
and I ask that you do the same for mine.

5.0 Stars - PERFECT
         This item is absolutely perfect for me. I must enjoy every single aspect of the item. I must leave that particular item and feel like I would tell someone about it, think about it or refer to it with confidence later during the day. The Author has paid particular attention to the language used and words chosen. Every single grammar issue has been resolved and there are no spelling mistakes. I would highly recommend this item to a friend.

- If it's a static item, I must thoroughly enjoy reading it from the very first word to the last. The item is original and creative in the theme, plot and layout. There are no confusing areas within the item that I have to reread to catch the meaning. The plot and wording flow consistently and smoothly without any bumps.

- When reading poetry, it flows beautifully as I read through it and the punctuation (or purposeful lack of) keeps me at the rhythm that I know the author intended for me. I also pay particular attention to the presentation of it. Since there are usually fewer letters and words than a story or article, I place great importance on the spacing, placement and actual choice of letters and words. Presentation is everything to me with a 5.0.

- If it's documentation about something, the item must answer all of my questions that I might have about this subject. The layout and composition of the information must be easy to follow and read. There are no questions left in my mind and I feel that each issue has been touched that needs to be.

- If it's a journal, it must engross me from the beginning entry to the last and I will look forward to additional entries. I treat public journals as an ongoing "story", with chapters being added daily. The journal must evoke emotion in me and gather my full attention. Even a boring topic in a journal can be made interesting through great wording. The grammar does not need to be perfect, but I must hear the author speaking through his/her language.

- If it's a message forum, the idea of the forum must be original, well-thought out and active. I pay attention to the description of the forum and how well the information is displayed to the visitors of the forum. I must understand completely what the forum is about before I get to the first post. I also look for that obligatory first post by the owner welcoming visitors to the forum.

- I base user polls on this same reasoning as message forums, as far as the originality and descriptive wording. The poll choices must be well worded and I must be able to find an answer that I can choose with confidence.

- I rate images based on originality, creativity and skill level. I look at the chosen composition, color and design of sigs, artwork and photography. I want to see a clean, well done scan of artwork and photos; I will only hand out 5.0's for an image if the entire image is the author's original work. As an artist, I appreciate and will reserve this rating only for original artwork worthy of a 5.

- For campfires and interactive stories, I want to see creativity, originality and activity. The plot and wording flow consistently and smoothly without any bumps. Each participant paid attention to his/her wording, grammar and spelling.

- For most any other item type, I use this same reasoning behind my ratings. From now on, I will reserve 5.0 ratings only for the best of the best, the perfect items.


4.0 Stars - ABOVE AVERAGE
         This item is above average for me. I enjoy almost every aspect of the item, but not strongly enough to rate it as perfect. The Author has paid some attention to the language used and words chosen. I will leave this item with favorable feelings and I would recommend this to another reader without hesitation. Almost every single grammar issue has been resolved and there are very few spelling mistakes.

- If it's a static item, I will enjoy reading it. The item is somewhat original and creative in the theme, plot and layout. Most of the item is clear and concise in its wording, meaning or plot. The item flows fairly consistently and smoothly without many bumps.

- For poetry, it flows nicely, for the most part, as I read through it. The punctuation (or purposeful lack of) keeps me at somewhat of a rhythm throughout, although one or two lines might not flow as well as others. The presentation is fairly well done with particular attention paid to the composition of letters and words.

- If it's documentation about something, the item will answer most of my questions that I might have about this subject. The layout and composition of the information will be easy to follow and read. There may be a question or two left in my mind, but for the most part, I feel that most issues have been touched that need to be.

- If it's a journal, it will intrigue me and I would consider reading additional entries in the future. Since I treat public journals as an ongoing "story", with chapters being added daily, I will only rate 4+ to journals that are active. The journal will evoke some emotion in me and gather my attention. The wording is interesting regardless of the topic. The grammar does not need to be perfect, but I must hear the author speaking through his/her language.

- If it's a message forum, the idea or purpose of the forum must be somewhat original, well-thought out and active. The description of the forum is clear and easy to comprehend, but may not be all that creative in the layout or details. I must understand completely what the forum is about before I get to the first post. I also look for that obligatory first post by the owner welcoming visitors to the forum.

- I base user polls on this same reasoning as message forums, as far as the originality and descriptive wording. The poll choices must be well worded and I must be able to find an answer that I can choose with a bit of confidence.

- An image is above average if it is somewhat original and creative in its layout, composition and overall design. The chosen colors work well together; the fonts are pleasant to look at and read. I want to see a clean, well done scan of artwork and photos. The image is almost entirely the artist's own, meaning very little of it is clipart or taken from another artist.

- For campfires and interactive stories, I see a great attempt at creativity and originality, plus the item is active with writers. The plot and wording flow consistently and smoothly without many bumps. Each participant paid particular attention to his/her wording, grammar and spelling with rarely a mistake.

- For most any other item type, I use this same reasoning behind my ratings.


3.0 Stars - AVERAGE
         This item is average for me. I enjoy certain aspects of the item, but not all. I will leave the item feeling nothing special in particular; I neither love nor hate it. The Author has paid no particular attention to the language used and words chosen. There may be a noticeable number of grammar or spelling mistakes present throughout the item.

- If it's a static item, the item is not particularly original or creative in the theme, plot or layout. There may be confusing areas within the item that I have to reread to catch the meaning. The plot and wording are not as smooth as it should be and I can not read through it without hesitation in certain areas.

- For poetry, there is not much noticeable flow of words and rhythm throughout the item. There is no punctuation and it feels and reads like there should be. The presentation is average and improvement in the composition would help the feel of the poem.

- If it's documentation about something, the item will leave me with some questions about the topic; the information is not complete. The layout and composition of the information is hard to follow and not very easy to read through.

- If it's a journal, the entries do not thoroughly interest me or keep my attention. I treat public journals as an ongoing "story", with chapters being added regularly. When the author does not add to the journal on a consistent basis and it sits stagnant for weeks or months at a time, I find that attention paid to be of average level. The journal evokes a bit of emotion, but doesn't particularly make me want to read further. The wording isn't very expressive or descriptive. I will not fault too harshly on grammar in a journal because each entry is usually written exactly as the author speaks, but I do move a rating down for spelling mistakes in journals. There is an edit option for each entry so that the Author can revisit after his/her initial thoughts are out.

- If it's a message forum, the idea of the forum is something I have seen before. The description of the forum is not very detailed and the layout is scattered and hard to follow. I need to read the first few posts to have a good idea what the forum is actually about. The forum is open, but no one has posted in it yet.

- I base user polls on this same reasoning as message forums, as far as the originality and descriptive wording. The poll may be misleading or confusing and there are no choices for me to choose with confidence.

- An image is average if it is not very original in its design or creativity. The chosen composition, color and design of the sig, artwork or photography is not particularly striking or memorable. The scan of the artwork or photo is blurry or splotchy. The fonts and colors may be hard to read or tacky to look at. The image is not completely the author's own work, meaning part of the image is copyrighted by someone else, such as a painting, drawing or company logo. As an artist, I don't appreciate the use of others' copyrighted works as ones own.

- For campfires and interactive stories, the creativity, originality and activity are average. The plot may be something I've seen before and not taken to a new level. The wording may be bumpy and inconsistent. The item may not keep my attention the entire way through.

- For most any other item type, I use this same reasoning behind my ratings.


2.0 Stars - BELOW AVERAGE
         This item is below average for me. I enjoy a few aspects of the item, but for the most part, I do not enjoy reading through it. The Author has paid no attention to the language used and words chosen. I will leave the item feeling nothing special in particular, and I would not recommend it to a friend. There may be an abundance of grammar or spelling mistakes present throughout the item.

- If it's a static item, the item is not original or creative in the theme, plot or layout. There are confusing areas within the item that I have to reread a few times in order to fully grasp the desired meaning. The plot and wording are not smooth and I can not read through it without hesitation in many areas.

- For poetry, there is no noticeable flow of words and rhythm throughout the item, which makes it difficult to follow. The impact of the words seems weaker than the author may have intended. There is no punctuation and it needs it to relay the lines/meaning properly. The presentation is scrambled and the lines run together making it difficult to read. Improvement of the composition would help the poem immensely.

- If it's documentation about something, the item will leave me with many questions about the topic; the information is not complete. The layout and composition of the information is extremely hard to follow and difficult to read through.

- If it's a journal, the entries do not interest me or keep my attention in the least bit. The author does not add to the journal and it sits stagnant for months at a time. The journal evokes no emotion and I have no desire to read further. The wording isn't expressive or descriptive at all. There are many spelling mistakes throughout the journal; it's obvious that the author never went back to read an entry and edit the spelling.

- If it's a message forum, the idea of the forum is something I have seen many times before. The description of the forum contains no detail and the layout is messy and difficult to follow. I need to read the first few posts to have a good idea what the forum is actually about. The forum is open, but no one has posted in it yet.

- I base user polls on this same reasoning as message forums, as far as the originality and descriptive wording. The poll may be misleading or confusing; the choices are so vague, they become irrelevant.

- An image is below average if it is not original in its design or creativity. The chosen composition, color and design of the sig, artwork or photography is not striking, memorable or pleasant to view. The scan of the artwork or photo is blurry or splotchy. The fonts and colors may be hard to read or tacky to look at. The image is not completely the author's own work, meaning part of the image is copyrighted by someone else, such as a painting, drawing or company logo. The image contains overused clipart that isn't cropped or positioned well.

- For campfires and interactive stories, the creativity, originality and activity are below average. The plot may be something I've seen many times before; the wording is simple, choppy and inconsistent. The item may keep my attention, but in the least amount possible.

- For most any other item type, I use this same reasoning behind my ratings.


1.0 Stars - NEEDS SERIOUS WORK
         This item is way below average and needs serious work. I did not enjoy any aspects of this item and I had a hard time even wanting to finish looking at or reading through it. There are too many grammar or spelling mistakes to count and sending the author edit suggestions will be a massive, unending task.

- If it's a static item, the item is not original or creative in the least bit. The layout is a mess and reading the item is a chore. There are many confusing areas within the item that do not follow the plot or meaning of the item. The wording is not smooth and it is evident to me that the author did not go back and edit the item at all upon posting it to the public.

- For poetry, there is no flow of words or rhythm throughout the item, which makes it extremely difficult to read and comprehend. The impact of the words seems very weak. There is no punctuation and it needs it to properly relay the lines properly. The presentation is messy and separations of line are nonexistent, making it extremely difficult to read through. Author should reconsider the layout of the poem.

- If it's documentation about something, the item will leave me completely confused about the topic; the information is not even close to being complete. The layout and composition of the information is extremely hard to follow.

- If it's a journal, there are no entries posted in the journal itself. I do not rate 2+ stars to journals that post their first four entries in the description area; that should be reserved for static items. When the author does not add a second entry to the journal and it sits stagnant for months, I may consider a 1.0 rating if any of these other factors are involved.

- If it's a message forum, the idea of the forum is completely ridiculous or pointless. The description of the forum is not very detailed and the layout is messy and hard to follow. The forum is open, but no one has posted in it yet. Messages posted are continuously deleted by the owner of the forum without proper explanation as to why.

- I base user polls on this same reasoning as message forums, as far as the originality and descriptive wording. The poll may be so confusing or ridiculous in its wording that its hard to even choose one of the misleading answers.

- An image will receive this rating if it is hard to read or comprehend its meaning. The scan of the artwork or photo is too blurry or splotchy to see much of it. The fonts and colors may be hard to read or very tacky to look at.

- For campfires and interactive stories, the creativity, originality and activity is boring and used-up. The plot may be completely confusing and scattered. The wording may be too hard to read through and scattered, as well. The item does not keep my attention the entire way through and it was a chore to finish it.

- For most any other item type, I use this same reasoning behind my ratings.

I will rate your items by these guidelines
and I ask that you do the same for mine.

I encourage you all to think clearly about a rating before you give it.

......................................................

If you're interested in viewing my rating opinions, please read:

How Should I Rate Items on Writing.Com?  [E] #544855 Wondering how to approach the rating system on Writing.Com? by The StoryMistress

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Recommended Reading

1. Reviewing On Writing.Com
2. Guidelines To Great Reviewing