NHD’s goal is to provide you with a high-quality, educational experience—whether or not you are a finalist to move on to the next competition. The judges’ evaluations are part of the learning and skill-building process of NHD. After the school competition, you will have received feedback from around 3-5 knowledgeable adults. The judges’ evaluations help you to improve skills and provide positive feedback for the hard work you have put into producing your project. The judges’ comments also can provide you with ideas for revisions and enhancements as you move from one contest level to the next, or for your project in future years. (nhd.org)
What are the judges looking for?
There are three main areas the judges are looking at when they are evaluating your project. These areas include historical quality, relation to theme, and clarity of information.
Historical Quality (60%): The most important aspect of your entry is its historical quality. • Is my entry historically accurate? • Does my entry provide analysis and interpretation of the historical data rather than just a description? • Does my entry demonstrate an understanding of historical context? • Does my annotated bibliography demonstrate balanced research?
Relation to Theme (20%): Your entry must explain clearly the relation of your topic to the annual NHD theme. • How does my topic relate to the theme? • Why is my topic important? • How did my topic influence history? • How did the events and atmosphere (social, economic, political, and cultural aspects of my topic’s time period) influence my topic in history?
Clarity of Information (20%): Although historical quality is most important, your entry must be presented in an effective manner. • Is my entry original, creative, and imaginative in subject and presentation? • Is my written material clear, grammatically correct, and accurately spelled? • Is my entry well-organized? • Do I display stage presence in a performance? • Is my visual material presented clearly?
For the purposes of our school competition, the judging committee includes many different volunteers. In the past these volunteers have included former and current teachers, LCA board members, parents, former students, and other historical aficionados. The judge panel simply consists of people who love history and are excited to see and learn about what students at Lake Country Academy have created! If you know of someone who may be interested in judging, please have them contact Mr. Redmond through email at [email protected].
How should I prepare?
One of the misconceptions of the National History Day competition is that you will be presenting your project to the judges. While you should be prepared to introduce yourself by name, your topic, and thesis, for the rest of the evaluation the judges will ask you questions about your project. Therefore, your evaluation will be more of a discussion than a presentation. Below is a list of possible questions that the judges may ask you on the day of our school's NHD contest. Although I cannot guarantee these will be the exact same questions the judges will ask of you, I can guarantee that they are very similar. The judges will not ask you all of the questions on this list, but you should still be prepared to answer all of them. The judges are fascinated with what students have to say about their project! So do not be afraid to share with them all that you have learned. You are the expert!
What was your most important source and why?
What is the most important point you are trying to convey about your topic?
What is the most important thing you learned from doing this project?
How did your primary sources help you understand this topic?
What were the most important factors which caused (the event in question) to occur?
What were the most important consequences of this (event/person’s actions)?
Why is this topic significant?
Why did you choose this topic?
Did you find conflicting information in your sources? If so, how did you deal with this?
When you were conducting research, what sources did you find the most valuable and why?
How do you think your topic influenced history?
How does your topic relate to the theme?
Who moves on to the next competition?
After our school's National History Day competition is complete, Mr. Redmond will review all of the completed judge evaluation forms. Using these forms, Mr. Redmond will create an average score for each student. This numerical average, as well as judge comments, rule compliance, and student ambition will determine which students move on to the next competition. A maximum of 5 students from each category can qualify for the regional competition from our school.
What should I wear?
During the school competition held at Lake Country Academy, it is required that students dress in semi-formal attire. It is important to present yourself in a way that provides a good first impression to the judge panel.