Arobie1992 - Judges' Criteria lyrics

SR_thePangloss: Just for reference, and I may re-post this as I see fit, here is my rough criteria for judging. Obviously, since this is text based, it's much easier to disregard rhetorical flourishes, so don't expect to get points for claims you don't back up. Anyways: Demonstrates an intricate understanding of how (not necessarily to what extent..) their album impacted Hip Hop culture. Differentiates between cultural implications of Hip Hop as a sociopolitical platform, and Rap (i.e. rhyming words over a beat to create multi-rhythmic patterns) as an art form. Clearly states their main points of argument, and continually refers back to them in order to clarify their reasoning. Supports their main points with some sort of verifiable evidence, observable on a wide-scale. Anecdotes can be insightful, but they have no place supporting an argument for or against. Demonstrates basic critical thinking sk**s. Novel arguments or reasoning, which aren't widely seen in any one of the thousands of This album vs. That album threads scattered across this forum already. Seriously, I don't want to read arguments I've heard a hundred times, especially if you can't offer up any sort of new information to support these arguments. Otherwise, this debate really has almost nothing to do with which album is actually “better”, so don't expect to get an easy win just because you lucked out with a critically/commercially claimed album. Along those same lines, I'm expecting even more from you if you do have a favorable match up Arobie1992: Pretty much everything SR covered looks good. Here's some stuff I specifically wanted to address for my judging criteria: The argument being made is more important than the format of the entry, though I am somewhat partial to essays. If the entry is in essay format, I'm looking for good usage of grammar and writing. It doesn't have to be perfect, but there shouldn't be simple typos (e.g. apart vs. a part, alot instead of a lot, etc.). Follow the rules here and you'll be good. Arguments should aim for objectivity. Entirely subjective reasoning will only serve to hurt your argument. I highly recommend using outside sources, which should be referred to. Able to relate different aspects to each other (e.g. social impact to commercial success). Demonstrate an understanding of each of the aspects you discuss beyond a basic level. So for example, if you talk about lyrical quality, discuss why the lyrics are better than your opponent's album's lyrics. Length is irrelevant. The submission should be as long as you feel it needs to be to cover everything you want to discuss in adequate depth, but no longer. Again, the goal of this is not whose album is better, but who can provide the more well-reasoned, compelling argument for why their album is better/more important/whatever. As SR said, just because you have what you, or even many, may consider to be a superior album, don't expect to be able to slack. If it's famous, it's famous for a reason, and we're going to expect you to know, understand, and articulate those reasons clearly and concisely MrXercules: To be added HashSlingingSlasher: Here are some of the things I am looking for: Good, solid evidence. Don't just include your opinions, even if you can back those opinions up. You should also give some statistics, expert opinions, etc. Something that is actually hard, solid evidence, and not just subjective Clarity of ideas. Make sure that you explain yourself thoroughly. Remember, this can be as long as you like, so don't be afraid to be wordy. Make sure that you ideas are well thought out and easy to understand. If you can't explain an idea well, or can't support it enough, then that is probably a sign that the idea isn't really good enough to be included. A thesis statement might be a good idea here I'm a bit of a grammar nazi. You don't have to be 100% right 100% of the time, but at least make it evident that you really attempted to have correct grammar and spelling. Remember, spellcheck is your friend, and if you really aren't good with grammar, then you could always have someone else read your writing to make sure it is correct Focus on all aspects of your album. Not just the lyricism, or the flow. Get into the producing as well. Make sure you know your album like you know the back of your hand. Discuss every part of it that you think proves it's greatness Just like in any debate, don't leave any "chinks in your armor", so to speak. If your album has a weak point, don't just try to ignore it, or your opponent (and myself) will notice. Don't try to sweep things under the rug. If you are leaving holes in your defense, they will be found and exploited And most of all... Proofread! Seriously, this is one of my pet peeves. After you are "done", read through your essay a few times. Any grammatical errors? Any spelling errors? Any ideas that don't seem well thought out or that seem skimpy? Keep reading through it until you don't find anything that you want to change Afarese: Basically everything the other judges said will apply for me as well, but here are the things I will most be looking at: Good grammar. It doesn't have to look like an English scholar wrote it, but it should have few mistakes in spelling and punctuation. Mixing up "there" with "they're" or "to" and "too" should be avoided Demonstrates a good amount of knowledge on how the album impacted hip-hop The argument should not be subjective and state just opinions, the argument should be objective and state facts Uses outside information, such as commercial performance, critical reception, or professional reviews. Not mandatory but highly recommended Demonstrates that the album was listened to and an*lyzed, and argument well thought out rather than just being thrown together Also, as stated before this is not about who's album is better. An argument could be a great album vs a terrible album, but if the terrible album's argument is explained better then it will win. The more well thought out argument that shows that you listened to the album and an*lyzed it well