Creative Writing in a Foreign Language

Judging Panel and Criteria

FeatherAll language lecturers from the University of Portsmouth and other participating institutions are invited to take part as judges, with external examiners also encouraged to join the panel. Entries will be grouped by language, and each group will be judged by specialists in that language. Within each language group, the judges will be invited to assess all submitted pieces, following the criteria as set out below.

The final decision on awards will be made by consensus. Winners will be announced either in writing or via this website shortly after judging.

Works will be judged under the following criteria:

  • Originality
    • The content of the written work and the way in which it is told
    • The ideas and images behind it
    • The ability to make the reader look at something in a different way
  • Imagination
    • The power behind the images and visual pictures it creates
    • The strength of the images
    • How the story is brought about and they way it is tackled
  • Style
    • The way in which the written work is presented
    • The effective and convincing way in which the language is used
    • The work shows command of the language
  • Vocabulary
    • Range of words and expressions
  • Grammatical accuracy
    • Use and command of grammatical structures
  • Register
    • Appropriate register
    • Formal/informal registers used in the right context
  • The 'X-Factor'
    • The special and worthy qualities that go beyond originality, imagination and style
    • The way in which feelings are evoked
    • The way in which it moves the reader
    • The way or form in which the work/piece is put together

Winners and commendations will be published in Tonguefreed, our anthology of creative writing in a foreign language, alongside other pieces that impressed the judges.  Read previous winners' work here.