Re: STC Awards & Honors

["Thiessen, Christopher E" <Christopher -dot- E -dot- Thiessen -at- CDEV -dot- COM>]

Greetings, Andrew.

Different chapters have different mechanisms for judging, but it should all
run down into some numeric evaluation at some point in order to underscore
fairness and hierarchy. That's how I conducted the process when I ran the
online pubs competition in Atlanta, and I "appropriated" that system from
other chapters who had done the same.

However, subjectively, in my mind, DTC represents something that just is so
unbelievably great you want to make a copy of it and keep it around all the
time. On a ten point scale, it would be 9.5 or 10. Excellence represents
really good stuff, 8-9 on the scale, that is very well done (not necessarily
flashy, but well-executed for the materials and intent). Merit is probably a
6 or 7: well done, but with some minor flaws. Achievement is probably a 5:
good execution, good effort, with minimal errors, but a bit above the
routine cut of work. Obviously, a DTC flashes immediately. I've seen a
couple, especially at the international level, and it's like a brick upside
the head: you say to yourself "gee, I wish I'd done that. That's brilliant."
Awarding Excellence/Merit/Achievement awards -- even with numeric valuations
 -- often becomes a major source of discussion among the judging teams (which
is why competitions have a number of judges with varying degrees of
experience). It tests your knowledge of what is expected in the marketplace,
your sense of design, your understanding of tools, and a whole lot more. It
can be a very humbling experience (as I found out when I had the opportunity
to judge online systems at the international level): it's a major hoot to
meet many of the folks who post to this list and to WinHelp-L, and it helps
you focus your personal and professional goals.

Probably the best thing to do to clarify this is to volunteer to judge!
You'll enjoy the experience, get lots of good ideas, and get to know your
team judges really well. And, if you are submitting something, you'll have a
better understanding of the comments you get back on your entry.

Chris Thiessen
christopher -dot- e -dot- thiessen -at- cdev -dot- com
 ----------
From: Andrew Richard Harding
To: Technical Writers List; for al
Subject: STC Awards & Honors
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 2:45PM

Is there an STC vet out there who knows the criteria for the annual STC
awards? How do the judges JUDGE?

What are the differences between Distinguished Technical Communication
and Excellence, Merit, and Achievement?

Thanks,
Andrew Harding