At this point you have been asked by the Instructables staff to help judge a contest. You may be a professional outside of the Instructables community, prolific author, or a past contest winner.

Your input as a judge is invaluable to the Instructable community and helps us to run the best contests on the internet.

***NOTE: the images in this Instructable are not from a real contest. They are all Instructables made by Instructables admin.

Step 1: Look for PM

Now that you have been asked by our staff to help judge keep an eye out for a message in your inbox with further judging instructions.

Once you've received a PM letting you know judging has started, you can head to the contest page to start ranking the finalists!

Step 2: Select Scores

We've updated the voting process to make it really easy.

All finalists have the numbers 1 - 9 below them. Juse select the number to score it! You can always change it to another number, or click the same number again to remove it.

Step 3: Score Project and Save

Follow these instructions for rating the finalists and saving your scores.

1. Check Out Entries: Click on the entry titles to open them and read through. Pro tip: it's best to right click and open them in a new tab!

2. Rate Finalists 0-9: We use Range Voting. To rate each project, just click on the number you want for that entry to rate the project 0-9. You can find the judging requirements in STEP 4.

9 = amazing mind blowing project that best satisfies the judging requirements. You may decide the project excels in one of the judging requirements more than another.

5 = the project may vaguely satisfy the judging requirements, or it may only satisfy 1-2 of the judging requirements.

0 = Doesn't satisfy any of the judging requirements.

3. Scores are automatically saved: Once you've clicked on a number under a finalists, it is saved! You don't need to click to save or anything.

What matters for the judging is the status of your choices when judging closes. You can come back later to do more or change your scores.

Step 4: Judging Requirements

Judges should use the following criteria when judging each finalist. It is not meant to be used as a rubric, but more of a guideline to critically evaluate and compare contest finalists. As the judge you decide if an Instructable adheres to the judging criteria and how to apply the criteria to the specific contest you are judging.

Subject:

Project best represents the theme of the contest. This is very important, because a project may be extremely creative and well documented (and the most ingenious project of the finalists), but if it doesn't best fit in line with the theme it should be strictly penalized.

Clarity:

Explanations and directions are coherent and intelligible. The order of instructions should make sense so someone could follow along and duplicate the project. It doesn't need to be written for every skill level, but should be accessible by the audience that uses the technology or skill implemented in the project.

Ingenuity and Creativity:

The project implements a clever and creative design. Project explores an area of study that is not well documented or presents a solution to a problem that is not well defined. A stand out project doesn't have to re-invent the wheel, but it benefits to have an element of uniqueness that sets it apart from similar types of projects. The project presents a practical solution that may not otherwise be apparent.

Quality of Presentation:

Projects should be broken into easily understood steps (or stages/processes for Photo and Video). There should be an appropriate amount of text describing each step completely (the feature checklist hits this very well.) All pictures, diagrams, and sketches should ideally be the author's own work. Visually the project pictures should accurately represent the project and be easily understood by readers who may not be familiar with the concept.

Execution of the Instructable

Intro image fits and explains the project. The narrative should engage and educate the reader, and complex areas of discussion should have enough detail and external links to guide the reader through your project and onto further reading if required. The entire project should be understood by someone not intimately familiar with the material. The tone should aim to educate and entertain.

Step 5: Common Judging Questions

How many projects should I judge?

You do not have to judge all the finalists, but it is good practice to do so. If you only judge your favorite entries with high scores and leave the rest, it doesn't recognize entries in the middle of the pack. Those entries may be deserving of second place or runner up prizes, but may get pushed to the bottom of the list.

For best results, judge all the projects against the judging requirements and against each other for the optimal winner outcome.

What happens if I don't give a project a score?

By not ranking some of the entries, you are NOT giving it a 0. When you don't vote for a project it doesn't register any score in the database. Only giving a project a value of 0-9 will affect a change.

What do I need to do in a contest that has Judges' Prizes?

Simple answer: nothing! Judge every entry as you would normally. Staff keep track of entries that are eligible for a Judges' Prize and will assign them accordingly after all judge scores are tallied.

Step 6: Example Judging Process

Here is a mock judging process for a Holiday Gifts Contest.

Keep in mind, this is MY PERSPECTIVE as a judge and how I judge entries against the judging requirements. Every judge is different and interprets the judging requirements differently. This is why we have at least 10 judges in every contest.

There is an element of "wow, awesome" that is nearly impossible to define, but is clearly visible when you see it. Such ingenuity may compensate for slight weaknesses in presentation

San Francisco Neighborhood Wood Wall Map - 5

This project gets its points for subject and ingenuity/creativity. It is great that the project includes a file which is really the bulk of the project. However, it really needs more instruction for the build of the project. It looks more complicated than just printing the file

Woodcut Silhouette Portrait - 8

This project works perfectly as a gift. It has a great story behind it and is a unique idea. Although the project doesn't give instructions for manipulating the photo, it links to a tutorial - no need to re-explain these steps if there is a great tutorial that exists elsewhere. I knocked it down a point because the last step doesn't throughly explain the gluing process.

Suitcase Picnic Table - 9

This project hits all the criteria spot on. It would make a fantastic gift for any family member or friend. It is a new spin on suitcase repurposing - I haven't seen anything like it. It is broken down into appropriate steps and every step is explained in great detail. It is obvious that the project actually works and has been used.

Fish Skeleton Earrings - 3

These earrings would make a great gift for almost any lady, and it's wonderful that the files for lasercutting them are included. Because they're lasercut, though, there's not too much in the way of documentation. While the presentation is good and the pictures are clear, it's not as comprehensive as most. The project is also not the most creative - fish bone earrings have been around for quite a while now!

Custom Wood Clothing Hanger - 6

This is a clever and unique idea that would make a great gift for expecting parents or for people you know that just love clothes. The files for lasercutting have been included (three different ones!) and the photos are great. While this project suffers from the same lack of documentation like the fish skeleton earrings, it gets higher marks thanks to being clever and the fact that it can be easily customized.

Fringe Necktie - 4

This project gets points for documentation. However, in the first step it says it is based on an item that already exists - thus not very creative. Its also a very generic gift (especially compared to the other gifts on this list). Some of the pictures are blurry.

Step 7: Guides for Writing a Great Instructable

Check out jessy ratfink's How to Write an Instructable Class!

You can also check out our Help Center to learn more about the site and our Featuring Guidelines.