Judges will indicate weaknesses and strengths in each category and let editors know why they lost points in a particular category. These categories include the following:
- Scoring Criteria #1: Concept, Theme & Reference (20 points)
- Table of Contents
- Cover
- Magazine Purpose
- Scoring Criteria #2: Writing & Editing (20 points)
- Writing
- Editing & proofing
- Headlines
- Captions
- Scoring Criteria #3: Photography & Art (30 points)
- Photo content
- Photo technical quality
- Information graphics
- Illustrations
- Scoring Criteria #4: Layout & Design (30 points)
- Use of photography and other visuals
- Cover & theme page design
- Typography
- Dominance, entry points and eyeflow
- Consistency throughout magazine