Australian Section (Verse or Prose) Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A spoken-word class where each entrant performs a piece of verse or prose written by an Australian poet or author, in four age groups with a two- or three-minute limit.

The Australian Section is a speech class built around one rule: the piece must be verse or prose by an Australian poet or author. Beyond that the choice is the entrant’s own. A competitor may bring a bush ballad, a modern poem, a passage from a novel, a children’s story or a piece of memoir, as long as the writer is Australian and the piece is suitable for a stage. It is a recitation class, not an acting class, so the work rests on the voice, the pacing and the meaning of the words.

In eTalenter data the class appears on one template, the speech and drama syllabus of a long-running Sydney eisteddfod. It is entered by one performer at a time, boys and girls together, in English. There are four age groups: 10 and under, 11 to 12, 13 to 14 and an Open group for 15 and over. The time limit is two minutes in the youngest group and three minutes in each of the older groups, so the youngest entrants choose a short poem or a single paragraph of prose and the older ones can sustain a longer piece.

A round runs like any call-sheet speech class. Entrants are called to the stage in order, perform their piece and leave when finished or when the time bell rings. The syllabus says a copy of the piece must be handed to the adjudicator, and its general rules say all work must be memorised unless a section says otherwise. This section does not say otherwise, so entrants should plan to speak from memory and confirm that with the organiser before the day.

Organisers use a class like this for two reasons. It puts local writing in front of young speakers who might otherwise only meet overseas texts, and it gives a clear, easy-to-explain reason to choose a piece, which keeps the programme varied. The platform carries the class, the four age groups and the time limits; the rule that the writer must be Australian, and the copy for the adjudicator, are conditions the organiser enforces.

Where Australian Section (Verse or Prose) is run

The Australian Section exists as a named class in one template in the data, the speech and drama syllabus of a Sydney eisteddfod, where it sits beside a humorous class, memorised prose, prose reading and public speaking. Nothing in the data shows a class with this exact name on any other template, so the page does not claim wider use. The age groups, time limits and copy rule described here are the ones printed for this one festival.

• Australia

Key facts

• Individual entry: one speaker, one piece, boys and girls together, in English.
• Content rule: verse or prose by an Australian poet or author, own choice of piece. The class is for speaking the piece, not for acting it out.
• Four age groups: 10 and under, 11 to 12, 13 to 14 and Open (15 and over). The syllabus prints cumulative ages (10, 12, 14 and under, Open); the template splits them so each entrant falls in exactly one group.
• Time limit: two minutes for 10 and under, three minutes for each older group.
• A copy of the piece goes to the adjudicator, and the general rules call for the work to be memorised unless the section says otherwise.
• The syllabus prints no marking scheme for this class, so the template uses a nominal maximum of 10 per performance and prints no grades or points; placings are first, second and third.
• Idea starters, not rules: a bush ballad for a 10-and-under entrant, a short passage from a well-known Australian children’s book, a modern poem about a coastline or city street, a funny family memoir paragraph, a poem by a living poet the entrant has heard read aloud.

On eTalenter, Australian Section (Verse or Prose) is filed under Literary and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Australian Section (Verse or Prose) is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 10, commonly time-limited to 2–3 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Australian Section (Verse or Prose)

What a Australian Section (Verse or Prose) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• The syllabus prints no criteria or marks for this class, so none are asserted here. What follows is general advice on what a speech adjudicator listens for, labelled as advice and not as the festival’s own rubric.
• Voice and clarity: words that carry to the back of the hall, clear consonants and a steady pace. A speaker who mumbles the ending of every line loses the listener even when the piece is well chosen.
• Understanding of the piece: the pauses, stresses and changes of pace should follow the meaning. A speaker who clearly knows what each line is about sounds different from one who has only learned the words.
• Memory and security: because the work is expected to be memorised, a speaker who recovers smoothly from a slip usually loses less than one who stops and restarts. Know the opening and closing lines best of all.
• Choice of piece: a piece that suits the speaker’s age and voice, and that shows the Australian writing the class is about, tends to read better than the most ambitious text on the list.
• Time discipline: two minutes for the youngest group and three for the rest. A piece cut off by the bell loses its ending, so rehearse with a timer and finish a few seconds inside the limit.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Australian Section (Verse or Prose) under Scoring Setup, or start from the full recitation & poetry judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Australian Section (Verse or Prose)

How entrants and their teachers usually get Australian Section (Verse or Prose) right on the day:

• Read the syllabus wording for the section first: the writer must be Australian, a copy goes to the adjudicator and the work is expected to be memorised. Settle those three points before choosing a piece.
• Choose a piece the speaker likes. Read three or four candidates aloud and keep the one that feels natural to say; a speaker bored of a piece by week two will not carry it on the day.
• Check the writer’s nationality from a reliable source, such as a library catalogue or the publisher’s page, and note the title and author for the copy given to the adjudicator.
• Prepare the unmarked, legible copy early: title, author, clean text with no annotations. Bring one spare copy.
• Learn the piece in small blocks, a few lines each day, then link the blocks. Speak it aloud while walking to fix it in memory beyond the page.
• Time the piece at performance speed against the two-minute or three-minute limit for the age group. If it runs long, trim a verse or a paragraph rather than speed up.
• Rehearse the walk on, the first breath and the final line. Practise in front of one person, then a small group, and record on a phone to hear where the voice drops.
• After the result, ask the organiser for the adjudicator’s comments if they are given, and use them to choose a stronger piece or a clearer pace for the next festival.

Frequently asked questions

Is Australian Section (Verse or Prose) judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Does the piece have to be by an Australian writer?

Yes. The syllabus describes the class as verse or prose by an Australian poet or author, and the piece is the entrant’s own choice within that rule.

How long can the performance be?

Two minutes for the 10 and under group and three minutes for the 11 to 12, 13 to 14 and Open groups, as printed on the syllabus.

Do I have to learn the piece by heart?

The syllabus general rules say all work must be memorised unless the section says otherwise. This section does not say otherwise, so plan to speak from memory and check with the organiser if you are unsure.

Is this the same as Memorised Prose or Prose Reading?

No. Those are separate classes on the same syllabus with their own rules. This class is defined by the writer being Australian and allows either verse or prose.

What are entrants judged on?

The syllabus prints no criteria or marks for the class. The template uses a nominal maximum of 10 per performance, and the organiser can change it.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full recitation & poetry judging criteria guide, or browse every literary competition item.