Humorous 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 funny piece of verse or prose of their own choice, in four age groups with a two- or three-minute limit.

The Humorous Section is a speech class for funny writing. The entrant chooses a piece of verse or prose that is meant to make an audience laugh, learns it and speaks it to the adjudicator and the room. A limerick, a nonsense poem, a comic ballad, a funny scene from a children’s book or a short humorous essay can all fit, provided the piece is suitable for a stage. The class is about delivering the humour with the voice, not about acting out a sketch with costume and props.

In eTalenter data the class appears on one template, the speech and drama syllabus of a long-running Sydney eisteddfod, where it sits beside the Australian Section, Memorised Prose, Prose Reading and Public Speaking. 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 older group. The syllabus prints this class as a separate section for each age group, each with its own section code.

A round runs like any call-sheet speech class. Entrants are called in order, perform and leave when the piece ends or the time bell rings. The syllabus says a copy of the piece must be handed to the adjudicator, that the choice is the entrant’s own and that suitability of material is essential, 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 run a humorous class because it is one of the easiest to enjoy from the audience’s side and one of the hardest to do well: a joke that falls flat is obvious to everyone. It also gives younger speakers a way into recitation, since a piece they find funny is a piece they want to rehearse. The platform carries the class, the four age groups and the time limits; the copy for the adjudicator and the suitability of the material are conditions the organiser enforces.

Where Humorous Section (Verse or Prose) is run

The Humorous Section (Verse or Prose) exists under this exact name in one template in the data, the speech and drama syllabus of a Sydney eisteddfod. Other eisteddfod templates carry their own differently named humorous classes, such as humorous poem, humorous verse or humorous verse or prose solo, and these are separate pages with their own age groups and limits. The age groups, time limits and copy rule described here are the ones printed for this one festival, so the page does not claim wider use.

• Australia

Key facts

• Individual entry: one speaker, one piece, boys and girls together, in English.
• Content: verse or prose of the entrant’s own choice, written to be funny. The syllabus requires the material to be suitable, and offensive language is not accepted.
• 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 short nonsense poem for a 10-and-under entrant, a comic poem about a school day, a funny passage from a favourite children’s novel, a made-up tall tale told in verse, a humorous list poem about pets or food.

On eTalenter, Humorous 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, Humorous 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 Humorous Section (Verse or Prose)

What a Humorous 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 in a humorous piece, labelled as advice and not as the festival’s own rubric.
• Timing of the laugh: a joke needs its pause. A speaker who rushes the punchline, or who laughs before the audience does, loses the effect. Mark the beats in the copy and rehearse the pause before each one.
• Voice and clarity: funny words only work if they are heard. Clear consonants and a pace the back of the hall can follow matter more than a loud voice.
• Understanding of the piece: the speaker should show they know why each line is funny, through a change of tone, a raised eyebrow or a sudden slow-down, without overdoing the performance.
• Choice of piece: material that suits the speaker’s age and sense of humour and stays within what is suitable for a stage usually lands better than an ambitious piece that needs adult timing.
• Memory and time discipline: the work is expected to be memorised and to fit two or three minutes. A piece cut off by the bell loses its best line, so finish a few seconds inside the limit.

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

How to prepare for Humorous Section (Verse or Prose)

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

• Read the syllabus wording first: the choice is your own, the material must be suitable, a copy goes to the adjudicator and the work is expected to be memorised. Settle those points before choosing a piece.
• Choose a piece that makes the speaker laugh and that an audience can follow on a single hearing. Read four or five candidates aloud to a friend and keep the one that gets a real reaction.
• Mark the copy: underline the words to stress, put a slash at each pause and a double slash before the punchline. Keep a clean second copy, with title and author, for the adjudicator.
• Learn the piece in small blocks, a few lines each day, then link them. Learn the punchlines first, because they are the lines that must never be forgotten.
• Time it 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 and lose the pauses.
• Rehearse the opening and the last line separately. A funny piece needs a confident first sentence to set the mood and a clean ending so the audience knows when to applaud.
• Try it on different listeners, a grandparent, a classmate and someone who has never heard it, and note which lines get a laugh. Cut anything that never does.
• 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 next time.

Frequently asked questions

Is Humorous 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.

Can I choose any funny piece?

The syllabus describes the choice as your own, but says suitability of material is essential and offensive language is not acceptable. Pick something funny and suitable for a stage audience of all ages.

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 the Australian Section?

No. The Australian Section requires the writer to be Australian and does not ask for humour. This class is defined by the piece being funny and leaves the writer’s nationality open. Each has its own entries on the syllabus.

Can I use props or a costume?

The syllabus does not mention props or costume for this section, so check with the organiser. The class is a speech class judged on delivery, so the voice should carry the humour.

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.