Understanding and Avoiding Penalty Points

What are Penalty Points? Points deducted from a written report because the report did not follow the criteria established on the Written Entry Checklist.

What is the Purpose of the Written Entry Checklist? Use ONTARIO’s Written Entry Checklist! Ensures fairness Maintains a level/equal playing field for all competitors Allows for consistent evaluation by judges

1. The Written Event Statement of Assurances and Academic Integrity must be signed and submitted with the entry. 15 Points Use ONTARIO’s Written Statement of Assurances! Must be signed by advisor and ALL participants Hole punch and place in front of report NO folio required This statement is designed to ensure that only original work is submitted into competition. Students must cite their sources and give appropriate credit to authors.

2. Entries must be submitted by Thursday, January 12, 2017 to Turnitin 2. Entries must be submitted by Thursday, January 12, 2017 to Turnitin.com AND DECA Ontario Suite 440 at the Toronto Sheraton hotel, 123 Queen Street West (one floor up from the DECA Ontario office) regular business hours: Monday to Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm DECA Folio is NOT required for Provincials Double-sided printing is ACCEPTABLE  and ENCOURAGED 1″ margins (top, bottom, left and right) Arial font, size 11 (size may vary only in items in the Appendix, Tables or Financial Statements) use regular paper; do NOT use stock paper STAPLE PAPER IN THE TOP LEFT CORNER + THREE HOLE PUNCH

3. Sheet protectors may not be used. 5 Points Do not place pages from written report in sheet protectors.

4. Limited to the number of pages specified in the guidelines (plus title page and table of contents). 5 Points/Page 5 pages max for EIP 11 pages max for ADC, ESB, FMP, SEPP 30 pages max for BOR, BMOR, FOR, HTOR, SEOR, CSP, CMP, EPP, FLPP, LEP, PRP, EFB, EIB, and IBP. Page limits are in place to aid in the review process. Judges do not have time to read 50 and 60 page reports. Page limits require students to be concise and state the most important information in their writing.

5. All pages are numbered in sequence starting with the executive summary and ending with the final page of the appendix. 5 Points The Title Page and the Table of Contents should not be numbered The Executive Summary should be page #1 Ensure graphics don’t cover page numbers Again, this rule is in place to aid in the review of written entries. The more uniform entries are in structure, the easier it is for the judge to find information and evaluate each section.

6. Major content must be at least double-spaced. 5 Points Title Page, Table of Contents, Executive Summary, Bibliography, Appendix, long quotes, footnotes, and lists may be single-spaced Material in charts or tables may be single-spaced Everything else should be at least double-spaced Again, this rule is in place to aid in the evaluation of written entries. Double-spacing allows judges to make notations and comments while they read each entry.

7. Entry must be typed/word processed. 5 Points No handwritten corrections Only charts and graphs may be handwritten No handwritten page numbers This rule is in place to reinforce the importance of submitting professional-quality work.

8. Paper is 8½ inches by 11 inches 8. Paper is 8½ inches by 11 inches. No fold-outs, attachments, tabs used. 5 Points Nothing should extend past the dimensions of the paper Use regular, letter-size paper NO card stock or specialty paper This rule is in place to assist DECA with handling entries at ICDC. Thousands of written projects are submitted at ICDC and they must be transported and stored in boxes. Uniform sizing helps with these issues.

9. The written entry follows the format guidelines. 5 Points Be sure to use this year’s guidelines Each section should be addressed and titled Additional subsections are permitted

Common Reasons Penalty Points are Assigned Not using the current year’s event guidelines Guidelines change from year to year All participants or advisor not signing the Statement of Assurances Leaving out sections in the body of the written entry Too many pages