Write It Do It B/C

[bernard]

Well...It was an invitational...Every team got all of their test papers back.

That probably won't happen at official tournaments (regional, state, national) so you won't be able to appeal any incorrect grading since you wouldn't know about it. I would avoid doing anything I think the event supervisor might wrongly score. I hope what happened to you happens rarely and that official tournaments make sure each event supervisor understands each event well (though that would be rather difficult to ensure).

[flash2705]

is this going to be really hard because i have 10 days to my competition. and isn't underline ctrl+u?

[bernard]

is this going to be really hard because i have 10 days to my competition. and isn't underline ctrl+u?

Please read the rules. 2.b. allows characters that can be produced on a keyboard by "pressing a single key or a single key in combination with the shift key" so underlines are not explicitly allowed. I could imagine some event supervisors allowed underlines but since it isn't allowed by the rules I wouldn't use them.

If you haven't practiced this event with your partner, I highly recommend doing it. I didn't realize how difficult this event could be until the first time I practiced with my partner (which thankfully wasn't at the competition). There are a lot of strategies that can make your writing more understandable and efficient. It really depends on the writer, but having good communication between the writer and the doer is important.

[tle990]

I was practicing today and used a Lego piece that reminded me of a chair. It was shaped like this: I_ Would it be ok to refer to it as the "chair" piece, or would that be considered using code since it's not really a chair?

[samlan16]

I was practicing today and used a Lego piece that reminded me of a chair. It was shaped like this: I_ Would it be ok to refer to it as the "chair" piece, or would that be considered using code since it's not really a chair?

I would call it a chair piece if it's intended to be a chair for Lego people; otherwise, play it safe and call it a chair-shaped piece.

[mjcox2000]

I was practicing today and used a Lego piece that reminded me of a chair. It was shaped like this: I_ Would it be ok to refer to it as the "chair" piece, or would that be considered using code since it's not really a chair?

The first time you reference the piece, you should call it something along the lines of "the lego piece that looks like a chair" - that way, (a) the event supervisors would understand what piece you were talking about and wouldn't mark you down for it (I kind of doubt they'd mark you down for that being a code, but better safe than sorry), and more importantly, (b) you wouldn't confuse your partner. After the first reference, though, you should probably be fine calling it a "chair piece".

[Gemma W]

"Code" is not very well defined in the rules, I would ask individual supervisors exactly how they define it. Personally I use descriptors like that all the time and it doesn't seem to be a problem, but for all I know I could have been penalized for it and never have found out. I think they're more concerned with predetermined codes that are used to shorten phrases, though.

[hscmom]

I have coached and now judged (just at an invitational) WIDI and I consider code to be something that someone couldn't read in English. So if your instruction said "TL pp 6.8 SRV #3 --> 2.55" I'd call that code. And if you write "12 cm" without defining cm = centimeter, then that's code. But I'm fine with incomplete sentences such as "Blue block on green disk." It lacks a verb and your third grade teacher would mark it off as being a fragment, but it's not code - it's readable. And, the spelling and handwriting needs to be only good enough that it's readable by a very tolerant judge. That's my opinion.

I'd be fine with calling that piece a "Lego chair" or even a "chair" or "chare." If the builder can figure out what the writer is talking about, good enough...

Last week, I giggled at our B team when the writer instructed to "puke the toothpick..." ("No, that's not a puke, it's a poke," she explained)

[samlan16]

I have coached and now judged (just at an invitational) WIDI and I consider code to be something that someone couldn't read in English. So if your instruction said "TL pp 6.8 SRV #3 --> 2.55" I'd call that code. And if you write "12 cm" without defining cm = centimeter, then that's code. But I'm fine with incomplete sentences such as "Blue block on green disk." It lacks a verb and your third grade teacher would mark it off as being a fragment, but it's not code - it's readable. And, the spelling and handwriting needs to be only good enough that it's readable by a very tolerant judge. That's my opinion.

I'd be fine with calling that piece a "Lego chair" or even a "chair" or "chare." If the builder can figure out what the writer is talking about, good enough...

Last week, I giggled at our B team when the writer instructed to "puke the toothpick..." ("No, that's not a puke, it's a poke," she explained)

Unfortunately, the definition of "code" is subjective in this event; some judges, like hscmom, are incredibly lenient and allow most things to go through. However, some judges, like the technical writing professor who will likely judge your state test, will consider anything poorly qualified to be code and will tier 2 those teams with bad writers.

Like I said, play it safe. If you absolutely need to write things in shorthand, describe the piece/ position precisely, then say in parenthesis what the shorthand version is. You should also do this for unit abbreviations as stated earlier. For example, your first line could read something like this:

Take the white K'nex 8-slot piece with a hole in the center (henceforth white snowflake) and place it on top of the white styrofoam 8 centimeter (cm) by 8 cm block (henceforth base).

[boomvroomshroom]

Does judging for this event vary? I know that you get points per piece that is in the correct place, but what are some general error cutoffs? (ex: something 1cm off vs. something in right spot but oriented wrong)