The Writer Evaluation Tool

Add some objectivity to an otherwise subjective evaluation process. 

The Challenges of Evaluating Writers

The quality of your content directly impacts your marketing efforts, brand reputation, and audience engagement. But evaluating writers is no walk in the park. Here’s why:

• Subjectivity of Writing Quality: Writing is subjective. What one person thinks is great, another might not.
• Nuanced Evaluation Criteria: Beyond grammar and mechanics, there are more subtle elements such as voice, tone, engagement, and how well the content resonates with your audience. These are easy to miss but crucial for creating outstanding content.
• Lack of Specialized Experience: Not every business has someone with the specialized skills to assess writing effectively. This can make it tough to spot truly exceptional writers among those who just meet the basics.

The Writer Evaluation Tool

To tackle these challenges, we’ve created the Writer Evaluation Tool. It’s designed to help hiring managers objectively assess freelance or in-house writer candidates. This tool offers a structured way to thoroughly and fairly evaluate a writer’s skills across critical content writing aspects.

The Writer Evaluation Tool covers 10 key categories:

1. Audience Alignment
2. Value and Helpfulness
3. Engagement
4. Originality and Creativity
5. SEO
6. Grammar and Punctuation
7. Transitions and Flow
8. Structure
9. Research Quality
10. Call to Action

Each category digs into important facets of writing quality and effectiveness, helping evaluators spot factors that might not be immediately obvious, especially for those less experienced in assessing writers.

Features

To ensure a comprehensive evaluation process, the Writer Evaluation Tool incorporates several key features. Below is an overview of these features, each designed to enhance the accuracy and fairness of your assessments.

How to Use the Writer Evaluation Tool

Using the Writer Evaluation Tool is straightforward. Follow these eight steps to evaluate writer candidates effectively:

1. Access the Tool:
   • Open the Writer Evaluation Tool in Google Sheets. This link will take you to a view-only version. To use it, you’ll need to make a copy.
   • To make a copy, click on File > Make a copy and save it to your Google Drive.
     
2. Prepare for Evaluation:
   • Begin by reading the writer’s submission completely without stopping to rate. This helps you get an overall impression of the content.
     
3. Rate Each Criterion:
   • For each of the 30 questions across the 10 categories, select a rating from 1 to 5:
     • 1 = Poor
     • 2 = Fair
     • 3 = Acceptable
     • 4 = Very Good
     • 5 = Excellent
   • Refer back to the content as needed to determine your ratings for each question.
     
4. Add Optional Notes:
   • If desired, add any specific comments or observations in the notes field provided. This can be helpful for detailed feedback or context, especially if you’re keeping a completed scorecard for each candidate.
     
5. Automatic Calculations:
   • As you input ratings, the tool will automatically calculate the scores based on the weighted values assigned to each question.
     
6. Check for Warnings:
   • Pay attention to the warning section. If certain questions are rated as poor or fair (1 or 2), a warning will populate, indicating critical issues with the candidate’s writing that must be considered, regardless of their final score.
     
7. Complete the Evaluation:
   • After rating all 30 questions and reaching 100% completion, the tool will display the final score along with a description based on the score range. This description will help you interpret the results and decide whether to proceed with the writer.
     
8. Continue to the Next Evaluation
   • To reuse the same sheet, simply highlight the dropdown fields and press the Delete key to start again. 
   • To save and compare multiple evaluation results, enter the candidate’s name in the file name, then create a new copy for the next candidate by selecting ‘Make a Copy’ under the File menu.

Note: Keep in mind that no tool is perfect. Consider other factors such as the writer’s availability, reliability, and cost before making a final decision. Remember that one or two submissions are a small sample size, and they may not always be indicative of the writer’s true skill level.

We can help. Struggling to find the right writer or build a team capable of producing outstanding content at scale? Contact sales@stellarcontent.com and let us do the heavy lifting for you. With our expertise, you’ll have the support you need to create content that truly resonates with your audience and drives your brand forward.