Model United Nations (MUN) is one of the few school and college competitions where the "performance" is a multi-hour committee session, not a single timed act -- delegates negotiate, draft resolutions, and speak repeatedly across a session, and a judge (usually called the Chair or a floor judge) has to score diplomacy, research and drafting skill while the committee keeps moving. That structure -- continuous engagement scored across a whole session rather than one bounded speech -- is what makes MUN judging different from debate, elocution or extempore, and it's why organizers often end up improvising a scoresheet rather than using a tested one. This guide lays out the judging criteria, awards structure and setup an eTalenter-run MUN conference typically uses.
What makes MUN judging different
In a single-speech event, a judge scores one performance against a checklist. In MUN, a judge (the committee Chair, or a dedicated floor judge where the Chair is busy moderating) is scoring a delegate continuously across caucuses, speeches, negotiation and the final draft resolution -- often over two or three committee sessions in a day. The scoring has to survive interruptions, cover a delegate who speaks less but negotiates well in unmoderated caucus, and still produce a clean Best Delegate / Best Delegation ranking at the end. Three things follow from this:
- A running tally sheet per delegate (not a one-time scorecard) that the Chair updates through the session, not only at the end.
- A position paper / pre-conference submission that is graded separately and folded into the final score, since research quality often isn't visible on the floor at all.
- A committee-level and individual-level award split -- Best Delegate/Delegation per committee, plus a cross-committee Secretariat award -- that needs scores to be comparable across different Chairs and different country assignments.
Typical conference formats and committees
| Format | Description | Typical size |
|---|---|---|
| Single-committee (school-level) | One committee (e.g. UNGA, UNSC, or a themed crisis committee), one topic, one Chair/floor judge panel | 20-40 delegates |
| Multi-committee conference | Several committees running in parallel (UNSC, ECOSOC, UNHRC, a crisis committee), each with its own Chair and award, plus a Secretary-General overseeing cross-committee awards | 60-200+ delegates across committees |
| Crisis committee | Smaller, faster-paced committee with surprise "crisis updates" mid-session that test improvisation rather than pre-written position papers | 15-25 delegates |
The judging rubric
Most school and college MUN conferences score delegates out of 100 across five components. Weightings vary by conference, but this is the common split:
| Component | Marks | What's scored |
|---|---|---|
| Position paper / research | 20 | Pre-submitted paper: accuracy of the country's stance, use of real policy references, clarity of proposed solutions |
| Public speaking (formal speeches) | 25 | Content, delivery, staying in character/policy, use of allotted speech time |
| Negotiation & diplomacy (caucus) | 25 | Lobbying, coalition-building, flexibility without abandoning the country's position, working the room during unmoderated caucus |
| Resolution / draft quality | 15 | Contribution to the working paper or draft resolution -- clauses proposed, amendments raised, procedural accuracy |
| Rules of procedure & decorum | 15 | Correct use of parliamentary procedure (motions, points, yields), respectful conduct, placard/notes etiquette |
Because the five components are scored at different points in the session (paper before, speeches and caucus during, resolution near the end), most Chairs keep a single running tally sheet per delegate rather than five separate forms -- one row per delegate with five score columns updated as the session progresses.
Settle this before the conference starts
- Position paper deadline and submission format -- a hard cut-off well before the conference, since late papers can't be read before committee starts.
- Country/committee allotment -- one delegate (or a 2-person delegation) per country per committee, assigned in advance.
- Chair vs floor-judge split -- in smaller conferences the Chair both moderates and scores; in larger ones a separate floor judge scores while the Chair focuses on running procedure.
- Award categories per committee -- Best Delegate, Best Delegation (for 2-person teams), Honourable Mention, and any cross-committee awards (Best Position Paper, Secretary-General's award).
- Procedural rulebook -- which Rules of Procedure (UNA-USA style, standard parliamentary, or a conference-specific simplified set) the committee runs under, published to delegates in advance.
Scoring across a multi-session committee
Because a delegate is scored continuously rather than once, the running tally sheet matters more than any single moment. Chairs typically update it at natural breaks -- after each formal speech round, after an unmoderated caucus block, and again at the end when the draft resolution is finalized -- rather than trying to score in real time during fast-moving debate. For multi-committee conferences, scores need to be comparable across Chairs: a short briefing beforehand on how strictly to apply each rubric line, plus a Secretariat spot-check on Best Delegate shortlists before the closing ceremony, keeps one lenient Chair from skewing the cross-committee award.
Tie-breaks
- Higher negotiation & diplomacy score (the component most Chairs treat as the clearest signal of a strong delegate).
- Higher public speaking score.
- Higher position paper score.
- Chair's documented floor notes (if still tied, the Chair's running notes on specific session moments break it).
Setting this up in eTalenter
MUN maps cleanly onto eTalenter's existing structure: run each committee as its own Competition Item (UNSC, UNHRC, the crisis committee, etc.) with delegates entered as Individual or Team participants depending on whether the conference runs 1-delegate or 2-delegate country desks. Build the five-component rubric once in Judging Criteria and reuse it across every committee item, so Best Delegate scores are structurally comparable across committees even though different Chairs apply it. Record the running tally through the session using the same criteria screen judges use for any other multi-round event, and use Assign Results Manually for the Secretariat's final Best Delegate / Best Delegation / Honourable Mention calls, since those often involve a short closing-day discussion among Chairs rather than a pure score sort.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Chair have to score alone?
No -- larger conferences assign a separate floor judge to score while the Chair runs procedure, which also reduces bias from the Chair's own role in shaping debate.
How is a 2-delegate country delegation scored?
Both delegates can be scored individually against the same rubric, with a combined or averaged score determining the Best Delegation award for that country desk.
What if a delegate misses the position paper deadline?
Most conferences still allow the delegate to participate but score the research component as zero or heavily penalized, since the paper is meant to be read by the Chair before committee starts.
Can crisis committees use the same rubric?
Yes, with the position-paper weighting usually reduced or dropped in favour of a higher weighting on improvisation during crisis updates, since crisis committees often skip formal pre-written papers.
How do cross-committee awards stay fair when different Chairs score differently?
A short pre-conference briefing on how to apply the rubric, plus a Secretariat review of each committee's shortlist before the closing ceremony, is the common safeguard.
Looking to run an MUN conference end to end -- committee rosters, judging criteria, and results on the day? See how eTalenter's event management software handles multi-committee competitions, or open the live demo and log in as a demo coordinator or judge (no sign-up needed). Questions about setting this up for your own conference? Message us on WhatsApp or email support@etalenter.com.
