2019-20 UIL Prose Categories

Prose Category A Restrictions

Material chosen for use in Category A of Prose Interpretation shall meet the following restrictions:

(A) One to four selections of literature may be used.

(B) If performing a single selection, the source shall be published, printed material; internet material shall be published concurrently in hard copy.

© If multiple selections are used, one selection may be unpublished.

(D) Selections from plays, screenplays, movies, and monologues shall not be used.

(E) Speeches shall not be used in this category.

(F) No contestant shall use the same writer in more than one category in the contest.

(G) No contestant shall use selections from the same literary work more than one year at UIL State Meet.

(H) Selections shall be read in the English translation; however, incidental use of foreign language words and phrases in any selection may be used as in the original.

Category A: This Is Me

The goal of this category is to examine the performer’s ancestry, origin, heritage, and/or dreams and aspirations. The performer should explore their own personal background and/or what their future may hold.

In this category, the contestant may read a single literary work of prose, an excerpt of a work of prose or may create a program containing no more than four literary works. If a program is used, one selection from an unpublished source is allowed to be included in the program. The majority of the performance must be published prose. The intent of this category is not to encourage an entirely originally-authored program.

The performance may be fiction or non-fiction. Examples may include, but are not limited to oral histories, testimonies, interviews, and letters. For this category, co-authored and anonymous works are permissible. The author(s) used in this category shall not be used in Category B of prose.

The introduction and/or transitions shall include all titles and authors read and should connect the literature to the goal of the category. If the program is woven, it shall be stated in the introduction, and the different literary works should be distinguishable through interpretation.

Documentation Requirements

If performing a single literary work, it shall be published printed material.

If performing a program, all selections shall be published, printed material, with the exception that one may be unpublished.

The contestant shall prepare and provide for the contest director and each judge a hard copy of the UIL Prose A Documentation online form.

The contestant shall provide prrof the selection(s) are published. Examples of acceptable proof of publication include:

the original published source

a photocopy of the copyright of the original source

online printout of Library of Congress cataloguing information

If a selection is drawn from a literary collection, the contestant shall supply the original source or a photocopy of the table of contents that designates the title of the book and proof the selection is included in that book, such as a photocopy of the first page of the selection.

A printout from an online source proving the selection is included in the published collection. Printouts of online documentation shall include the URL of the website downloaded in the header or footer.

Examples of unacceptable forms of formal documentation include:

Social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr)
Copying and pasting into a word processing document.

See the UIL Prose and Poetry Handbook and the official UIL website for expanded, detailed information about acceptable and unacceptable documentation.

Students are urged, but not mandated, to take to the contest site the original published source of the selection.

Prose Category B Restrictions

Material chosen for use in Category B of Prose Interpretation shall meet the following restrictions:

(A) One to four selections of literature may be used.

(B) All selections may be published, printed material, internet material or transcribed material.

© No contestant shall use the same author in more than one category in the contest.

(D) Anonymous works shall not be used.

(E) Selections from plays or screenplays, movies, and monologues shall not be used.

(F) No contestant shall use selections from the same literary work more than one year at UIL State Meet.

(G) Selections shall be read in the English translation; however, incidental use of foreign language words and phrases in any selection may be used as in the original.

Category B: This Speaks to Me

The goal of this category is to select literature that speaks to the performer. This category is reader’s choice.

In this category, the contestant may read a single literary work of prose, an excerpt of a work of prose or may create a program containing no more than four literary works. For this category, prose includes fiction, nonfiction, news sources, speeches, essays, letters and diaries. Co-authored works are permissible. Anonymous works are prohibited. The author(s) used in this category shall not be used in Category A of prose.

The introduction and/or transitions shall include all titles and authors read and should relate to the audience why the literature was chosen. If the program is woven, the contestant shall state it in the introduction, and the different works should be distinguishable through interpretation.

Documentation Requirements

All selections may be published, printed material, online material or transcribed material.

The contestant shall prepare and provide for the contest director and each judge a hard copy of the UIL Prose B Documentation online form.

No proof of publication for Category B is required.

See the UIL Prose and Poetry Handbook and the official UIL website for expanded, detailed information about acceptable and unacceptable documentation.

Students are urged, but not mandated, to take to the contest site the original source of each published selection.