Most modern writers have a set word-limit for 10 point answers. You can quickly determine this by looking at their practice sets. Typically answers are no more than ten words. This does not mean that any answer with fewer words MUST be a 10. Some of the hardest question have five-word answer. It just so happens that those five words come from all over the book. The difficulty of 10’s usually does not change depending on the competition. 10’s at leagues could just as easily be asked at nationals. 20’s and 30’s are different depending on where you are.
League Competitions
20’s are typically limited to one verse. The exception would be simple analysis question, such as naming three people from a section. There is an upper limit to what most writers will ask at leagues, but it varies from writer to writer. 30’s usually are limited to either one-verse answers for long verses, or maybe two-verse answers. Again, analysis items are fair-game at leagues. Concordance questions are fairly rare at leagues.
District Finals
20’s are now what 30’s were at leagues. 30’s are usually at least two-verse answers, but probably not more than three. Larger analysis questions might be asked. Some concordance questions might be possible here, but typically they should be reserved to things that are “obvious”. By that, I mean that you should be able to answer the question even if you haven’t studied every concordance item.
Regional Finals
20’s can now be two-verse answers. You also might see medium-size analysis and small, district level concordance being asked. 30’s take a step up. Three verses is typical and four would not be unheard of. Concordance questions asking you to quote three verses are not unheard of. Listing chapters in which someone is name is also fair game. To answer these 30’s, you will usually need to do separate study of the concordance. At this point, all but the longest analysis items are fair game.
National Finals
20’s are somewhere around what the easier 30’s were at regionals. However, they are not guaranteed to be that long. You might still see a district level 20 being asked. 30’s are a step up from what they were at regionals. Any chunk of material that is answerable in 30 seconds while speaking at a reasonable speed can be asked. The upper limit on verses is undefined, mainly because sometimes these consecutive verses are short. Over Luke, there was an eleven-verse answer, but the verses were short. Four-verse answers might be a 30 if the verses are long. All analysis is fair-game here as is all concordance. Over gospels, some writers will tend to focus on major themes since the material is already a bit of an obstacle for quizzers. Over epistles, since the material is short, a wider variety of questions are asked. See the section for advanced quizzers to learn how to study for these harder concordance questions.