What is on the papers each judge has in front of them? They were slightly visible twice in the first live show of this series.

They have a script. Bullet points on what to say to contestants. This is supposed to make an impact on viewers.

There is also a sheet with the contestants pictures and names underneath.

I didn't like it...I loved it

They have notes from the producer/writer etc. who have already come up with points to make, on seeing the acts' rehearsals. Though whether they follow them or not is up to the Judges... Sharon, for instance, seems to mostly ignore the notes...including the act names!

"Nicole watch your tits"
"There's some sherry under your chair Sharon"

Perhaps notes that they've written from the start to now? If not I'm pretty sure it would be the schedule, like this act that act this act, break, act act, break.
Something like that anyway

"Sit back and think of the pay cheque"

Names, songs, bullet points (short suggestions of what to say) usually created by people who watched the rehearsals/trolled forums for good phrases to borrow and then ran it by the producers who may or may not have bothered to hear the performances themselves.

*The critique part is actually necessary sometimes.Often, the sound live is so distorted where the judges sit that they wouldn't be able to give a fair critique half the time anyway without these sheets.

You mean, people on Digital Spy Forums? It would be funny if X Factor producers are actually lurking around here carefully sifting through the forum posts for potential one-liners lol

no Idea

Apart from the obvious things like running order, whose turn it is to introduce what (not that any of them seem to pay a blind bit of notice to that) etc. I would imagine it's an act by act break down of what each judge needs to be saying, so they're all singing from the same hymn (script) sheet. If you watch carefully, there seem to be themes running through each act - all linked via VT, song choice, judges comments etc. That's why they all wang on about a certain act being 17 (Samantha Lavery got that from every single judge last week), sometimes its all about them being from a certain place, being an underdog, having made some sort of "transformation" etc.

Basically, instructions from producers to judges about roughly what they need to be doing at any given moment. I'd be pretty confident in saying that last weekend, rather than Sharon's papers saying "Introduce Saara Aalto (Finland)" they said something like "We don't have long term interest in Saara Alto - pretend that you barely know her name, and don't know where she is from. And REMEMBER - remind everybody that she is foreign!" Emphasized by the wide angle they used throughout the whole thing, anticipating input from the other judges. Usually, it's frame by a close up to the mentor.

If you're having trouble believing me, please offer an explaination as to how Sharon can't remember her own act's name and where they're from, but can manage to remember that Ryan Lawrie is Scottish, and Matt Terry is 23? Not even her own acts.

Well that much is certainly obvious!

They aren't, but there are people employed to troll the forums. I know this for a fact (Hi guys )

Should have left that bit in a spoiler

As I've said before I've worked on the show and in the auditions at least it was simply the contestant's name, a 'quote' about them, and their song choices. No pictures or anything like that.

Comments they've prepared from watching rehearsals I imagine. But there's probably a fair amount of producer notes and instructions too.