Competitions and Rubrics

Online Events

The writing events listed first will be submitted online and judged in advance of the QUEST competition. Entrants will receive their score and feedback from their reviewers on the day of the competition.

1. PERSONAL NARRATIVE WRITING: Entrants will write a personal experience relating to a suggested topic. (View Scoring Guide)
2. ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING: Entrants will write a persuasive essay from a prompt. (View Scoring Guide)
3. SHORT STORY WRITING: Entrants will write a short story from a given prompt or topic. (View Scoring Guide)
4. POETRY WRITING: Entrants will compose a poem based on a prompt or theme. The poem must be a minimum of eight lines. (View Scoring Guide)
5. LITERARY ANALYSIS WRITING: Entrants will analyze a literary element in the Quest book of their choice based on a provided prompt. (View Scoring Guide)

Onsite Events

The events listed next will be held on site:

1. BOOK COVERS*: Entrants will design a book cover for one of the titles on the book list with the intent to entice readers or market the book. The cover may not exceed 8 1/2″ x 14″. (View Scoring Guide) Entrants will also participate in an interview (sample interview questions).
2. EDITING TEST: Entrants will be given a two-page document to edit in 15 minutes. They will also be given a multiple choice test over grammar, punctuation, parts of speech, spelling, capitalization and subject-verb agreement (30 minutes).
3. INFORMATIVE SPEAKING: Entrants will present original speeches of no longer than five minutes on a current topic. Entrants may incorporate visual aids into their speeches. Notes are limited to 3 x 5 cards. (View Scoring Guide)
4. LITERATURE TEST*: Entrants will answer ten multiple choice questions from each of the books on the book list (50 minutes). To enter this contest, participants must have read all five books. (Find the book list here.)
5. BOOK/MOVIE TRAILER*: Entrants will choose one book from the English Quest book list. Each student (or team of students) will prepare a video trailer of his/her chosen book. The trailer should be at least three minutes in length, but no more than five minutes long. The trailer must meet your high school and/or school district standards and be a positive presentation of the subject. The trailer’s purpose should be to interest the viewer in the book. The trailer must contain original footage and should not contain music from the motion picture soundtrack (when applicable). (View Scoring Guide) Entrants will also participate in an interview (view sample questions).
6. PHOTO ESSAY*: Photo essays will depict themes or scenes from one of the books on the book list. Essays should have a minimum of six original photographs and may include quotes or phrases taken from the represented book. (View Scoring Guide) Entrants will also participate in an interview (view sample questions).
7. POETRY RECITATION: Entrants memorize and orally deliver published poem(s) by recognized poet(s). Several poems may be combined if an introduction presents the theme. Time limit is between two to five minutes. (View Scoring Guide)
8. POETRY SLAM: Entrants will perform only work which they have created. Only one poem (on any appropriate subject and in any style) may be performed during a poet’s turn. Props, musical instruments, prerecorded music, costumes, or any other objects of any kind may NOT be used. A poet may “riff off” another poet’s creative work, but may not “rip off” that work. The performer may interact verbally/physically with the audience. Teams of two, three or four can compete with collaborative pieces, as long as all of the primary authors perform them. Competitor(s) will have a maximum of three minutes to present a poem. (View Scoring Guide)
9. POSTERS: Posters must be at least 12″ x 12″ and depict some aspect of language arts. The medium used is option. (View Scoring Guide) Entrants will also participate in an interview (view sample questions).
10. READERS THEATER: Entering teams perform a cutting from a piece of literature that tells a story. Performance may be no longer than five minutes. (View Scoring Guide)
11. SHAKESPEARE MONOLOGUE: Entrants will prepare and perform a monologue, no longer than 5 minutes in length, from a Shakespeare play. (View Scoring Guide)
12. SHAKESPEARE SCENE: Entrants will prepare and perform a scene from one of Shakespeare’s plays, no longer than 5 minutes. (View Scoring Guide)
13. SPELLING BEE: Each school will hold its own event, with winners advancing to the state Quest. Each school entered will receive a copy of the basic spelling list. (View Spelling List)
14. STORYTELLING: Entrants share memorized traditional stories from any culture or source with audience and judges. Story presentations should be a minimum of 3 minutes, but may not be longer than five minutes. (View Scoring Guide)
15. VOCABULARY: Entrants will take a multiple choice test over vocabulary words both in context and in isolation. The test may include analogies, synonyms, antonyms and other techniques for demonstrating knowledge of meaning (50 minutes).