Qualities of a Winning Essay

Winning essays usually have the following features:

• • • • A creative and compelling introduction 

      • Supportive paragraphs that answer the prompt, using clear examples and various sources

      • Personal reflections that relate to the topics being described or reflections on artistic expressions, such as songs, poetry, or movies that connect to the topics being explored. Strong essays have been able to explain what the additional reflection material reveals about our past and our current-day issues related to racial injustice in America.

      • A strong conclusion that ties together the main ideas of the essay and introduces a meaningful idea or call to action

      • Properly gives credit to source materials to avoid plagiarism.

      • Has been carefully edited for spelling and grammar edits multiple times. Reading your essay out loud can be helpful for this.

Organizing Guide

Use these questions to guide your writing process (PDF version here):

1. What theme or topic am I choosing to focus on in my essay?

2. What historical event did I choose? Include the date(s) and a summary of the event.

3. What sources did I use to research my theme/topic and historical event? Begin making a list of sources.

4. What does the prompt want me to answer? Break apart the prompt into each separate question you will have to respond to:

   1. 1. Think about the theme/topic and historical event you chose. 

      2. Explain the details of why the event and historical theme/topic happened in our nation's history. How was the myth of racial difference involved?

      3. Using the theme/topic and historical event you chose, answer: How does the history of racial injustice help to explain present-day injustice in our society?

      4. Answer the second question: How can this history be overcome in order to change the challenges our nation is facing today?

5. Want to include additional reflection material? Students can consider all, one, or none of these options for their essays depending on their interests:

   1. 1. Consider including personal reflections of what you have noticed in your community related to your topic of interest. This can include a personal experience, conversation, or observation you have considered that can be connected directly to your topic of interest.

      2. Consider including reflections on an artistic expression, such as a song, poem, image, or film, that relates to the history you are exploring or the contemporary issues you address in your essay. Explain what artistic expression  you chose, how it is related to the history you are exploring, and what you learned or believe others could learn from it.

      3. Consider including reflections on the role of media, such as newspaper reports, speeches, or modern media sources, and its influence on the issue of racial justice you are exploring. Explain how the media discusses this issue, whether there is bias in the discussion, and how that might influence local and national responses to the issues discussed in your essay.

6. Write your conclusion to summarize your main ideas and end with a meaningful last idea or call to action.

Consider how do you want to organize your essay. Create an outline to follow for your essay. 

A sample outline may be:

• 1. Title (Choose a title that is specific to your topic or expresses your topic creatively.)

  2. Introduction that explains the theme/topic I chose and my main point(s) or idea(s) (1 paragraph)

  3. A description of the historical event(s) I chose and what it shows about racial injustice in America (1 or more paragraphs)

  4. Discuss how my historical event is related to present-day injustice (1 or more paragraphs)

  5. Discuss how this history can be overcome in order to change current-day issues (1 or more paragraphs)

  6. Include additional reflection material, if desired (1 or more paragraphs)

  7. Conclusion (1 paragraph)

  8. List of sources

Use the guidelines, resources, your outline, and your creativity to draft your essay! Give yourself enough time to write a strong essay. Starting at least one month before the deadline is encouraged.

Revision Checklist

The strongest essays go through a revision process that involves editing and getting feedback for your essay. You can use the following revision process checklist to edit and finalize your essay (PDF version here):

1. Do I have a clear introduction that introduces the theme/topic I am exploring and my main ideas or points that I will discuss (i.e. your thesis statement that summarizes your essay's main point)?

2. Do I clearly describe the historical event I chose in my essay?

3. Do I answer each part of the prompt in my essay?

4. Have I carefully explained how my additional source material, if using, is connected to my essay topic and discussion? 

5. Who can read my essay to help me with grammar and spelling corrections? Choose someone to assist with this! This is one of the most important steps you can take.

6. When I read my essay out loud to someone else, does it make sense to them? Choose someone to read your essay to and ask for their feedback. This will help you make sure your essay is clear and reads well.

7. Make any necessary editing changes, and consider dong the 6th and 7th steps above one more time.

8. Do I have a list of my sources included at the end of my essay? Essays without sources will be considered incomplete.

9. When you are ready to submit your essay, make sure you have done the following:

   1. Did I complete the entry form available on the Eligibility and Guidelines page?

   2. Have I saved my essay as a PDF or Word Document? If you wrote your essay using a Google Document, please save it or download it as a PDF or Word Document before submission.