essay contest prizes
1st Place
The First Place winner will have the opportunity to choose between a Nintendo Switch, an iPad, and a Kodak digital camera. Their work will also be published in a scholarly journal, the George Washington Journal of Ethics in Publishing.
2nd and 3rd Place
The Second and Third Place winners will get a $50 gift card to an establishment of their choice, and their work will be published in the George Washington Journal of Ethics in Publishing.
Honorable Mentions
The Honorable Mentions, or 4th and 5th Place winners, will get a $25 gift card to an establishment of their choice.
Essay-Writing Contest Requirements:
Choose ONE of the prompts from below and respond in an essay:
Select a piece of literature or media from the 20th Century (1900-1999) that represents Black, LGBTQ+, or female characters and argue why it is important for young readers to have access to this text.
Select a commonly banned book from the 21st Century (2000's and beyond) and discuss why the book is so commonly banned. Argue why scholars and educators should advocate for the book to be taught in classrooms.
Select a piece of literature or media from any time period that represents Black, LGBTQ+, or female characters and analyze the effectiveness of this representation. What did the authors or creators do well? Where did they fall short? Overall, was the representation helpful or harmful?
Propose another topic or prompt that you'd like to discuss (Email Mikayla_Lee@hcpss.org with questions)
Length and Formatting Requirements:
Essays must be AT LEAST 3 pages, but NO MORE THAN 10 pages in length
Essays must follow MLA format
Essays must be submitted as an accessible PDF, Microsoft Word Document, or Google Doc through the Submission Form linked below
Eligibility:
Participants must be students in the Howard County Public School System
Participants must be in grades 7-12
Deadline EXTENEDED to June 10th @ 11:59PM!
Judging Criteria
Written Expression:
Writing style appropriate to content and genre
Writing reflects mastery of technical aspects of writing (e.g., control over punctuation and syntax)
Writer uses language powerfully, via apt, original word choice, unique phrasing
Strong flow produced via syntactical control and variation
Writer effectively employs detail, evocative language, and/or imagery to enliven writing and to express ideas
Language and Composition:
Writing style appropriate to content and genre
Writing reflects mastery of technical aspects of writing (e.g., control over punctuation and syntax)
Writer uses language powerfully, via apt, original word choice, unique phrasing
Strong flow produced via syntactical control and variation
Writer effectively employs detail, evocative language, and/or imagery to enliven writing and to express ideas
Voice and Perspective:
Uniqueness of writer is evident through stylistic choices
Writing conveys unique, authentic, original perspective
Style conveys unique, authentic, original voice
*Email Mikayla_Lee@hcpss.org with any questions or concerns.