美国THE DUPONT CHALLENGE Science Essay Competition

http://thechallenge.dupont.com/

What interests you in the exciting and ever-changing world of science? Where do your interests lie and what subjects would you like to explore in greater detail? What application of scientific thought or research do you believe can help solve some of the challenges of today's complex world? What kind of technology fascinates you? What future uses do you see for an improved version of existing technology? And where in the world of science might YOU fit in? Could a career in one of the sciences or in applied sciences await you? Think about it—write about it.

The DuPont Challenge© Science Essay Competition gives you an opportunity to put your thoughts on paper—not only expressing yourself, but also sharing your ideas with others. The only limits—besides the contest’s 1,000-word limit and other important rules—are your own enthusiasm, your research, and your interest in studying and presenting a fascinating aspect of science or technology.

Ready to take the challenge? Explore this section for tips and suggestions for writing your essay, including some words of wisdom from past winners. Get started with these tips on Choosing Your Topic.

Be sure to see the detailed list of Student Awards, and learn more about the 1986 Challenger Crew, the heroes who inspired this competition.

Who Is Eligible?

Students currently enrolled in grades 7 through 12.

Students attending public, private, or home schools in the United States, Canada, or their territories.

Students enrolled in Department of Defense schools, grades 7–12 (see the FAQ for how to enter addresses).

Previous winners of The DuPont Challenge©.

Students graduating from high school before 2012 are NOT eligible.

Official Rules

Please read this checklist of competition rules carefully before submitting your essays through the Official Entry Form, which will be active starting November 15, 2011.

Download and print this checklist as a PDF

Write an original 700 to 1,000-word essay created exclusively for The DuPont Challenge©.

Write only about a science-related topic. No matter how well-written and researched, essays submitted on non-science topics are disqualified.

Your essay must be written in English.

Essays should be written using your word processor of choice and pasted into the Essay Box of the Official Entry Form.

Do NOT put your name, school name or any other personal information in the body of your essay. Enter your name and other personal information only on the designated fields in the Official Entry Form.

Your essay title must appear in the Entry Form box called “Title of Essay.” Do not include the title of your essay in the Essay Box.

Include the word count at the end of your essay.

Attribute quotes and any ideas that are not your own within the body of the essay. Do not use footnotes or endnotes.

Your essay must include a bibliography of your source material, pasted in the Bibliography box of the Official Entry Form. (MLA style is recommended.) Do not include the bibliography in your word count.

Avoid plagiarism. Essays are carefully reviewed by multiple judges and checked for plagiarism.

Proofread your essay carefully. Your essay will be judged not only on the science, but also on creativity, spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Do not include illustrations, graphics, or diagrams.

Fill out the Official Entry Form completely. Incomplete entry forms will not be accepted.

Important:

All students must be 13 years of age prior to January 31, 2012 to submit their essay using the Official Entry Form. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prevents The DuPont Challenge© from collecting personal information online from children under age 13. Students under the age of 13 must use the Under 13 Entry Form and contact The DuPont Challenge© at thechallenge@usa.dupont.com for special submission instructions.

How Essays Are Judged

Mechanics & Conventions (25%)

Ideas & Content (25%)

Organization (20%)

Style & Creativity (20%)

Voice (10%)

Choosing Your Topic

When deciding on a topic, let yourself think about the diverse areas of study within the wide world of science. Some of them—though by no means all—are in the list below. They are all possible broad subject areas from which you might choose a more narrow topic:

Astronomy,

Biochemistry

Biology

Biomedical Sciences

Biotechnology

Botany

Chemistry

Computer Sciences

Ecology

Energy

Engineering

Environmental Sciences

Food & Nutrition

Geology

Genetics

Geophysics

Mathematics

Medicine

Oceanography

Zoology

Use the following points to help you focus as you conduct your research and write your essay:

Describe how your topic captured your interest—through studies in school, exposure in the media, personal experience, etc. Indicate its importance to science, technology, society, and the future.

Provide background information about your topic. If it concerns a new development, mention what was known about it before and how scientists are exploring the topic now.

Express YOUR point of view and explain why you hold it—but respect the perspectives of others.

Now check out some tips on how to Prepare a Winning Essay.

You can also see a detailed list of Student Awards, and learn more about the 1986 Challenger Crew, the heroes who inspired this competition.

Prepare a Winning Essay

How can you increase your chances of writing a winning essay? One of the most important things to remember is that this should be a science essay rather than a science report. We make an important distinction between these two writing approaches for the purpose of this competition. Reports and essays are two very different things:

A report’s purpose is to provide information. An effective report is clearly written and well organized, and it tells readers things that they did not know before about a topic that is worth knowing more about.

An essay also provides information—but it does more. An essay not only gives facts about its subject but shows its writer’s enthusiasm for and intellectual involvement with that subject. In an essay, unlike a report, the writer lets his or her personality come through.

A science essay is a journey. Think of it as the record created by a person who has ventured out to the edge of scientific discovery through his or her research, and has come back with a new understanding of it—a new understanding that he or she is eager to share with others.

Here are several other things to consider before you begin:

Choose a topic that truly interests you. Any piece of writing will have more energy, clarity, and feeling if the writer really cares about the topic.

Have a point and develop it in a clear, organized way. Essays can either be expository (explaining a concept, theory, experiment, etc.) or persuasive (arguing for an explanation, approach, or course of action), but all of them need to have a point. Illustrate it with good evidence from a variety of sources, and develop it in a logical way. Don’t assume the reader knows as much about your subject as you do—in fact, don’t assume the reader knows anything about it at all! Think, “If I knew nothing about this, or even why it is important, what would I need to read in order to understand?” Answer that question for yourself. Then, that is what you should write.

Show why your subject matters. Essay readers will be interested in why your subject is important to “the real world”—today’s world, or tomorrow’s. It is part of your challenge to address this issue directly.

Write more than one draft. Some successful writers have said that grinding out the first draft is the difficult part of writing—and then revising it is the “fun” part. Revision is fun because it is the part of the writing process in which you turn your raw material into something that truly communicates. When you revise, make sure you catch all those errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and so on that we all make in first drafts. Also, look with a critical eye at the organization of your essay: Is the information presented in a clear order? Do transitions help the argument to flow smoothly?

Use the help your teacher can offer. You may not be the best editor for your own writing, because you know too well what you were “trying to say.” Your teacher can read your work at any stage and offer useful comments that will sharpen your essay and make it more effective. Your teacher can also suggest research sources that may help you to back up your points more effectively.

Now go on to our Research and Writing Tips for more advice on the essay-writing process.

You can also see a detailed list of Student Awards and learn more about the 1986 Challenger Crew, the heroes who inspired this competition.

Research and Writing Tips

Perhaps the most important first step you will want to take is to narrow your topic sufficiently so that it can be covered in 700-1,000 words. Once you get writing, you will discover that is fewer words than it might seem to be. And if you choose too broad a topic, your treatment of it will probably come across as superficial and general. The essay readers will think you just skimmed the surface of your subject, and you will lose points for that.

One way to narrow your topic is to phrase it in your mind as scientists often phrase problems they confront: as a question. Say you are interested in air pollution. You might start with a question like:

“How can we reduce air pollution in the United States?”

There’s no way that you will be able to answer that question intelligently in 1,000 words. So narrow it down to:

“How can we come up with energy sources that will reduce air pollution?”

Then narrow it again, to something like:

“What kinds of energy create the least pollution?”

Then, you might narrow it to:

“What role can the use of solar energy play in reducing air pollution in the United States?”

Now, that may STILL be too broad—but it is getting closer. And the process of narrowing-down will also help you zero in on what you really want to write about and what the focus of your research should be.

Speaking of research, writers today have more material close at hand than ever before. Using search words to cruise the Internet for relevant information has revolutionized nonfiction writing. But it also has created new dangers, because it is still true that you can’t believe everything you read. When gathering information, stick with reputable sources.

Sites that have the suffixes .gov (government) or .edu (educational) are most often most trustworthy.

The national organization of the branch of science that is relevant to your topic should be dependable.

Online encyclopedias can be dependable.

With some sources, on the other hand, you should be careful with the information you’re getting:

Posts or blogs by individuals, particularly if they are not experts who can demonstrate their credentials, are very often undependable, and good to stay away from.

Don’t use information from any site that is trying to sell you something.

In general, make sure that any fact you use in your argument is verifiable by at least two or three sources—just as scientists make sure the results of experiments can be independently duplicated before considering them to be valid.

Now, a word about style—writing style. This is to be a “formal” essay, not a personal one, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t let your personality shine through. You have enthusiasm for your topic; let the reader see it. It’s all right to use a little humor, too. It’s a good idea to give your essay immediacy by using brief quotations from experts. And it’s OK—in fact, it’s a plus—to use figures of speech such as similes, metaphors, personification, and alliteration. You may associate those kinds of things more with papers for English class than with science essays, but in fact they enliven any kind of writing.

Look at this paragraph from an essay by the late science writer Lewis Thomas:

Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labor, exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television.

That is an extended example of personification, comparing ants to people—and isn’t it fun to read? And doesn’t it also provide useful information about ants? And doesn’t it make you want to read more? You may not have the experience as a writer that Lewis Thomas had, but you can give your writing flair, too.

For additional inspiration, check out the Alumni Profiles to see what past winners had to say about the essay writing process, and read excerpts of Winning Essays from last year’s competition. And make sure you read and understand the Rules before submitting your essay!

You can also see a detailed list of Student Awards, and learn more about the 1986 Challenger Crew, the heroes who inspired this competition.