Quick Note: I think we need to be qualified to give advice for writing. You do you. 

The collaborative writing is an event where every teammate writes about different topics provided by WSC. You have 20 minutes to plan, 45 minutes to write, and 15 minutes to edit. You used to be allowed technology in the first 20 minutes, but because of ChatGPT, they are now banned. Whoops.

What you will need:

• A pencil and ERASER

• Not-A-Plastic Water bottle

• WSC name tag

• A stuffed Alpaca from WSC - Yes, this is mandatory

• Not a phone or computer

• Yes, these are the same for the Challenge

Now, let's go through the process of taking the writing.

1. You sit down at a table with your teammates. You put your bag down, sit at the table, and look at them while trying to look confident. Everyone knows that you're nervous, and they are too. Have a staring contest with the other team at your table. 

2. You take out your pencil case and set your water bottle and alpaca on the table. Then, you wait for 15 minutes, becoming bored.

3. You get your writing prompts, finally. Everyone from your team has to choose a different one, so you fight over the goods ones. Now, you spend 20 minutes preparing for a topic by panicking for the first 10 and frantically writing everything down after.

4. Now, you get the sheet to write on, as well as 45 minutes to do so. You realize you probably shouldn't have started writing on a random piece of lined paper you stole from the other team. You quickly transpose everything you wrote, and keep going.

5. The Writing, before you know it, is over. You now have to work again with your team for the shortest 15 minutes you've ever felt and edit each others. Or, you could not be complete your writing and decide to use the time to complete it.

6. Finally, the writing is over. You genuinely have no clue whether you did well or not, but it's best not to think about it now.

Knowing this, here are some of my tips for the Writing part. Remember, everyone is different and unique.

1. Engage the reader. No matter how descriptive your writing is, it will only do well if the reader is energized. You need to add suspense at the start of your work, so the judges will genuinely be interested in what will happen next. Spend a lot of time on the introduction because First Impressions Count. 

2. Have a solid theme. Of course, this is just my tip -Ethan. Ryln and Jerry will probably disagree with this. The most important part of writing is its theme. What are you trying to tell the reader? I see people write about many details when composing a work for WSC. However, many people neglect to give it a theme. Because of this, their story is just icing and no cake. You've got to have a solid basis down. You only have 45 minutes to write concisely and get your point across.

Note from Ryln: I completely agree to be honest. Having a clear and well-defined theme is one of the best ways to leave an impression on your reader. If the reader can correctly articulate what the theme was, it was well communicated. Concluding with a final message helps a lot, as that is what the reader will take in last. But do keep your writing clearly focused throughout.

3. Be unique and creative. You have 5 minutes at night when the examiners review your writing, so you have to make your piece the one they remember. There is very little time for someone to grade something, as hundreds of essays go through. To make yours really stand out, you need to be unique. That being said, you want to have a unique style. Essays are not banned but discouraged in this example. This is because creative works like stories have more space to make metaphors and expand while hooking the reader. In contrast, essays and more formal means of communication may have little freedom.

Note from Ryln: Don't go too overboard here, keep the style one in which you can easily get ideas out. For me, that means write a first-person narrative because to me, it's the easiest way for me to engage my reader. Also, do NOT write in an unfamiliar style to your teammates (ehem, Jerry). It makes it difficult for your teammates to follow and give feedback during the final 15 minutes, which may lead to careless errors slipping by. (Jerry made the word utopia a negative scenario :P)

4. USE THE CURRICULUM!! The majority of the Scholar's cup revolves around this curriculum. Without knowing it, you are at a severe disadvantage. There is literally a part on the grading where it sees if the writer uses the curriculum. With it, you will give a lot of unrelated information and could be better at supporting your points. Even if you don't know the curriculum, that's what you have your computer for. You could go onto our guide and quickly do some research.

Note from Ryln: Be careful when shoehorning as much of the curriculum as you can into your writing. Generally, you should only have to reference concepts from the same subject of your writing; if you find yourself borrowing a ton from another subject, ask yourself if that information is truly necessary to include. Shoehorning as much as you can into your writing can distract the reader from your actual theme, which is the whole point of the writing. So use the curriculum, but make it appear natural.

5. Practice well. Everything you do will require practice. Writing is definitely no exception to that. When you write, there are so many things you have to consider. And if you practice, you'll eventually get used to being able to do so. As well as that, the writing topics are provided in 6 parts, one corresponding to each part of the curriculum. You want to select one which you will do and base all of your writing prompts and works off it. This will be tedious, but trust me, it will pay off.

Note from Ryln: Practicing writing can be tedious. In fact, it's probably the hardest one to motivate yourself to do, but it will pay off. Just do one a week if you have the time, one hour of just writing, and get some constructive feedback from your teammates or a coach. It'll notify you of what you need to improve on, and what your weaknesses are.

Overall, just use regular tips for writing. If you're good at writing altogether, you'll ace this. These are just my main tips for doing well in writing. However, you just do you. You are much better at assessing yourself than I am. Good luck!