Student Essay Contest
Congratulations to Mason Athey! His essay, “Capture a Character and Don’t Let Go”, was selected by a panel of faculty judges as the first place essay in the Common Reading Student Essay Contest. Mason received a $250 gift certificate to the Shepherd University Bookstore.
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Win a $250 gift certificate to the Shepherd University Bookstore! |
Instructions for writing your The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks paper:
- Must be 350-500 words.
- Must be double spaced.
- Must be 12 point Times Roman
- Papers used as other class assignments are acceptable
- Essays are due December 7, 2012
- Submit your essay by emailing it to jmcintyr@shepherd.edu.
Winners will be notified by mid-January.
Essay Rubric
Evaluative Criteria for Common Read Essay Contest Submissions:
5 - Superior
Originality of thought and effectiveness
Logical, emphatic development of a central idea
Sophisticated, lively, and precise diction
Well-developed, effectively organized essay and paragraphs
Clear, engaging illustrative support
Mature and diversified sentence structure
Absence of errors in punctuation, usage, and spelling
4 - Good
Convincing and engaging expression
Logical development of a central idea
Appropriate, lively, acceptable diction
Effectively organized essay and paragraphs
Detailed support of ideas
Correct, clear, and varied sentence structure
Absence of major errors in punctuation, usage, and spelling
3 - Competent
Clear Communication
Satisfactory development of a central idea
Appropriate diction
Satisfactory organization of essay and paragraphs
Adequate support of ideas
Some variety of sentence structure
Relative absence of major errors in punctuation, sentence structure, usage, and spelling
2 - Deficient
Superficial, unclear, or repetitious content
Some instances of illogical thinking
Immature, simplistic diction
Poor organization of essay and paragraphs
Weak support of ideas
Awkward, monotonous sentence structure
Some gross errors in punctuation, structure, usage, and spelling
1 - Unacceptable
Confusing content
Flawed central idea
Inappropriate, unclear diction
Random organization of paragraphs
Unsupported generalizations
Awkward, wordy, or simplistic sentence structure
Gross errors in punctuation, structure, usage, and spelling
*Adapted from the Department of English Grading Criteria for Composition Courses (http://www.shepherd.edu/englweb/criteria.htm)
Your essay will be judged by three faculty/staff and results available by January 2013. You will be notified on your Shepherd email account if you have won a prize.
Watch this website for updates on the contest!
