Description:

The New Jersey Council of Teachers of English invites New Jersey Students in Grades 9-12 to participate in its 2010 Writing Contest: “Who We Are” All personal essay submissions must respond to this year’s prompt in the first person plural. (We) Deadline is December 15, 2009. Visit www.njcte.org for more details.

Personal Essay Category*

Personal Essay Writing Prompt

*All personal essay submissions must respond to this year’s prompt

By choice and by chance, we all belong to many groups. These groups include not only those into which we’re born or which we build over time (such as family and friends) but also other groups that form more fleetingly out of circumstance (such as “the students who take the 7:30 bus” or “the ones who sit out during gym” or the readers of a certain blog).

In a personal essay, tell your readers about one of the groups to which you belong, or to which you once belonged. Use imagery, details, and other narrative techniques to bring to life your group. Encourage your readers to consider meanings through your portrait of, and reflections on, your group.

You might use the following questions to prompt and/or to guide your writing about your group: Who are you? Where do you "live together"? By what rules or understandings do you live? How do you impact one another and/or how do you impact others and the world? What do you learn together? What do you share together? Why is this group important?

Aim to educate your readers about segments of life and views on life that they might not already know. You might find it useful to imagine that you are describing your group to a visitor from another country (a distant relative or an exchange student visiting your school) and that you are acting as the spokesperson for your group. Surprise your readers as you allow them to see through the eyes of the group. We encourage you to express your answer in the first person plural (“we”) voice.

Participants must reside in New Jersey and currently be in grades 9-12.

Each student may submit a maximum of one personal essay.

Each participating teacher may submit up to ten personal essays.

Your name should not appear on the essay itself. Remove all identifying information from your submission (including writer’s name, school, teacher). The submission page will ask for this information. Because this is a universal form, some of the choices seem obvious. You are entering an essay contest; therefore, you are submitting an essay. When you are asked why the piece is important to you, identify your teacher, teacher's email, school, school address, home address, and phone number in this answer. Because this field contains personal information about you, leave the "share" button UNCHECKED.

Maximum length: 5 pages (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, 1” margins).

Personal essays must be original and must properly attribute any lines or sources (including other writers) that provided inspiration. If, for example, you modeled some or part of your essay after another writer’s work, include mention of that somewhere. If you borrow anyone else’s words, you need to indicate that fact. Please read and follow NCTE guidelines regarding appropriate language. You will find these at the beginning of the submission process.

No simultaneous submissions. In other words, if you submit an essay to our contest, do not also submit it to another contest, nor to another place for publication.

Writers may be disqualified for failing to meet these expectations.

Submission deadline: December 15, 2009.

For more information about this contest, including judging criteria, consult our blog, http://writingteacher.edublogs.org/. Before submitting your writing to our contest, review these criteria and revise extensively. In addition to the blog, you’ll also find contest information on our Web site, www.njcte.org/

Location:	Trenton, NJ, 08060, US
URL to this gallery:	http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/699259
Curators:	Assistant Curator: Susan Lynn Reese Curator: Michele Marotta