Prizes for the Students
 

Category A:  Grades 6-8
First place:  $150
Second place:  $100
Third place:  $75
 

Category B:  Grades 9-12
First place:  $150
Second place:  $100
Third place:  $75

 

 

Eligibility:
Contestant must be a full-time student in grades 6-12 in the state of Illinois, a non-native speaker of English, enrolled in a TBE/TPI program, and the sponsoring teacher must be a current member of Illinois TESOL/BE.  Two categories will be awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes of $150, $100, and $75.  Category A comprises students in Grades 6-8; Category B comprises students in Grades 9-12.

 

Topic:
Discuss aspects of your culture that you want to share with others including holidays, differences in customs, school routines, culture shock experiences, etc.

 

Conditions:
Failure to abide by any of these rules and conditions will result in the disqualification of the student’s essay from the competition.
1. Each student may submit only one entry.
2. All essays become the property of Illinois TESOL/BE.
3. All essays must be the ORIGINAL MATERIAL OF THE AUTHOR.
• The essays must be based on prior knowledge.  This is not a research essay.
• Teachers may not edit the student’s writing.
• Students are not to use computer editing (grammar check) except for spell check.

IF A STUDENT HAS PLAGIARIZED ANY PART OF THE ESSAY, IT WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE DISQUALIFICATION.

Form:
Essays are to be:
  500 – 1000 words (2 -3 typed pages)
  Font 12 New Roman
  Double spaced
 
Entries must be submitted with a complete cover sheet (click here to view cover sheet template), which must include the student’s name, home country, name of the sponsoring teacher, name of the school, school address, and school phone number. 

THERE SHOULD BE NO IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON ANY PAGES OF THE ESSAY.  THIS INCLUDES ANY MENTION OF THE CONTESTANT’S NAME OR SCHOOL.

Judging:
Entries will be judged based upon content, organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanics.  Criteria for judging will be creativity, writing style, and adherence to form, rules, forms and condition.

 

DEADLINE-ALL ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2012
Mail all entries to:
Lila Birchfield
9N971 Muirhead Lane
Elgin, Illinois   60124

ALL SPONSORING TEACHERS WILL BE NOTIFIED OF THE RESULTS OF THE EIGHTEENTH ILLINOIS TESOL/BE WRITING CONTEST.