Win an Essay Contest
For anyone comfortable writing papers, the realm of essay contests can mean lucrative money. Essay contests can feature prizes of thousands of dollars, along with the potential to get you published or recognized by some professionals in the field.
Contents
Steps
- Do some internet searches to see what kind of essay contests are available. Contests may also be posted around libraries or schools. Take note of the details such as deadlines, topics, and prizes.
- Pick which contests you want to enter. Pay particular attention to topics you know a lot about or feel passionate towards. If you are trying to fake it, someone who is genuinely enthusiastic about the topic will beat you. Consider the deadlines for the contests - if you find one due in a few days, don't bother. Don't forget to account for delays in the mail service, if applicable.
- Think carefully about a thesis. You must consider your audience - if you are writing for the National Rifle Association, for example, you don't want to write about how great gun control is - but you must also submit some new and stimulating ideas.
- Begin researching. University libraries have lots of helpful material. Contacting professionals in the field will pad up your bibliography nicely.
- Write the essay. It is absolutely critical that you conform to any style requirements of the contest. Be conscious of formatting, word count, and citation styles.
- Submit the essay. If you must send the essay by mail, think about how long it will take to get to the judges. Send it express if you must. If you can e-mail it, use a standard format like PDF. Don't assume the judges use Word or WordPerfect.
- Wait for the results. In the meantime you can start on other contests.
Writing a Winning Essay from a Narrative or Prompt
- Contemplate the topic of the contest. If includes a certain prompt, such as a question(s) you need to answer, then consider how it's affected you in your life. For example - if the prompt is to write about a good deed that has changed you, flip through old photo albums, scrapbooks, and anything related to your past that could help you think of a good deed you once did that impacted your life. Avoid cliches and try to come up with something that's unique to you and doesn't apply to many people. Also, avoid controversial topics that may affect how judges view your essay.
- Expand your vocabulary. When writing an essay that isn't fact-based, incorporating words to entail things from your life is key. Judges, published authors, and anyone very involved in the writing field will most likely pay more attention to entries that display that the author has a very broad vocabulary.
- Write your essay. Remember to use the majority of your detail on the most significant aspects of your essay. Don't describe a barely-relevant character in heavy detail, for example. If you're just mentioning them to help the reader understand something, then the reader won't care about anything else about the character. However, let's say you're writing an essay on a bullying experience. Describing the bully in heavy detail will help the reader visualize the bully much better for the remainder of the essay.
- Make sure you're using the right tone. You want your voice to come through in the essay without sacrificing professionalism, which can be difficult. Watch out for slang words and casual expressions, as well as common cliches (as mentioned above).
- Proofread, proofread, proofread! There's nothing more that judges hate than flawed grammar. Writing your heart out means nothing if you don't know how to structure a sentence properly or don't know grammatical rules. Many people prefer having others read their essay for them so a second set of eyes can point out mistakes that the author accidentally breezed by.
- Submit your essay. If you've truly written to the best of your ability, take pride in the effort you put into it and hope for the best!
Tips
- If you don't win, take a look at the winning entries if possible and see what they did that you didn't. Try to learn from this and incorporate it into your next essay.
- Don't be afraid to ask for help if you have a hard time! As long as your work is original, getting feedback from others is a great way to make your writing stronger.
- If you win, congratulations! When accepting your prize be sure to behave humbly. If there is a ceremony, prepare a quick thank-you speech just in case and try to network with as many people as possible.
- If you have difficulty understanding the topic or the guidelines, try to get in touch with the judges.
- Including a cover letter with your submission thanking the judges for their time and admiring their cause will show how kind and deserving of the prize you are. But don't go overboard, keep it short and simple!
- Try to stick to your point as it may happen that going in detail or adding many examples can make the main topic confusing and can make bad impact on your result.
Warnings
- If submitting your entry by mail, be cautious of deadlines. Does it have to be received by a certain date, or just post-marked? Submit well in advance to avoid any delays with the postal service.
- Failure to follow the format requirements may disqualify your essay.
