Essay Contest
The Essay Contest awards a first place prize in 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, and 12th grade. Each winner will receive $750 cash or a $1500 savings bond.
All entries must be submitted electronically by 5 p.m. (EST) Friday, December 5, 2008 or postmarked by that day to be eligible for consideration.
Winners will be notified no later than March 2009.
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Enter the Contest |
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To submit your Essay, please click here.
Entries may also be mailed to:
ATTN: Slogan and Essay Contest
Office of the Secretary of State
700 Capital Avenue
Suite 152
Frankfort, KY 40601
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Contest Rules |
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1. The essay contest is open to all Kentucky high school students in grades 9-12.
2. Essay entry is limited to one per student.
3. Essay entry is limited to 600 words. All entries must be typed and double-spaced.
4. Essays will be judged on purpose, idea development, organization, language, correctness, and subject comprehension.
5. All entries must be submitted electronically by 5 p.m. (EST) Friday, December 5, 2008 or postmarked by that day to be eligible for consideration.
6. Entries will not be returned and must be submitted in the required format to be considered.
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Essay Prompt |
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Many news outlets and blogs have acknowledged shaping their content for certain audiences, based on specific political ideologies, in order to increase the size of their audience and to be more attractive to potential advertisers.
In general, what effect will this shaping and targeting have on our American democracy? Will citizens be encouraged to vote or not to vote? Will those who vote be more informed or less informed when making their decisions?
Given the vital informative role of the news media, should this practice be encouraged or discouraged? Should the government pass laws or regulations to require that news outlets and blogs that cover news events provide contrasting views?
Be sure to clearly explain your answers.
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Judging Rubric |
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Essays will be judged on the following criteria:
| Idea Development and Support |
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| Minimal idea devlelopment; limited and/or related details. |
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| Unelaborated idea development; unelaborated and/or repetitious ideas. |
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| Depth of idea development supported by elaborated, relevant details. |
3 |
| Depth and complexity of ideas supported by rich, engaging, and pertinent details; evidence of analysis, reflection, insight. |
4 |
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Organization |
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| Random and/weak organization. |
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| Some lapses in organization and/or coherence. |
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| Logical, coherent organization. |
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| Subtle, sophisticated organization. |
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Purpose/Audience |
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| Limited awareness of audience and/or purpose. |
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| Some evidence of communicating with an audience for a specific purpose; some lapses in focus. |
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| Focused on a purpose; communicates with an audience; evidence of voice and/or suitable tone. |
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| Establishes a purpose and maintains a clear focus; strong awareness of audience; evidence of distinctive voice and/or appropriate tone. |
4 |
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Language |
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| Incorrect and/or ineffective language. |
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| Simplistic and/or imprecise language. |
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| Acceptable, effective language. |
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| Precise, rich language. |
4 |
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Correctness |
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| Excessive and/or distracting errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. |
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| Some errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar that do not interfere with communication. |
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| Minimal errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar relative to length and complexity. |
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| Control of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. |
4 |
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Research, Knowledge, and Understanding |
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| Limited or no understanding of the prompt. |
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| Basic understanding of the prompt and its concepts with minimal confusion. |
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| Thorough understanding of the concepts presented in the prompt. |
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| Sophisticated mastery of the concepts with demonstrated analysis. |
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