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|  | May 2013 - National Writing Contest
This is the FREE, international, monthly, writing contest for college and high school students hosted by StageofLife.com. Submit your essay below. Also...don't forget to enter our monthly Twitter "Short Short Story" writing contest, too.
May 2013 Writing Contest Prompt: "Letter to Mom" - Share a special memory about your mother, grandmother, or an important woman in your life.
 Details: In honor of Mother's Day this month, we want to recognize and thank the women who helped raise us. Think about your Mom, your Grandmother, or any special woman in your life who is or was a source of inspiration. Now close your eyes and think about what makes that woman special. Is it her overall characteristics or personality? Is it a memory of a specific event or moment (serious, sad, or humorous) you shared with your Mom that brings joy to your heart? Was it something she said that has stuck with you?
What makes this woman special when you think about her?
Keeping these positive thoughts flowing, now write a creative, memoir-style short essay (500 words or less) that captures the essence of your feelings as you answer the writing prompt, "Share a special memory about your mother, grandmother, or an important woman in your life."
 As an added action item for this student writing contest, after you've submitted your essay (submission button is below), share the URL of your post with your Mom. Send it to her on Facebook. Tweet the url to her. Or print it out and mail or give it to her. However you do it, consider letting her know the positive thoughts and memories you shared about her with the world.
We look forward to reading your "Letter to Mom" essays this month.
Upload your 500 Word (or less) Essay Now...
 Essay Title: When submitting your writing contest essay, title it as follows:
Letter to Mom: ____________ [include the phrase "Letter to Mom" as the beginning of your essay title in the Story Title field, but add your own headline following that so your essay title is unique]
Title Examples:
- Letter to Mom: My Mom Never Gives Up
- Letter to Mom: She Can't Cook, but She Sure Can Sing!
Please be creative with your title, then type or cut and paste your full essay from a program like NotePad or TextEdit (don't use any formatting - just text, please) into the Story Details field. Adjust the spacing as necessary.
You may want to check out these tips for good essay writing to be considered a writing contest finalist.
IMPORTANT TIPS/QUICK RULES:
- You are welcome to blog on StageofLife.com as much as you want, but only TWO essay submissions per user for this May 2013 writing contest are allowed.
- Title your essay using the instructions above so our Editors can find it in the story feeds in your life stage homepage on the website. Example: Here's where all of the high school student submissions get posted - High School
- Editorial Note: StageofLife.com is a non-partisan literacy initiative. We judge the writing contest submissions not on the political or religious stance of our teen writers, but rather on how creative, original, passionate, and well written the essays are. See below for more details on our judging policy.
- Type in your 500 word (or less) essay (or cut and paste it from another program) into the "Story Details" field of the writing contest submission form, which will appear after you click "Submit Essay" above.
NOTE: You will need to login to submit your writing contest entry. If you don't have a StageofLife.com login, please register (it's free).
EXTRA INFORMATION AND RULES TO HELP YOU ON THE WRITING CONTEST
Be Real. Be Yourself: The strongest submissions for this essay contest will use a personal tone and point-of-view writing style that shares your thoughts on the topic. If you want to make your essay even stronger, we recommend doing a little research and adding quotes or a statistic (or two).
Resources:
We don't have any formal resources for this writing contest this month. Only you know what you want to share or say about Mom or your Grandmother - so follow your heart and share your memory.
Prize Package: The winning writer will receive...
- A spot as a Featured Writer on StageofLife.com
- Stage of Life pen
- Prize package for includes 2 Complimentary Movie Tickets from the nation's leading moviegoer destination Fandango.com
- A mention and link to your essay in Stage of Life's national monthly press release - here's a link to one of our press releases for reference.
 Free Essay Contest:
This is a free writing contest. StageofLife.com does not require a submission fee. TWO ESSAYS ENTRY PER PERSON FOR THIS MONTH'S WRITING CONTEST. However, you are welcome to blog about your life or other topics outside of this writing contest at any time on StageofLife.com
Contest Deadline:
May 31, 2013 at midnight Pacific Standard Time (US). NOTE - the StageofLife.com time stamps all essay in Greenwich Mean Time (England) as we are an international writing initiative. International student submissions are welcome.
Prize Package and Winner(s):
Of the submitted essays, one student winner will be selected. The winner and semi-finalists will be announced here after June 20th, 2013. Winner and semi-finalists will be contacted by a StageofLife.com staffer via the email used to register for the website.
As we state in our Writing Contest Rules and Judging Criteria, student writers selected as our national essay finalists and winner(s) will demonstrate strong writing skills, a unique point-of-view, personal tone, originality, and realness in their essay.
"Realness?" Yes...realness.
 The reason that journalists and organizations ranging from TIME.com to Mint Education have featured our essays (especially our teen posts) in the national media is because our student bloggers all write from the heart. Real people sharing real stories about their lives. Combine this with our position as one of the only international, non-partisan, literacy platforms in the world and you'll find Stage of Life an open environment to share your ideas.
Post Comments:
We'd like to encourage all participants and readers to make comments on these writing contest essays. Please just remember to keep all comments/posts/discussions civil and in good taste in each of the essay-blog threads, especially since some of our writing prompts are sensitive in nature. Nasty comments, personal attacks, or other such comments are not allowed and will be removed should they come to our attention.
Judging:
If you have questions about the rules or judging criteria for our writing contests, you can visit our Rules & Judging Criteria page.
 Last Words - Share Your Story:
Our hope is that your writing contest submission will positively impact others and help with our mission of making the world a better place, one story at a time. Your essay may inspire others or even better, give you an opportunity to share a story that's simply important to you.
After you've submitted your essay, feel free to share the link to your essay on Facebook or Twitter. Our essays are judged by real Editors, not popularity, but we do like to spread the word about our national, grassroots writing contest. Also, please share this writing contest with Language Arts, English and History teachers, or on your blog.
If you know a teacher who would like a free Stage of Life writing contest poster for his or her classroom, have them contact us.
About:
Read more about StageofLife.com and our mission
Good luck! Scroll back up and click on the "Submit Essay" button to upload your essay. |
 | April 2013 - National Writing Contest
THIS WRITING CONTEST HAS ENDED AND IS BEING JUDGED
Writing Contest Prompt: "In the News" - What Current National or International News Story Do You Think More Teens and College Students Should Care About, and Why?
Details: There is a LOT going on in the news. For instance, the day we posted this April monthly writing contest, we saw headlines for news stories on the following topics...
- Nuclear armed North Korea's aggressive militaristic talk
- North Dakota passes most restrictive abortion bill in US history
- US Supreme Court debates gay marriage
- Cyprus Banks and Economic issues in the Euro Zone
- Pope includes women for first time in Holy Thursday rite
- US Senate group resolves key immigration issues to move ahead with overhaul of US immigration policy
- China's losing battle against polluters
- Obama makes impassioned plea for gun control legislation
- NCAA Basketball Tournament enters Final 4
- Obamacare
- and many others
Keeping these news headlines (and others you may have recently read, seen, or heard in mind), our question this month is..."What current news story or event should teens and college students care about...and why?"
 Answer that question in 500 words or less. In your essay, consider addressing these questions in a CREATIVE manner...
- What is the particular news story are you most passionate about?
- Why do you care about it so much?
- Why should other young people care more about this news story?
- Is there anything you, or others, can do to help make a difference in the outcome of this news story?
With over a quarter of a million visitors coming to StageofLife.com from around the world to read or participate in our blogging contests each year, our hope is that your "In the News" essay creates more awareness for a news item that's close to your heart and inspires other teens and students to engage the world around them.
Good luck - we look forward to reading your "In the News" essays this month.
Upload your 500 Word (or less) Essay...
Essay Title: When submitting your writing contest essay, title it as follows:
In the News: ____________ [include the phrase "In the News" as the beginning of your essay title in the Story Title field, but add your own headline following that so your essay title is unique]
Title Examples:
- In the News: Prepare for a short cold war with North Korea
- In the News: New abortion laws in AR and ND strain relations between me and my friends...and we don't even live in those states
Please be creative with your title, then type or cut and paste your full essay from a program like NotePad or TextEdit (don't use any formatting - just text, please) into the Story Details field. Adjust the spacing as necessary.
You may want to check out these tips for good essay writing to be considered a writing contest finalist.
IMPORTANT TIPS/QUICK RULES:
- You are welcome to blog on StageofLife.com as much as you want, but only TWO essay submissions per user for this April 2013 writing contest are allowed.
- Title your essay using the instructions above so our Editors can find it in the story feeds in your life stage homepage on the website. Example: Here's where all of the high school student submissions go - High School
- Editorial Note: StageofLife.com is a non-partisan literacy initiative. Whether your reaction and viewpoints put you on the right, left, or middle of a particular news story, we judge the writing contest submissions not on the political or religious stance of our teen writers, but rather on how creative, original, passionate, and well written the essays are. See below for more details on our judging policy.
- Type in your 500 word (or less) essay (or cut and paste it from another program) into the "Story Details" field of the writing contest submission form, which will appear after you click "Submit Essay" above.
NOTE: You will need to login to submit your writing contest entry. If you don't have a StageofLife.com login, please register (it's free).
EXTRA INFORMATION AND RULES TO HELP YOU ON THE WRITING CONTEST
Be Real. Be Yourself: The strongest submissions for this essay contest will use a personal tone and point-of-view writing style that shares your thoughts on the topic. If you want to make your essay even stronger, we recommend doing a little research and adding quotes or a statistic (or two).
Resources:
If you haven't looked at news headlines lately, visit the Reuters website to get up to date with what's happening in our world: http://www.reuters.com/
Prize Package: The winning writers will receive...
- A spot as a Featured Writer on StageofLife.com
- Stage of Life pen
- Prize package for teen or college student winner that includes 2 Complimentary Movie Tickets from the nation's leading moviegoer destination Fandango.com
- A mention and link to your essay in Stage of Life's national monthly press release - here's a link to one of our press releases for reference.
Free Essay Contest:
This is a free writing contest. StageofLife.com does not require a submission fee. TWO ESSAYS ENTRY PER PERSON FOR THIS MONTH'S WRITING CONTEST. However, you are welcome to blog about your life or other topics outside of this writing contest at any time on StageofLife.com
Contest Deadline:
April 30, 2013 at midnight Pacific Standard Time (US). NOTE - the StageofLife.com time stamps all essay in Greenwich Mean Time (England) as we are an international writing initiative. International student submissions are welcome.
Prize Package and Winner(s):
Of the submitted essays, one student winner will be selected. The winner and semi-finalists will be announced here after May 20th, 2013. Winner and semi-finalists will be contacted by a StageofLife.com staffer via the email used to register for the website.
As we state in our Writing Contest Rules and Judging Criteria, student writers selected as our national essay finalists and winner(s) will demonstrate strong writing skills, a unique point-of-view, personal tone, originality, and realness in their essay.
"Realness?" Yes...realness.
The reason that journalists and organizations ranging from TIME.com to Mint Education have featured our essays (especially our teen posts) in the national media is because our student bloggers all write from the heart. Real people sharing real stories about their lives. Combine this with our position as one of the only international, non-partisan, literacy platforms in the world and you'll find Stage of Life an open environment to share your ideas.
Post Comments:
We'd like to encourage all participants and readers to make comments on these writing contest essays. Please just remember to keep all comments/posts/discussions civil and in good taste in each of the essay-blog threads, especially since some of our writing prompts are sensitive in nature. Nasty comments, personal attacks, or other such comments are not allowed and will be removed should they come to our attention.
Judging:
If you have questions about the rules or judging criteria for our writing contests, you can visit our Rules & Judging Criteria page.
Last Words - Share Your Story:
Our hope is that your writing contest submission will positively impact others and help with our mission of making the world a better place, one story at a time. Your essay may inspire others or even better, give you an opportunity to share a story that's simply important to you.
After you've submitted your essay, feel free to share the link to your essay on Facebook or Twitter. Our essays are judged by real Editors, not popularity, but we do like to spread the word about our national, grassroots writing contest. Also, please share this writing contest with Language Arts, English and History teachers, or on your blog.
If you know a teacher who would like a free Stage of Life writing contest poster for his or her classroom, have them contact us.
About:
Read more about StageofLife.com and our mission
Good luck! Scroll back up and click on the "Submit Essay" button to upload your essay. |
 | March 2013 - National Writing Contest
THIS WRITING CONTEST HAS ENDED AND IS BEING JUDGED
Writing Contest Prompt: When have you applied the phrase "No Fear" in your life?
Details: Every teenager or college students has fears. Some are things you can touch, like snakes. Some are situations you want to avoid, like public speaking or test taking. Some come from childhood stories, like ghosts or monsters. And some fears are things that unfortunately find us, like terrorism, natural disasters, or cancer.
However, we can't live in the shadows of our fears everyday. To do so would dishonor the act of living.
So this month, the Stage of Life national writing contest prompt is simple: "As a teen, how have you applied the phrase "No Fear" in your life?"
 Tell us a story about yourself, in 500 words or less, about how you tackled a fear, whether it's personal, situational, external, or other. In your essay, consider including these pieces in a CREATIVE manner...
- Identify the fear
- Describe how it was holding you back in life
- Share what you specifically did to conquer it
- And let us know how you're living differently now
With over a quarter of a million visitors coming to StageofLife.com to read or participate in our blogging contests each year, we know your "No Fear" essay may inspire other teenagers to conquer their fears.
Once the judging is complete, we'll post the list of the No Fear essays and a link to the essay finalists, runner's up and the winner here (and on our Teen Trend Report section) after March 15, 2013.
EXTRA INFORMATION AND RULES TO HELP YOU ON THE WRITING CONTEST
Resources:
Consider these questions as you craft your No Fear essay...
- How was/is your fear holding you back?
- What inspired you to make a stand and tackle your fear?
- Did you fail the first time you tried to conquer your fear? If so, how many times did it take before you succeeded? Why didn't you quit?
- Do you know other people who have the same fear?
- Are there organizations that help people with your fear? If so, what are they?
- Are you able or interested to help others conquer the same fear?
Prize Package: The winning writers will receive...
- A spot as a Featured Writer on StageofLife.com
- Stage of Life pen
- Prize package for teen or college student winner that includes 2 Complimentary Movie Tickets from the nation's leading moviegoer destination Fandango.com
- A mention and link to your essay in Stage of Life's national monthly press release - here's a link to a press release for reference.
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