Essay writing competition - Oxford



Article: Essay Competition Detailed Article

Publication: OUPSA Newsletter

Date: 2 April 2007

Subject matter

Pick a topic that you find significant. It must MATTER! Don't be fooled into thinking that a boring sounding topic will naturally lead to a boring essay. Imagine how impressed the marker will be if you take a dull sounding topic and work your magic with it! Pick a topic that you think you can wrestle with, play with, thrill with. Look at that topic long and hard, and see if you – and only you – can come up with an unusual approach. Could you write an essay about a dictionary by personifying the dictionary? Could you weave in lines from your prescribed poetry or literary texts?… Be careful – NO PLAGIARISM ALLOWED! But could you take a Shakespearean metaphor and find a new and personal way of exploring its meaning? If, while you are brainstorming, you think that other young adults might interpret the topic the way you have, START OVER! It's not good enough! It must be unique. It must reveal who you are and what you believe.

Remember that subject matter counts 20 of your 50 marks!

Here is a checklist:

➢ Original topic

➢ Creative approach

➢ Unique and innovative

➢ Memorable and interesting

Structure and style

Do you always start at the beginning of the story, and then explain things in chronological order, and then end, sometimes giving the marker a little moral lesson in the conclusion? HOW HORRIBLE! Let's break out of the conformity prison, people! What about starting with the ending? How could flashbacks enhance the effect? Wouldn't it be more lively if you included some single word sentences, or single word paragraphs? And how impressive would it be if you could capture the way someone spoke – with the accent, with the catch phrases? Could you use carefully selected words and phrases in a cyclical manner, showing how things developed? Could you suggest what happened by using innuendo, instead of explaining every dull step? What if you had a "layering" effect: one paragraph personal; one symbolic; one made up of dialogue; one argumentative?

Structure and style count 10 of your 50 marks.

Here is a checklist:

➢ Interesting and purposeful structure

➢ Creative use of paragraphs

➢ Varied paragraph length

➢ Evidence of innovative structuring

Language usage

This is split into two sub-sections: Spelling and punctuation and Vocabulary and craft.

Spelling and punctuation

Okay, so we know you hate grammar. What was that? "It sucks?" We think not! Look at the great word masters through the years – both literary and musical. They all played with words, found puns, discovered interesting rhymes, unusual ways of addressing topics. They made words matter. They made words memorable. So can you. Look at your spelling – check it carefully. Read your essay backwards if necessary, to check the spelling of every word. Get a friend to help you edit. Have you used full stops and commas? You have? Well done, but what else! There are ellipsis dots, semi-colons, colons, inverted commas… a whole range of interesting punctuation marks. Those pesky grammar lessons about participles and conjunctions… They matter. Show that you know why this is so!

Spelling and punctuation count 10 of your 50 marks

Here is a checklist:

➢ Spelling has been checked (you can use this feature on your computer, but be careful of Americanisms)

➢ Essay has been read backwards

➢ No evidence of apostrophe or comma abuse!

➢ Purposeful and informed punctuation usage

Vocabulary level and craft

Show the reader you are serious about words and their meaning. Say goodbye to clichés. Invent new and lively expressions. Show a mature vocabulary level – an understanding of words and their meaning. Reveal that you are capable of perfecting the craft of writing. You command words! Make them do your bidding. Invent words – not a whole language – just a few neologisms. Show an accurate understanding of figurative language. Display your prowess. Invent new idiomatic expressions, or if you have used an old one, then freshen it by having it in your own unique context.

Your vocabulary and verbal command count 10 marks out of 50

Here is a checklist:

➢ Word usage is mature and appropriate

➢ Evidence of word play

➢ Original figurative language used

➢ No clichés at all!

This is how the content of your essay will be assessed by the marking panel. Have a look at the categories and ensure that your essay reaches the OUTSTANDING level!

CREATIVE ESSAY MARKING GRID: CONTENT

|20 |CONTENT |% |

|20 |OUTSTANDING WRITING | |

|19 |Extremely creative, inspired and inspiring; Lucid and unique; |80 –100% |

|18 |Evidence of very mature and unusual ability; Clear | |

|17 |distinction; highly innovative and sparkling; insightful and | |

|16 |profound, memorable. | |

|15 |MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT |70 – 79% |

| |Not quite distinction standard/ lacking the inspiration of a | |

| |distinction; Originality of thought and expression; some | |

|14 |pleasing unique touches; a very impressive effort, which, with| |

| |effort and editing, could reach distinction standard. | |

|13 |SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENT | |

| |Evidence of careful planning; Intelligent reasoning and |60 –69% |

| |development; Fluent and interesting; Quite pleasing | |

| |Some colour and vigour; satisfactory treatment of subject, | |

|12 |interesting but not dynamic. | |

|11 |ADEQUATE ACHIEVEMENT | |

| |Mediocre subject matter with reasonably sound expression, or |50 –59% |

| |reasonable subject matter with weak expression; Mundane and | |

|10 |pedestrian; satisfactory but has no flair. | |

|9 |MODERATE ACHIEVEMENT | |

|8 |Tedious and dull; passable but below average; little |40 - 49% |

| |creativity and insight shown; topic could have been | |

| |interpreted in a faulty or literal manner; learner needs to | |

| |adopt a more mature and meaningful approach. | |

|7 |ELEMENTARY ACHIEVEMENT | |

| |Poor subject matter; Muddled; irrelevant and frustrating to |30 - 39% |

|6 |read. Immature and therefore not passable. | |

|5 |NOT ACHIEVED | |

|4 |Contains little to recommend it; Irrelevant |0 – 29% |

|3 |Verging on unreadable; Bordering on the illiterate; Far too | |

|2 |long or far too short. | |

|1 | | |

STRUCTURE

| |STRUCTURE/ PLANNING, STYLE |

|10 |OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT |

|9 |Exceptional use of language; dynamic use of paragraphing and structure; innovative. Single word or single sentence paragraph has |

|8 |been employed to powerful effect. Interesting use of cyclical elements, startling and exciting writing. |

| |Individual style; Creative and varied |

| |MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT |

|7 |Showing sense of structure; some experimentation with paragraphing/ repetition etc; Colourful, appropriate style; |

| |evidence of innovation |

| |SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENT |

|6 |Free of all serious errors; Generally clear sense of structure; Plain statement; Logical but fairly predictable |

| |ADEQUATE ACHIEVEMENT |

|5 |Unexceptional ability; Commonplace, acceptable, generally readable |

| |MODERATE ACHIEVEMENT |

|4 |Careless and flawed but readable; Problematic cohesion; needs assistance with language structures and paragraphing techniques |

| |ELEMENTARY ACHIEVEMENT |

|3 |Poor language control; Poor cohesion; badly constructed paragraphs, dull at times, little logic in the structure of the essay. |

|2 |NOT ACHIEVED |

|1 |Very poor structure, for example, no paragraphs, or overly long/ short paragraphs. Lacks cohesion |

|0 | |

LANGUAGE

Language is divided into two categories: (Each category is out of 10 marks)

|SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION |10 + 10 |VOCABULARY LEVEL & CRAFT (VERBAL COMMAND) |

|/10 | |/10 |

|Perfect, or almost perfect spelling and punctuation. |10 |A highly sophisticated understanding of language and its techniques. Writer may|

|Clearly a well edited and precise piece of work. |9 |be using mature, figurative diction and/or simple diction, but it suits the |

|Evidence of experimentation with the more |8 |purpose of the piece. |

|sophisticated punctuation techniques. Publishable! | |Here is evidence of an incisive brain at work: Writer knows how to manipulate |

| | |words for maximum impact. |

| | |A sense of uniqueness and daring is shown. |

|Very effective spelling and punctuation; careful and |7 |Writer has an impressive command of language, with several unique expressions. |

|judicious use of words and punctuation marks; errors | |Words are used with flair. Interesting and innovative language usage. |

|are minor. | | |

|Average spelling and punctuation; generally readable, |6 |Average vocabulary level and sound use of certain figurative devices. There may|

|acceptable. Evidence of care taken, but a few minor | |be some faulty word usage, but there is still an attempt to engage in the |

|errors. | |skilful use of words. |

|Spelling and punctuation are careless at times, and |5 |Verbal command and vocabulary are not yet of a satisfactory standard. Writer is|

|have detracted from the writer's meaning at times. | |capable of clear expression, but has been careless, or writer is not really |

| | |capable of clear expression, but has tried to make vocabulary something more |

| | |tangible. |

|Only just passable; several careless errors; little |4 |Writer's use of language and vocabulary does not quite reach the required |

|evidence of a careful edit. | |standard. Some words are used incorrectly or inappropriately. |

|Not yet passable; writer needs to refine and improve |3 |Not yet passable. Several malapropisms; muddled and/or immature language |

|spelling and punctuation quite a lot; errors are | |techniques. |

|common and distracting. | | |

|Few spelling and punctuation conventions have been |2 |Frustrating and difficult to follow. Language usage is so faulty or so immature|

|observed. What a pity! |1 |that it becomes unpleasant to read. Little or nothing to recommend it. |

|FIRST ESTIMATE |CONTENT |STRUCTURE & PLANNING|LANGUAGE |VOCAB & CRAFT |TOTAL |FINAL MARK |

| |Subject matter | | | | | |

|Global Assessment | |Planning |Spelling |Verbal command | | |

| |Ideas | | | | | |

|General overall impression| |Introductory & |Punctuation |Idiomatic expressions | | |

| |Originality |concluding | | | | |

| | |paragraphs |Concord |Range of vocabulary | | |

| |Atmosphere | | | | | |

| | |Cohesion |Syntax | | | |

| |Feeling | | | | | |

| | |Sequence of | | | | |

| | |paragraphs | | | | |

|50 |20 |10 |10 |10 |50 |50 |

Generally, a marker/ assessor would use the itemised grids to decide on the exact mark, per category. This happens quite a lot in the early stages of the assessment, until all the markers are comfortable that they are setting the same standards. Once that "meeting of the minds" has occurred, then it could be an idea to switch to this simpler grid – the marker gives a first impression mark, and then does a category breakdown mark; finally, a decision is made about whether to go with the first "gut" mark, or the structured one or settle on a mark in between.

Essay requirements:

Your essay should be about 400 words long. You essay can be one of these types:

➢ Narrative: this involves the telling of a story/ short story. If you choose the short story, remember that these usually have some sort of twist at the end.

➢ Descriptive: this essay will not have a plot. Instead, the focus is on descriptive details and trying to evoke a sense of place, mood and/or character.

➢ Personal: this essay is your chance to reveal your soul, your input. Here, using the first person, you share your perspective. You could make yourself a character in the story or you could be the narrator, but your personality should be revealed.

➢ Argumentative: here you will need to have evidence and statistics to prove your point. Ensure that your research is sound. Be aware that you must have reasons for your viewpoints.

➢ Discursive: This essay will demand that you discuss different aspects of a particular problem/ situation.

➢ Combo! Remember, that this is a creative writing competition, and so you are most welcome to combine the different genres and find interesting and innovative ways of experimenting with your own writing style.

Essay topics:

Select ONE of the following and write a memorable, innovative essay in response. You need not use the title given here, but you must indicate the essay's topic number. You must have a title to your essay – the one here, or a newly-invented one.

• My community – My history

• Cash, Cars and Cell phones

• I will do it my way

• Biting back – dealing with crime

• The perfect relationship – a modern day myth?

Essays must be neatly written in BLACK ink, printed, rather than cursive. Write very neatly! Typed essays are most welcome, but please use 12 as the font size. Please allow at least 2cm on the left and right margins, so that markers can insert comments easily. Do not write your name on the essay. Your school will have an entry form, where you will write your name, age, grade and entry number.

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