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DADE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION YOUNG LAWYERS SECTIONESSAY CONTESTDescriptionThank you for participating in the first annual Dade County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Essay Contest! The DCBA was formed in 1920 to serve the lawyers in Miami-Dade County, to promote the administration of justice, to enhance professionalism, and to cultivate positive relationships among all members of the bar. Part of the DCBA YLS’ mission is to serve and empower the local community. We are proud to support Miami-Dade County Public Schools. TimelineJanuary, 2017:Essay Contest is distributed to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Law Academies and Law Magnet Programs (Grades 9 – 12).February 17, 2017:Essays are due by 5:00 p.m.April 1, 2017:Essay winners will be announced.May 1, 2017:Scholarships will be awarded during Law Week. Further details to be announced about the date, time, and location.RulesThe contestant must include the following information at the top of the first page of the essay: first name, last name, e-mail, telephone number, grade, and school. Failure to include this information will automatically disqualify the contestant.Contestants must be enrolled in Grades 9 – 12 in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.Essays may not exceed 1,000 words. The contestant’s information at the top of the first page and the title do not count toward the total word count.Essays must be typed in size 12-point Times New Roman font and double-spaced.Essays must be submitted in Microsoft Word format.All facts, quotes, and evidence in the essays must include citations in MLA Style.Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If all or part of an essay is copied from a source without giving that source credit, the contestant will be disqualified from participating in the essay contest.Essays must be submitted via e-mail to DCBA.YLS@ on or before 5:00 p.m. on February 17, 2017. “Essay Contest” must appear in the subject line. Late essays will not be accepted. There are no exceptions. All timely submissions will receive a confirmation that the essay was received. All untimely submissions will receive a notification that their essay was late and that they are not eligible for the contest.Essays will be graded according to the attached rubric. Scores will range from 0 to 40 points. There will be three cash scholarship awards. The three contestants with the highest scoring essays will receive cash awards as follow: first top scoring essay $1,500; the second top scoring essay $1,000; and, the third top scoring essay $500.Essays will be graded by members of the DCBA YLS, and will be required to disclose if they have a conflict. Members of the DCBA YLS will have a conflict if they know the contestant, are related to the contestant, or if they have children or relatives who are in the contestant’s school.If there is a tie in scores for any of the top three awards, the Department of Social Sciences with Miami-Dade County Public Schools will break the ties. Ms. Jackie Viana, District Supervisor for the Department of Social Sciences, will receive copies of the top scoring essays with the names and schools redacted. She will not have access to the original scores when grading the essays to break ties.By participating in the essay contest, contestants are giving the DCBA YLS permission to use their essays and photographs from the awards ceremony in their promotional materials.Only one entry per student. Each entry must be the work of one student.Background Information to Consider BEFORE WritingBefore you read the essay prompt, consider these important points:To currently vote in Florida:You must be a citizen of the United States of America;You must be a Florida resident;You must be at least 18 years old (you may pre-register at 16 or 17 years old, but cannot vote until you are 18 years old);If you have been convicted of a felony, or if a court has found you to be mentally incapacitated as to your right to vote, you cannot register until your right to vote is restored by the courts;You must provide a Florida driver’s license, a Florida ID card, or a Social Security Number. If you don’t have one of those cards, there are other background measures done on the person attempting to register to voteTo vote, you have three options: you can cast an absentee ballot in advance of the election; you can vote early at any precinct; or, you could vote on the day of the election at your mandatory precinct.Based on the above criteria in order to be qualified to vote in Florida, consider the following questions/statements/scenarios:Evaluate the current procedures listed above. Does each adhere to the United States Constitution? Could the procedures above disenfranchise various groupsDo you feel that the voter registration and voting process could be easily manipulated? If so how?Do you think it is fair or unfair for a person convicted of one felony at 18 years of age, who has paid their debt to society, to not be able to vote – even as a 45 year-old. From a public policy perspective, assume a registered voter shows up to a precinct to vote on election day, but it’s not the correct precinct. Should that person be able to vote? Assume a registered voter shows up to a precinct to vote on election day, but lost their wallet on vacation the week before. Should that person be able to vote without ID? Essay PromptBased on the above reference criteria for voting as established by the Florida Constitution AND your thoughts derived from thinking about the statements and scenarios described above, explain to your reader if you feel current voting registration requirements and voting processes in the state of Florida are fair and encourage voter participation or if you feel said requirements and processes leave certain individuals or groups disenfranchised.Note: see evaluation rubric on next pageRubricCategories and Criteria0Did not meet the standard1Needs major work2Needs work3Adequate4Good5ExcellentSCORETitle, Introduction, and ConclusionTitle should include both subject and a hint about the thesis or point of view. Introduction should be engaging and should prepare the reader accurately for the body paragraphs. Conclusion should be thought-provoking or interesting, tie everything back together, and take the thesis further.Thesis and Focus The essay should respond directly to the assignment’s questions with a clear argumentative thesis in the first paragraph that continues to be the focus of the paper. OrganizationEach paragraph should have one main idea, good use of transitions, clear topic sentences, and smooth connections between paragraphs. If the introductory paragraph sets out a roadmap, it should be followed. Development: SupportThe essay should have specific, concrete, relevant details, examples, evidence, and numerous references to source material to substantiate and explain the thesis.Development: AnalysisThe essay should explain the connections between evidence and main ideas thoughtfully and thoroughly, should make the connections explicit, and should discuss the implications, relevance or, significance of the same. The essay’s analysis should not be too general or brief. It must be convincing. Sentence Craft and StyleThe essay should demonstrate excellent use of language, precisely chosen words, complex and varied sentence structure, and appropriate tone and style. Word choice should not be too vague or imprecise. The sentence structure should not be too simple, awkward, monotonous, or choppy.Mechanics: Grammar and SpellingFor an “excellent” score, the essay should be almost entirely free of spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors (one per page or less). An essay with an average score will have a few errors which may distract the reader, but not impede the meaning (about two to three errors per page). An essay with a low score has frequent or extensive errors in diction, grammar, punctuation, and spelling (more than four errors per page).Mechanics: CitationsThe essay must cite to all sources used. An excellent essay will follow the MLA Style (smooth signal phrases will be used, parenthetical citations will be in the text, a citation will be used for every fact or quote, and the citations will be formatted correctly with few or no errors). An average essay will mostly use in-text citations correctly and smoothly. A low-scoring essay will be missing many in-text citations or will have other significant omissions or errors.TOTAL:Contestant’s Name:Contestant’s School:Grader’s Name:Grader’s E-mail:Grader’s Signature:By signing, I certify that I do not have a conflict. This means that I do not know the contestant, that I am not related to the contestant, and that I do not have children or relatives that attend the contestant’s school. ................
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