BuffaloStateCollege
Seventh UN Day Peace Essay Contest
Introduction,
Instructions and Guidelines
English 101 and 102
This year, the UN Day conference is scheduled for Thursday, October 23, 2007. There is a full day’s schedule of speakers interspersed with short cultural events. This will take place in the Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall (the auditorium). Part of the program is devoted to the winners of the Peace Essay Contest: four are read in the morning and four in the afternoon. In addition, three or more winning essays or poems from Campus West School are read by their authors.
The Peace Essay section of the Writing Program website is under construction; it will provide readings and past winning essays. The coordinator of the essay contest is Wendy Scott of the Writing Program, who will keep you updated and be available for comments and questions through email.
This year’s conference theme is “Community, Diversity, and Peace: Integrating Inquiry and Action.” The theme should be liberally interpreted; student essays do not have to be on this precise theme. It is more important to have students find a topic that they can relate to and think about in order to generate a meaningful and engaging essay.
A separate page is provided to help you and your students widen the theme to related concepts and to life around us: “Thinking About the Conference Theme.”
There is not a central reading, but a few links to foundational websites about the United Nations are posted under “Readings for 2008” in the Peace Essay Contest area. Since no one found an apt reading for the rather abstract theme, perhaps simply introducing students to the UN and its goals is a good place to start. They can also easily access the Nobel Prize website and look at the Peace Prize and its recipients over the years; they will find some familiar names there and much inspiring material.
To have your students participate, assign an essay based around themes relating to UN activities, peace, economic justice, human rights, and add your own ideas to these. Most essays are personal, but ones based on readings or research are also encouraged. A personal voice is best for keeping the tone sincere and for appealing to the audience, yet there are excellent and compelling winning research essays.
- The impulse can come from an experience or observation that affected the writer.
- The development can include lively or thoughtful narration and description, in clear, direct language.
- The essay can be a “thought piece” that reflects the author’s values and convictions.
- Readings and/or research can be productive starting points, especially on topics that engage the student writer’s interest.
- To submit students’ essays:
1. Instructors choose which essays to submit, conferring with the authors.
2. Essays must be typed and double-spaced. They can be a well-revised but not quite final version if time constraints are pressing, always remembering that the better the presentation, the more favorable the impression! The winners will have to email a final copy by the conference date, Thursday, October 23, 2008.
3. The essays to be submitted MUST be labeled with *instructor *Course (101/2 or ?) *Essay title *Writer’s name *Address *Phone number *email address
4. Teachers from other institutions should include the same information as well as contact information for themselves and for the school or institution.
5. Essays should be emailed to scottw@buffalostate.edu.
6. The absolute due date is 6PM Friday, October 3, 2008.
7. Essays must be original, unpublished, and written by one person.
8. In submitting the essay, the student must understand that s/he gives Buffalo State College permission to publish it in electronic or print form, with acknowledgement.
In judging, the judges (volunteer writing instructors) will choose four from each composition level, after multiple readings. The writers will be invited to read their papers (after rehearsal) at either the morning or afternoon session of the conference on Thursday, October 23.
Judging criteria:
- Clear, concise writing style (include careful revising and editing)
- Unity and coherence
- Originality and imagination
Prizes will be given to all winners.
PLEASE NOTE: All 2009 winning essays will be put on the Writing Program website and also, for the first time, published online and possibly in a print version – more will come about this as plans are finalized. Therefore, teachers and writers of winning essays will please see that a final well-edited copy of the paper is emailed by conference time.
