Writing Project for Schools & Students
Short Story = A brief exploration of a subject in prose expressing a personal view or interpretation of a subject or topic.
Schools may submit students’ short stories online to the foundation before or by March 1, 2020. Students should be 12-18 yrs. old.
Student Requirements:
- Only one short story written per contestant should be submitted on or before March 1, 2020.
- Submissions must be made to the school’s designated judge.
- The top of each page must include the contestant’s name, page number, and story title.
- The Short Story should have a single storyline, no subplots, no more than three or four characters and a short time scale.
- The story must be double spaced and between 1000 and 1500 words.
School Requirements:
Schools serving students ages 12-18 may register to participate using the form below during the Fall 2019 semester.
- Each school must provide a contact person and their e-mail.
- The 1st place winner’s short story must be written in English or be translated into English in order to be published in the American Diversity Report
- The 1st place winner’s story must be submitted online by May 1, 2020. Directions will be provided to the contact person.
- The names of the 2nd and 3rd place winners and the titles of their stories will also be mentioned in the American Diversity Report.
- A minimum of one judge per school is required. The judge may be a teacher, administrator, or published author in the community.
- We suggest that our Short Story Writing Guide be used to assist students in their writing.
Scroll down for Short Story Writing Guide
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Judges Criteria
Judges will use the following criteria and report the students with the highest totals of points (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) by May 1, 2020.
General Merit (25 pts)
- Ideas (single storyline, no subplots, 3-4 characters, short time scale)
- Organization (consistent writing style, consistent mood, tone and space)
- Wording (appropriate language, brief descriptions)
- Flavor/Engaging
Mechanics (25 pts)
- Word usage
- Punctuation/Capitalization
- Spelling
Overall Effect (50 pts)
- Minimum background
- concise dialogue
- no lengthy preamble
- no contrived ending
WINNERS:
Judges report 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winners
Awards courtesy of English with Mary Moore LLC