1. This contest is open to any student (grade 3 or higher) who is a part of Concept Schools.
   
2. Do your own work. It's fine— in fact, it's recommended— to get help from parents, friends, or teachers; have them read it to see how it feels to them. Discuss it and ask for suggestions. They can also proofread for errors! But, in the end, it's yours.
   
3. Must typed, double-spaced, using 12-point font.
   • High school entries must be between 400-800 words.
   • Middle school entries must be between 300-600 words.
   • Elementary entries must be between 200-400 words.
     
4. Gratuitous violence or other questionable or objectionable material will be disqualified. This does not mean that difficult subjects may not be approached, if done meaningfully, within the context of the topic and treated with honesty and respect. We cannot define exactly what material is objectionable; the Concept Schools judging panel shall determine this on a case-by-case basis. If your work becomes a matter of debate, you are unlikely to be our first place winner, even if we love your story.
   
5. No obscenity. Sometimes an obscenity may be the most accurate reflection of your sentiment, but this contest is not the time or place to use one. Find a more creative way to express yourself. Your work will be disqualified if your work is unprintable.
6. You may enter only once.
   
7. Entries must be submitted in the following manner:
   • You must not include your name or any identifying information on the entry itself.
   • On a separate page, write your name, your Language Arts teacher, grade, and school.
8. Entries must be received by 4:00 pm (CST) Mar 5, 2010.

Winners will be announced at the Concept Schools Speech and Spoken Word Competition on April 30, 2010.

9. E-mail your entry as a Microsoft Word attachment to contests@conceptschools.org. Include “Writing Contest” in the subject line.
   
10. Keep a copy of your work; entries will not be returned. If you have an electronic copy, save it. We'll be publishing the best entries, and the easier it is for us to get your work into electronic form, the more entries we'll be able to include. If we have to type it in ourselves, it might not get done, even if we like your work!
    
11. You will be scored against the rubric below.
    
12. 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place prizes will be awarded to high school, middle school, and elementary school categories. The best piece overall will be published in the Concept Schools Assessments as a test passage for students. Other winners are not guaranteed publication in Concept Schools Assessments, however it is the intent of this contest to reward as many excellent stories as possible.
    
13. All decisions are subject to the judgment of the Concept judging panel and will be final.

All Areas should be scored according to the student’s grade/writing level	3 points	2 points	1 point	Score for Each Row
Conventions of Standard English Language	Essentially no errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar	Small number of errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar	Excessive errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar which interferes with comprehension
Word Choice Appropriate to the Genre	Sophisticated command of the language	Adequate command of the language	Limited command of the language
Sentence Variety	Appropriate sentence variety	Some sentence variety	Minimal sentence variety
Originality	Unique and original ideas	Some evidence of original ideas	Limited evidence of original ideas
Organization	Logical, coherent sequence of ideas; uses of appropriate transitions	Clear knowledge of organization	Little or no organization
Purpose and Audience	Consistent awareness of purpose and audience	Some awareness of purpose and audience	Limited awareness of purpose and audience
Appearance	>>>>>>>>>>>>	>>>>>>>>>>>>	Neatly typed clean copy (either 1 or 0)
TOTAL (out of 19)	>>>>>>>>>>>>	>>>>>>>>>>>>	>>>>>>>>>>>>