2024 Town of Paradise Valley Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest
All 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students are invited to submit an essay on this year’s theme. There will be one winner picked from each grade level, and these winners will be announced in January 2024. Each grade level will have one winner.
Winners will be given a Trophy and Gift Card during the Town of Paradise Valley Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Town Hall on Monday, January 15th, 2024. Winners and their families are invited and encouraged to attend the event.
Essay Submission Deadline: December 15, 2023
Essay Topic: “Changing Hearts and Minds”
Requirements:
- The essay should be two total single-sided pages.
- Font should be Times family and 12 pt., double line spacing with a 1” margin.
- Student name, school, and grade should be on the first page of the essay.
- Please save the essay in a PDF or .doc format.
- Please submit a pdf, doc, or docx of your essay: Contest Submission or go to the website https://www.mlkparadisevalley.org/submissions/
Essays will be judged on the following:
- Relevance – to topic, content, and clarity.
- Focus and Coherence – The ideas are related and well-supported from the introduction to the conclusion.
- Organization – The writer uses smooth transitions and clear ideas.
- Development of Ideas – The writer uses specific details to develop ideas.
- Voice – The writer engages the reader with the choice of words, and the writer’s unique personality comes through.
- Conventions – The writer uses correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
By submitting your essay, you approve the essay to be published and used in promotions, along with the student’s name, grade, and school. You are also committing to the original quality of the paper. Any papers that are not original will be automatically disqualified.