What the Jury of the Essay Competition Will Be Looking For
1. CONTENTS
- a. Has the student understood the title properly? Does the essay go too far from the subject? Do we end with a clear answer to the question asked?
- b. Does the author have original, personal ideas? Does he or she beat about the bush or offer only vague statements with which everyone would agree?
- c. Does the writing bear witness to the author’s general development, historical perspectives, ethical maturity, nuanced judgment?
- d. Is the reasoning solidly based. Does the student use irrelevant arguments, false reasoning or poor examples? Does the author derive his or her arguments from his or her own environment?
- e. Is the essay constructed logically? Does the logical structure (paragraphs, etc). also appear clearly?
2. LANGUAGE AND STYLE
- a. Are there too many spelling and grammatical mistakes in the essay?
- b. Is the student’s vocabulary rich and varied?
- c. Is there too much use of slang?
- d. Is the syntax precise?
- e. Is the style natural / lively?