CANE Annual Writing Contest

Students are invited to participate in the annual writing contest of the Classical Association of New England. The topic this year is: “What Mighty Contests Rise from Trivial Things: Consequence in the Ancient World”.  This contest, or written project on a classical subject, is open to all students taking Latin, Greek or Classics in New England middle and secondary schools. The project may be an essay, short story, poem, or drama. The three top winners in each state will receive certificates and prizes; the New-England-wide winner will receive a certificate and a gift card at the 108th Annual Meeting of CANE to be held on 7 and 8 March 2014 at St. Anselm’s College in Manchester, NH. Projects will be judged on their content, originality, style and clarity. The regional judges will score the projects anonymously, using a point system with equal points for these four categories: (1) the overall application to the topic, with cogent evidence to support its thesis; (2) the coherence and focus of the argument; (3) the organization of the project and logical flow of ideas; and (4) the style, with emphasis on clarity of expression and mechanics of good writing. We want all students to have an equal chance to win this contest, each project must be the student’s own work, written independently without any help from other students, teachers or parents. Therefore, we ask that students follow these guidelines:

Guidelines for Students

(1) You may discuss the general topic with your teacher to be sure you understand it. Be creative, but support your thesis with quotations from classical authors; cite references to works of art or examples of classical culture such as social traditions, religious rites, or customs of family life; or compare classical and modern works or practices. (2) You should follow general guidelines for good writing, as practiced and taught by your teachers. Compose a rough draft, revise it for content and style, and proofread the final draft carefully and correct it neatly. The final project should be submitted to your teacher on a date (your teacher will specify the date) early enough for your writing to be judged and submitted to the State Representative by December 15, 2013. (3) Your project must be accompanied by a statement that the writing is your own work. (See writing guideline statements below.) Note that the project is invalid without this statement.

Additional Writing Guidelines for Students: (a) The written project should be 700 words maximum. There is no minimum length. (b) The project should be typed or word-processed using double-spacing. If someone else types the final draft, be sure to give that person a clear copy and ask him or her not to edit or revise your writing in any way. (c) Your name should not appear on the project itself. Instead, you should submit a cover page, giving your name, grade, home address, telephone number, current level of your Latin, Greek, or Classics course, your teacher's name, and the name and address of your school. (d) You may use library resources, audio-visual materials, or personal interviews for this project; if you do use any source materials, you must provide documentation (i.e. footnotes) and a bibliography. (e) With your project you must also enclose a separate page on which you type the following statement and sign your name:

This project represents my own original work.  No outside help has been provided for this project.

Signed________________________________Date_____________________

Guidelines for Teachers

The CANE Writing Contest is a regional competition open to students of Latin, Greek, or Classics in New England middle and secondary schools.  We believe that the goals of the contest can best be served by requesting that the written project be the student’s own work. Hence, the student should not ask for any help in writing or correcting the project before submitting the final copy. To ensure that all entrants have an equal chance to win this contest, we urge all teachers to follow these guidelines: (1) Present the topic to your students and answer any questions they may have about it. (2) Give your students a copy of the Guidelines for Students, supplementing these with any additional suggestions you may have about revising the rough draft and proofreading the final copy. (3) Explain that the projects must be original works on the given topic and that students may not seek help from others, whether students, teachers, or parent, although they may arrange to have the final draft typed or word-processed by someone else. (4) Give your students a deadline early enough to allow you to judge your students’ projects and submit the three best projects to your State Representative by December 15, 2013. (5) Make sure your students sign and enclose the statement that their projects are their own work. The intent of this pledge is to emphasize that all students are expected to follow the same guidelines, so that all entrants will have an equal chance for success. Unless this signed statement is enclosed, the project will be marked invalid. We have, unfortunately, had to disqualify excellent projects in the past because the required statement was not enclosed. (6) Remind your students that this is a contest, with certificates and prizes given to the three finalists in each of the New England states, and that the New England-wide winner will receive a certificate and a gift card, to be presented at the 108th Annual Meeting of CANE, 7 and 8 March 2014 at St. Anselm’s College in Manchester, NH. (7) You may find it helpful to provide your students with copies of past winning projects, published in the Annual Bulletin and CANEns. For copies write to: Elizabeth Keitel, Chair, CANE Writing Contest (address below). Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope with this request. (8) Mail the best three projects from your school to your CANE State Representative by December 15, 2013, making sure that you enclose each student’s signed statement that the project is his or her own work. For names and addresses of the State Representatives see the listing under the CANE Executive Committee on the CANE website, and elsewhere in the News in this issue. Students may not submit their projects directly to the Chair of the Writing Contest. To do so will invalidate the project. (9) Please do not rank the three projects that you submit from your school to your state representative. If you wish, you may recognize the authors of all three projects in some appropriate way, but at this preliminary level students’ projects are not to be ranked first, second, or third place. The State Representatives will submit the entries to the president-elect.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed the CANE Writing Contest on the 2013-2014 NASSP National Advisory List of Contests and Activities as a regional program for participation by students in middle and secondary schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Students from other states who are enrolled in independent or parochial schools in New England are eligible to enter the CANE Writing Contest. Each year we have many inquiries about the CANE Writing Contest from students in schools outside the area served by the Classical Association of New England. We are happy to answer these inquiries with information about the contest, but we regret that students enrolled in schools located outside New England are not eligible to participate.

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Attention State Representatives: After you have read your assigned entries, please advise Elizabeth Keitel, President-Elect, of your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place choices by the agreed upon date. Please also include a ranked list of the three top winners in the state, including the students’ teachers and the name of their school.

Elizabeth Keitel

President’s Drive

Amherst, MA 01003

413-772-0795  

EEK@classics.umass.edu