Guidelines for 2020 Summer Youth Writing Contest

You are invited to participate in the ACAN 2020 Summer Youth Writing Contest (SYWC). Listed below are detailed guidelines. The entry must be submitted in accordance with the eligibility requirements, format guidelines listed below or it will be disqualified.

1. Presentation from Mrs. Teresa Bowerman is available. It includes the rubric for articles in English.
2. Here is the rubric for judging the submissions in English.
3. Bonus point: For essays seamlessly worked in either of the two elements of ACAN’s mission, bonus points will be given.

1. Who is eligible:

1. The contest is open and free to all ACAN members, grade 6 through 12 (in Fall 2020).
2. Non-ACAN members, in the greater Austin area, are welcome to participate with a fee of $5 per participant.
3. There are four possible categories to enter:

1. Grade 6-8, Chinese
2. Grade 6-8, English
3. Grade 9-12, Chinese
4. Grade 9-12, English

2. Theme and style

1. SYWC theme is Covid-19. Be creative, choose your own title and feel free to write what your heart desires. All styles are accepted: Expository, Descriptive, Persuasive, Narrative.
2. Every entry must follow the theme of “Covid-19” and clearly add to the narrative of it’s impact. It should discuss or reference the current pandemic in some way, shape or form. Examples are telling a story of how people are involved in the relief effort or how it is affecting our daily lives, etc.
3. The plot does not need to revolve around the theme, but should strongly incorporate it into the story in any way the author best sees fit (e.g. setting, character background, dialogue, etc.)

3. Format guidelines and entry requirement

1. All entries must be original works of which you are the sole author. No plagiarized text should be included. All outside sources should be clearly referenced. It should not have been published or produced, online or in print.
2. Contestants are invited to participate in their age group, either Chinese or English or both language categories. Each contestant can submit one entry in each language and is limited to two submissions total.
3. If a contestant participates in both languages, the contents of the two manuscripts should be distinctively different. A straight translation of one into the other language will disqualify both entries.
4. Stories in English should not exceed 1,500 words for the middle school group and 2,000 words for the high school group.
5. Stories in Chinese should not exceed 1,200 words for the middle school group and 1,500 words for the high school group.

4. Registration:

1. Please register for the SYWC at: https://form.jotform.com/201798926476169. Registration deadline is 7/20/2020. Upon completion, an unique ID will be emailed to you.
2. Post the 7/20/2020 date, registered participants will be invited to attend free online knowledge sharing and tutorials. Help and explanations on various technical subjects relating to writing will be provided. Questions on manuscript submission, contest rules, as well as criteria for judging will be answered.
3. Even though there is the forestated deadline, registration will be accepted until 8/17/2020, two weeks before the submission deadline. However, registering post 7/20/2020 may result in missed tutorials for participants.
4. No submission will be accepted without ACAN provided ID, or in another word, without having completed registration.

5. Submission

1. All SYWC entries must be submitted electronically and accompanied by an Official Entry Form (https://form.jotform.com/201916436109150) completed with the required information. No hand written submission will be accepted.
2. To ensure all manuscripts will be judged blindly and fairly, manuscripts must NOT include name, address, phone number or other identifier of the author anywhere. Author will be identified by using the provided unique ID with a suffix: ACANWC999 - C for Chinese or ACANWC999 - E for English.
3. Photos and illustrations could be used for storytelling purposes. However, they should avoid exposing the author’s identity. Any presence of a personal identifier will result in disqualification of entry.

6. Deadline:

All SYWC entries must be submitted by Midnight August 31st, 2020.

7. Contest judging guidelines (for English): here is the rubric.
8. Prizes (each category): Winners will be announced on the 30th of September 2020.

Every qualified participant will receive a certificate. Top winners will receive a Barnes & Noble Gift certificate:

• One first prize: $50
• Two 2nd prizes: $20
• Five 3rd Prizes: $10

Selected winning entries, at ACAN’s discretion,  may be published on ACAN’s social media platforms such as Facebook, Wechat Public Account, etc.

ACAN retains all rights to all the stories received for the competition.

ACAN reserves the right to decline any entry that does not meet its guidelines.

ACAN reserved the rights to make modifications to the guidelines.  ________________________________________

E-mail questions to: ACAN.Comm@acantx.org or: ewrite.chinese@gmail.com

Call: Xinmiao (512) 766-8964

奥斯汀华盟举办第一届（2020年夏季）青少年写作比赛的通知

 2020年是非同寻常的一年，它充满了艰辛与挑战。新冠病毒的流行给我们的工作、生活和学习带来了诸多限制和不便。但是它的出现并没有压倒我们，许多青少年与父母们一起，勇敢地迎接了这场新的挑战。为了鼓励人们战胜困难，共克时艰，奥斯汀华盟号召青少年们用笔来抒发自己的所见所闻所想，展现大家积极行动、努力向上的精神风貌，特举办一次写作比赛。

一、参赛人员

本次比赛向所有奥斯汀地区AAN成员和非成员家庭的青少年开放。比赛分两个年龄组：初中组：6-8年级学生；高中组：9-12年级学生 （2020年秋季）。每个年级组内为中文和英文各自设立奖项。

二、大赛主题

本次比赛为非命题作文。比赛主题为“新冠病毒 Covid-19”。作文体裁可以为记叙文、说明文或议论文；题目自拟。

每个参赛作品都必须围绕“新冠病毒 Covid-19”的主题，在文章中讨论或涉及当前新冠病毒大流行的情况，讲叙人们抗击疫情的故事，讨论新冠病毒对我们的生活、学习带来的影响。通过你的文章，展现人们的精神面貌和与病毒抗争的智慧。

三、投稿要求

1.参赛作品必须是学生的原创作品（家长不得代劳）。所有引用材料都必须标明来源，以供检验。凡已公开发表的文章不得参赛。

2.一位学生可以选择参加中文或英文的比赛。也可以同时参加两种语言的比赛。

3.每位参赛者可以用中文或英文提交一份作品。如果一位参赛者同时用中英文两种语言，则这两篇文章的内容应该有明显的不同。不能将一篇文章直接翻译成另一种语言；否则，会取消两个类别的比赛资格。

4.参赛作文不接受手写文章。参赛作文一律使用Word文档，文字字体为四号（font 14）宋体。英文文章字数初中组不超过1,500字；高中组不超过2,000 字。中文文章字数初中组不超过1,200 字；高中组不超过1,500字。

5.本次比赛对所有华盟成员家庭的青少年免报名费。欢迎非华盟成员家庭的青少年参加，每人收取$5报名费。

四、参赛方式

本次比赛分两步进行：

1.报名：每位参加者即日起在 https://form.jotform.com/201798926476169 平台报名，填写必要的信息；报名完成后会得到一个参赛代码（ID），类似ACANWC999。

华盟会在交稿前邀请参赛者参加2-3次免费的辅导活动，用Zoom平台给参赛者解答比赛规则、参赛文章的选材、文章的立意、体裁、修改，以及评审的标准等问题。报名截止日期为7/20/2020。

在此日期之后还会接收报名，直到8/17/2020。只是晚报名可能导致参赛者丢失一些参加解答辅导的机会。

2.投稿：本次比赛以个人在投稿平台（https://form.jotform.com/201916436109150）直接投稿。为确保公平、公正地评审所有参赛文章，投稿文章时只能使用参赛代码（ID）。文章内不得在任何地方出现作者的姓名、地址、电话号码或其他识别符号。鼓励学生在文中使用自己拍摄的、与内容有关的照片、或自己画的插图。但是照片、插图不能暴露作者的身份，否则将丧失参赛资格。

五、投稿截止日期：2020年8月31日午夜。

六、评奖办法

1. 评审委员会由华盟理事会成员、奥斯汀学校的老师和特邀嘉宾评审员组成。
2. 作文评审标准：

七、奖励办法

奖项（每组）：每个合格的参赛者都将获得证书。获奖者将获得 Barnes & Noble 礼卡：

• 一等奖：1名，奖金 $50
• 二等奖：2名，奖金 $20
• 三等奖：5名，奖金 $10

获奖者名单将于2020年9月30日公布。部分获奖文章将在华盟公众号、脸书等华盟主办的媒体上发表。

ACAN拥有比赛中所有故事的所有权利。

 ACAN保留拒绝任何不符合其准则的稿件的权利。

 ACAN保留对比赛准则进行修改的权利。

________________________________________

如有任何疑问请 E-mail: ewrite.chinese@gmail.com or ACAN.Comm@acantx.org

致电: Xinmiao (512) 766-8964