PSYSC Essay Writing Contest 2010

The PSYSC Essay Writing Contest 2010 is divided into two categories: Elementary Category and High School Category.

Eligibility

· The contest is open to all bona fide high school students of PSYSC affiliated elementary and secondary schools all over the Philippines. However, a school can only send a maximum of two entries.

· A certification from the school stating that the author of the entry is a bona fide student of the school must be submitted together with the entry.

Essay Topic and Content

· The essay must address the question:

Elementary Category: If you are a form of energy, what are you and why?

High School Category: How can Science Clubbing change the deteriorating educational system in the Philippines?

· Quoted statements and all other facts mentioned in the essay must be properly cited.

· The essay must be original, and not previously published in print or online.

Forms

· All entries must be typewritten in essay format and in English, with a minimum of 250 words and a maximum of 500 words for the elementary category and 500 words and a maximum of 1000 words for the high school category.

· All entries must be typewritten in a short bond paper (8.5” x 11”) using MS Word, font size 11 or 12, with 1 inch margins on all sides and a spacing of 1.5.

· Page numbers must be indicated.

· The family name of the author together with the title of the essay must also be written below every page number in the succeeding pages.

· The first page of the entry must contain the title of the essay and below it is the full name of the author.

Submission

· Only one submission per person will be accepted.

· Each entry submitted must be the work of only one person and must not be a collective work of more than one person. By submitting an entry, participants certify that the essays are original, authored solely by them and do not infringe upon the rights of any third parties.

· Entries may be submitted via e-mail and via registered mail.

(1) E-mail:

Send the entry as an attached file together with the scanned copy of the school certification to essaywriting2011@gmail.com with essaycontest2010-ES for the Elementary Category and essaycontest2010 for the High School Category as the subject.

(2) Registered Mail:

Placed in a letter envelop together with the school certification, address and send it to:

The Publicity Committee

c/o Ace Ligsay and Louise Alianza

Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs, Inc.

Unit 703, West Mansions Condominium, Brgy. Nayong Kanluran

Zamboanga St., West Ave., Quezon City

(Upon sending of the entry, please inform the PSYSC National Office at (02) 3328151 and we will notify you right away if we have received your entry.)

· Deadline of submission of entries is on January 10, 2011. No entries will be accepted post deadline.

Judgment Criteria

· Entries will be screened and judged anonymously by a panel of judges selected and approved by the PSYSC Essay Writing Contest 2010 Team.

· Entries will be judged based on the following criteria:

Substance & Originality: 50%

Writing style, Composition & Organization: 50%

Finality of Decision

· All decisions of the panel of judges shall be final and unappealable.

· The PSYSC Essay Writing Contest 2010 Team has the right to modify the guidelines if deemed necessary without prior notice.

Winners and Prizes

· The top three winning essays will be announced in the PSYSC website (www.psysc.org) and the winning authors will be notified through a phone call before the end of the school year 2010-2011.

· The essay grand winner will be awarded a cash prize of Php5000, Php3000 will be given to the second place, and Php1000 for the 3^rd place.

· All top three winners will receive certificates of recognition aside from the prizes mentioned above. All those who submitted entries will be given certificates of participation.

Others

· All entries submitted will be considered property of the Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs, Inc. They may be used and published in whole or in part by the Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs, Inc. or by other parties with its written permission. The Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs, Inc. reserves the right not to publish any essay it deems inappropriate for any reason.

· The Philippine Society of Youth Science Clubs reserves the right not to award a prize or any prizes where submissions do not meet contest standards or criteria.

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