National Essay and Poetry Contest
AACS offers an avenue for students to develop their composition skills through the Annual AACS Essay and Poetry Contest. There is no entry fee necessary to participate in this activity. Those who teach in grades 4-9 are encouraged to promote the contest among their students. The contest will abide by the following guidelines:
1. Poetry Contest
- 75-200 words for students in grades 4-6
- 150-300 words for students in grades 7-9
2. Essay Contest
- 100-350 words for students in grades 4-6
- 250-500 words for students in grades 7-9
3. The topics for each contest will be on file with state associations and made available to schools at least one week prior to the students writing their poem or essay.
4. Students must compose their entry under school supervision without assistance from adults or other students. Students should first write a rough draft and make their own corrections before completing their final copy. Entries to the state and national competition must be free of written comments and corrections.
5. No reference materials or notes except a Bible and a dictionary shall be permitted at the time of writing. Research may be done outside of class, but no notes may be used during the writing period. The time limit for writing is 90 minutes. Additional time may be given to re-copy the composition neatly.
6. Students must use standard wide-ruled notebook paper. The final copy must be written in pencil or black ink using only one side of the paper. Students must leave a one-inch margin on all sides of the paper.
7. Students must include the following information at the top of their paper: student’s name and grade, school name, city and state, category entered, and number of words. If students use more than one page, the following information is to be included on each additional page: page number, student’s name, and school. Do not staple pages.
8. Cover sheets or title pages are not permitted.
9. The primary judging criteria will be the content, originality, and communication of the composition. Mechanics, such as spelling, punctuation, paragraph structure, poetical form, neatness, etc., are secondary criteria. Judging sheets may be downloaded from the links below.
10. Original student entries must be submitted to the state association by November. Each association will select one winner in each category from each level. The four winning compositions will advance to the national competition in January. National winners will be announced in April.
11. State winners will receive medallions. National winners will receive plaques. All awards will be provided by AACS.
