Submit your essay below (.docx or .doc format only) on or before OCTOBER 7, 2022, 11:59 p.m. Include your first name, last name and Banner ID number on the essay.
The Essay Contest is currently closed, and is no longer accepting submissions for this period.
Prizes: Three winners (first, second and third place) will be announced at the end of October. The prizes are as follows:
$200 = 1st
$100 = 2nd
$50 = 3rd
Due:: OCTOBER 7, 2022, 11:59 p.m
All currently enrolled Fullerton College students are eligible to participate. Learn more by reading below!
Steps:
Choose, Read, Write+Support, Proof, Submit:
The rubric that will be used to judge the essays is available further down the page for your convenience.
Include your first name, last name and Banner ID number on the essay.
One essay submission per student. No hand-delivered paper submissions, please. Submissions sent after the posted date and time will not be considered.
Contact
For questions or concerns, contact Student Programming Librarian, Val Macias, at vmacias@fullcoll.edu.
For more information on Banned Books week, please visit the American Library Association page: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned
The Banned Books Essay Contest is supported through a generous grant from the Fullerton College Friends of the Library.
Academic Honesty Statement: Fullerton College’s policy on plagiarism fully applies (NOCCCD BP 5500 1.3). Participating students who submit essays are responsible for submitting academically honest work by submitting original written work, with credit given to any sources where required, which includes the full, proper and complete use of citations and Works Cited pages. Essays with suspected plagiarism will be disqualified.
EVALUATING RUBRIC for 2022 BANNED BOOKS ESSAY CONTEST
| NONE (0) | NEEDS WORK (1) | ADEQUATE (2) | GOOD (3) | EXCELLENT (4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
STRENGTH of ARGUMENT Does the entire essay focus on one central argument (thesis)? |
No attempt to provide a thesis. | There appears to be a thesis, but the paper appears to be a collection of facts and information. May also read mostly like a plot summary | The essay thesis may not be very clear; it may be difficult to determine the direction of paper at times. | The essay is largely focused on the central argument of the paper, but the effects of the reasons, details and evidence may not be as compelling because the thesis statement may be broad. | A tight and compelling central idea in which all the reasons, details, and evidence clearly support the central thesis of the paper throughout. |
|
ADHERENCE TO PROMPT Does the essay stick to the general idea of the prompt? Does the essay answer the central question? |
No adherence to the essay prompt. | There appears to be some attempt at sticking to the prompt question. However the paper losses sight of the overall goal of the essay. | The essay mostly sticks to the prompt. It may deviate in places but does attempt to answer the prompt. | The essay clearly answers the prompt question. It relates to the topic and theme that is being asked of the paper | The essay answers the prompt clearly and concisely. It may also take the idea in an interesting and/or unexpected direction. |
| SUPPORTING DETAILS Are the supporting details logically consistent? Does the evidence provided support this well? Are they credible? | No attempt to support the central idea in the essay. | There may be a serious lack of supporting details / evidence to strengthen the argument of the essay. The paper may have a tendency to generalize, or ramble / go off topic. | The supporting details do a fair job to support the thesis, but they may appear to point to the obvious or the predictable. Also, there may be an overt reliance on less credible resources (i.e. popular blogs, websites, etc.) | The supporting details do a great job overall to support the thesis, but one of the key points may be underdeveloped. Inclusion of scholarly resources in addition to popular sources. | Details strongly support the central thesis of the essay. The evidence strengthens the argument of the essay. Mostly credible sources are used to support. |
|
ORGANIZATION Are the paragraphs clearly structured and do they flow well? (Intro, body, conclusion, transitions, etc.)? |
No clear attempt at organization. | There doesn’t appear to be a cohesive paragraph structure. The essay may appear to be one long paragraph. Some key paragraph structures, like the concluding paragraph, may be missing. | The essay may have a structure, but some paragraphs may appear excessively long and/or underdeveloped. Some paragraphs may not have a clear purpose and/or transitions. | The essay has a clear structure, but there may be one area that could have been more developed. (e.g. the concluding paragraph reads like it was hastily put together, etc.) | Each paragraph has a clear purpose; a clear transition from one to the next. Signal words may be apparent throughout. An introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion are clear. |
|
LANGUAGE MECHANICS Are the paragraphs largely free of errors related to grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling? |
No command of language mechanics. | The essay appears to be neglectfully done, or the writer has poor command of language mechanics, as there are many errors throughout. May be difficult to read as a result. | Adequate command of grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax; the paper appears as if to be of first draft quality, and could have been improved with solid proofreading. | Overall good command of grammar, spelling punctuation and syntax. Some errors found, but do not seriously distract the reading experience. | Excellent command of grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax. Few to no “typo” errors found. |
|
FORMAT** Is the essay largely free of formatting errors (fonts, margins, line spacing, etc.) and do they utilize the MLA ** format well? |
No evidence of formatting is apparent. | There appears to be some formatting, but serious neglect with respect to MLA ** apparent; including missing a Works Cited page. | Good format. Adequate use of MLA ** format. Some major errors are apparent, such as margins, or missing citations on Works Cited page. | Good use of format overall, with some minor apparent difficulties with MLA ** | Excellent paper format and use of MLA ** format, which include consistent citations and a clear Works Cited page. |
* Other documentation formats, such as APA, Turabian, Chicago, Harvard, etc. are acceptable provided that the writer is correct and consistent with the requirements of their chosen documentation style.