YOUNG AUTHORS CONTEST SoMIRAC 2013-2014 COVER SHEET Please Print Clearly Student/Author’s Name: Student’s full name (as it should appear in the publication) Student/Author’s Home Address: (street, city, state. zip) Student/Author’s Home Phone: Email Address: (Full Address with zip code) South Shore Elementary School 1376 Fairfield Loop Rd. Crownsville, MD 21032 Grade: Grade: Teacher: First/Last Name Teacher Email: Mr., Mrs., Ms (circle one) Local Reading Council: Anne Arundel County Title of Entry: Title: School Name/ Address: Circle one: POEM SHORT STORY Permission for Publication I, _________________________________________, give permission for SoMIRAC Print first and last name representatives to reproduce my child’s work in an anthology of writing, in the event he/she becomes a State Winner. Student Signature: _____________________________________ Date:________________ Parent Signature: _____________________________________ Date: _______________ Teacher Signature: ___________________________________ Date: _______________ ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADES 2-8 2013-2014 YOUNG AUTHORS’ CONTEST GUIDELINES ELIGIBILITY: Students in Grades 2 through 8 are eligible to enter a previously unsubmitted short story and/or poem written within the 2013-2014 school year. Each entry may have only one author and only one entry per author may be submitted for each category. CONTEST GUIDELINES: 1. Entries must be the student’s original work. Peers or adults may provide editing assistance (spelling, punctuation, etc.), but revisions should be student-generated and the final product must be the student’s own work. o All entries must be submitted in a word processing file with no less than 12 point font using either Times New Roman or Comic Sans font. o Each short story entry may range from a minimum of two (2) paragraphs to no more than three (3) typed pages. o Each poem entry will consist of a single poem, which may be any style or length. 2. Entries must not include graphics. 3. All entries must include a completed “Cover Sheet” signed by the student author and sponsoring teacher. SELECTION CRITERIA: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Entry meets all of the above guidelines. Story reflects creativity and appropriate use of language and short story structure. Poem reflects creative and appropriate use of language and imagery. Entries of a violent nature will be deemed inappropriate. Any violation(s) of these guidelines or criteria will disqualify the entry. The decisions of the State Judges’ panel are final. DEADLINE: Entries must be received by Mrs. Moody by Friday, December 13, 2013. Each local State of Maryland International Reading Association Council will select one short story and one poem per grade level to submit to the state contest. The State Young Authors Program Committee will then select a first and second place winner per category at each grade level. All winning entries will be published in an anthology and each student author and his/her teacher will receive a copy. A reception honoring all Young Authors first and second place state winners, their parents, families, teachers, chairpersons and judges will be held at the SoMIRAC Conference in March at the Hunt Valley Marriott in Hunt Valley, MD. Six Traits Writing Rubric 6 Exemplary 5 Strong 4 Proficient 3 Developing 2 Emerging 1 Beginning Ideas & Content  Exceptionally clear, focused, engaging with relevant, strong supporting detail  Clear, focused, interesting ideas with appropriate detail  Evident main idea with some support which may be general or limited  Purpose and main idea may be unclear and cluttered by irrelevant detail  Lacks central idea; development is minimal or non-existent Organization  Effectively organized in logical and creative manner  Creative and engaging intro and conclusion  Strong order and structure  Inviting intro and satisfying closure  Organization is appropriate, but conventional  Attempt at introduction and conclusion  Main idea may be cloudy because supporting detail is too general or even off-topic  Attempts at organization; may be a “list” of events  Beginning and ending not developed  Lack of structure; disorganized and hard to follow  Missing or weak intro and conclusion  Lack of coherence; confusing  No identifiable introduction or conclusion Voice  Expressive, engaging, sincere  Strong sense of audience  Shows emotion: humour, honesty, suspense or life  Precise, carefully chosen  Strong, fresh, vivid images  Appropriate to audience and purpose  Writer behind the words comes through  Evident commitment to topic  Inconsistent or dull personality  Voice may be inappropriate or non-existent  Writing may seem mechanical  Writing tends to be flat or stiff  Little or no hint of writer behind words  Writing is lifeless  No hint of the writer  Descriptive, broad range of words  Word choice energizes writing  Language is functional and appropriate  Descriptions may be overdone at times  Words may be correct but mundane  No attempt at deliberate choice  Monotonous, often repetitious, sometimes inappropriate  Limited range of words  Some vocabulary misused  main theme  supporting details  structure  introduction  conclusion  personality  sense of audience Word Choice  precision effectiveness  imagery Sentence Fluency  High degree of craftsmanship  Effective variation in sentence patterns  Easy flow and rhythm  Good variety in length and structure  Generally in control  Lack variety in length and structure  Some awkward constructions  Many similar patterns and beginnings  Often choppy  Monotonous sentence patterns  Frequent runon sentences  Difficult to follow or read aloud  Disjointed, confusing, rambling Conventions  Exceptionally strong control of standard conventions of writing  Strong control of conventions; errors are few and minor  Control of most writing conventions; occasional errors with high risks  Limited control of conventions; frequent errors do not interfere with understanding  Frequent significant errors may impede readability  Numerous errors distract the reader and make the text difficult to read  rhythm, flow variety age appropriate, spelling, caps, punctuation, grammar Adapted for Regina Public Schools from Vicki Spandel, Creating Writers. Regina, SK Canada A Sample Poetry Rubric Criteria 4 3 2 Ideas and content Focuses on an idea, feeling or experience. Uses specific, concrete images. May include poetic sound devices Exceptional focus of an idea, feeling or experience. Exceptional use of images. Includes many examples poetic sound devices Adequate focus of an idea, feeling or experience. Adequate use of images. Includes some examples poetic sound devices Inadequate focus of an idea, feeling or experience. Adequate use of images. Includes no examples poetic sound devices Sentence Fluency Uses lines of varying lengths and a variety of sentence structures Uses a large variety of varying sentence lengths and structure. Uses some variety of varying sentence lengths and structure. Uses no variety of varying sentence lengths and structure. Organization Uses a logical, effective organizational strategy. Uses an exceptional logical and effective organizational strategy. Uses an adequate logical and effective organizational strategy. Uses an inadequate organizational strategy. Voice Uses own unique style. Writes honestly, as if the reader were right there. Writes with confidence and enthusiasm. Uses an exceptional and unique writing style. Writes exceptionally honest, as if the reader were right there. Writes with exceptional confidence and enthusiasm. Uses an adequate writing style. Writes somewhat honestly, as if the reader were right there. Writes with a standard amount of with confidence and enthusiasm. Uses an inadequate writing style. Does not make the reader feel a part of the text. Writes with minimal confidence and enthusiasm. Text contains only a minimal amount of errors Text contains several errors. Text contains numerous errors. Mechanics Grammar Spelling Punctuation Capitalization