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Letters About Literature 2002 Essay Contest - Background
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Electronic Submission, Letters About Literature
The contest has two competition levels:
Level I: Grades 4 – 7
Level II: Grades 8 – 12
Step 1: Prewriting
Select a book, a short story, or a poem you have recently read and about which you have strong feelings. You need not like the characters or even the way the events turn out in order to respond to a story. Books - both fiction and nonfiction - can make us happy but they can also frighten or anger us or spur us into action. How did this book make you feel? What action, if any, did you take as a result of reading this book? Exploring why you react the way you do to literature is a valuable lesson because it teaches you about yourself - your strengths as well as your weaknesses!
Step 2: Writing
Level I: Write a letter of 250-500 words.
Level II: Write a letter of 500-750 words.Tell the author how reading his or her work (name the title) somehow changed your way of thinking about yourself or the world around you. Make a connection between yourself and a character or an event in the story. Did the book mirror your life in some way? What questions did the author force you to ask yourself or others? Do not summarize the plot of the book. Why? Because the author wrote the story and already knows what happened. What the author doesn’t know is the way the book affected you. Share with the author a story about your life. Be honest, personal, and conversational.
A note for teachers!
More than 100 state judges across the country read LAL entries. They recommend that you do not assign a single book title to an entire class as this misses the spirit of the project. Not all books are right for all readers. Allowing students to choose the title most meaningful to them then to write personally about that book truly encourages reader response. Judges will evaluate entries on: originality and expression, content and organization, and grammatical correctness.
Step 3: Preparing the Essay for Submission
Return address: This is a letter, so include a return address. Print your name and complete address (either home or school) in the upper right corner of the first page of the letter.
Letter format: Type or print your letter. Please use ink, not pencil. If the judges can’t read your handwriting, they will eliminate your essay from competition.
Entry coupon: Each entry must be accompanied by an entry coupon. (See below.) Staple the coupon to the last page of your letter. Do not use paper clips as they become separated during handling.
Mailing envelope: Judges prefer entries in a flat 9 x 11 envelope. For teachers submitting class sets, please use one envelope rather than requiring each student to mail his or her entry separately.
Step 4: Mailing and Postmark
Each year, we receive approximately 24,000 entries! To ensure your entry doesn’t get lost or misfiled, indicate on the envelope which competition level you are entering: I or II. If you have entries for both levels, please mail in separate envelopes.
Mail all entries postmarked by December 1, 2001 to:
Letters About Literature Essay Contest
Level I (or Level II)
Post Office Box 609
Dallas, PA 18612 (not Dallas, TX)Winners will be notified in April, 2002.
Note: All entries become the property of Weekly Reader Corporation and will not be returned.
Electronic Submission, Letters About Literature
Letters About Literature 2002 Essay Contest - Background
Texas Center for the Book
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