Promising Young Writers Program
The 2023 contest is now open! Click here to apply today!
Please note that there are several changes to the Promising Young Writers program which begin with the 2023 contest; these are outlined below. For a brief overview of the changes to the writing contest, click here.
Purpose: To stimulate and recognize the writing talents of eighth-grade students and to emphasize the importance of writing skills among eighth-grade students.
- Schools in the United States, Canada, Virgin Islands and American Schools Abroad are eligible to nominate eighth-grade students. Nominating schools must be US accredited.
- Scroll down the page to learn about how schools can choose and enter students in the contest.
- NEW: Participating students submit a themed writing based on the prompt.
- Electronic submissions only. Deadline February 15
The application form is now open. Please email pyw@ncte.org with any questions.
2023 Themed Writing Prompt: Revision as Life: Ourselves, Worlds, and Perceptions
One of the luxuries afforded to the writer is the ability, the opportunity, to revisit and revise our initial thoughts and words to better reflect our meaning and our end goal, our message or our truth. Consider not only the edits and revisions you are learning to make in your writing, but in your life as well. In a safe classroom space, messiness and first drafts are encouraged and expected. In our own lives, where do we have space to be messy? To what degree do we feel we are allowed to make mistakes, learn from them, and revise ourselves and our behaviors and responses? In your own life, who or what has granted you a safe “space to be messy,” and how has it helped you to grow as a person? What does such a space look like and feel like? What “life revisions” have you made that could only have been achieved through mistakes? Looking forward, how could you help others to feel safe in working through life’s “messiness?”
This year, promising young writers, we invite you to consider the concept of revision. This concept can apply to our writing, our selves, our world, and our perceptions. You may consider how you have grown from re-seeing or reimaging elements of your life or your own world. You might find revision affords the opportunity for remaking or transforming. Through revision, we can also change our perceptions of the truths and falsehoods around us. How can we embrace the concept of revision for ourselves as writers, humans, or for that of the world around us? How does reflection and introspection inspire a remaking or redoing? How do we find the courage and will for revision?
Possible questions that you might explore are provided below. You are not expected to respond to all (or any) of these questions. Rather, these questions may inspire you and your writing.
Reflection, Introspection, and Agency (Our Selves): Revision can be reckoning with who we once were, but also remaining invested in who we are yet to become by looking deep within ourselves. When we look within, we can choose to focus on the parts of ourselves we wish to develop, and our motivation can give us the agency to take steps towards change or progress. What area in your life would you like to develop, as you grow? Which parts of yourself can you imagine developing from the person you have always been? How can we stay true to ourselves and imagine our future and our role in the world around us?
Remaking and Transforming (Our World): We each have the opportunity to revise our own lives. In order to grow, we often undergo the difficult process of transformation by reimagining our path through the world. Perhaps we seek new friendships when others limit our growth, perhaps we change direction when we find ourselves heading down a path that makes us uncomfortable, and perhaps we have the desire to reflect and revise the very aspects of our lives that make up a part of who we are. How do you recognize and embrace revisions that take you or the world around you in a new direction? How do people find courage to follow new paths to make something new? How does remaking afford opportunities to tell our stories and influence our perceptions of ourselves, our worlds, our truths, our stories?
Revising Viewpoints (Our Perceptions): Revision is never an excuse for non-accountability but framed in pursuit of repair. We make mistakes. We learn lessons. How do we hold on to the impact of our words and actions, while striving towards repair? How do we resee or reframe our views or perceptions? Revision can attempt to erase the truth or be a refusal. How can we be truth seekers and yet also resee or reframe. Revision can be easily misconstrued for the much harder and honorable work of repair and reconciliation. Either in our own lives or more broadly speaking, how must revision be accountable to its pasts, which is never simply past?
Teachers, we invite you to incorporate the Promising Young Writers’ theme and writing prompt into your curriculum. In fact, we hope that the themed prompt is a topic that you will encourage all of your students to address in reading, writing, and discussion activities, as well as beyond the classroom. You may also find the literature and teaching resources presented on the NCTE Web site useful, as well as attending the ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English) held in conjunction with NCTE’s Annual convention each year.
Also, if your state has adopted the Common Core State Standards, it may be helpful to note that nominees for the Promising Young Writers program may choose to write their Theme entry in any genre, including nonfiction writing in History/Social Studies, and Science & Technical Subjects.
While we believe that the Promising Young Writers program may be seamlessly interwoven with your existing literacy curriculum, we urge you also to explicitly welcome any writing that students may have created outside of your class or even your school.
You may produce any genre, or kind, of writing (e.g., personal essay, graphic novel, news article, love letter, eulogy, oral history, photo essay, scientific report, letter to a politician, local petition, speech). If you find it helpful to state your intended audience at the beginning of your entry, you are welcome to do so.
Timeline:
Now until November 15: Present the prompt to your students. Encourage them to gather their thoughts and ideas and to write their first draft
November 15-December 15: Encourage your students to edit, to revise, and to finalize their drafts.
DEADLINE for All Submissions: February 15
*Late submissions will not be accepted.
Below are some exemplars of award-winning submissions from 2020. These students received a 97% or higher aggregate score from the judges who read their pieces and had high praise for the quality of writing.
Selena Chen (Judges said, “This is excellent work for an 8th grade student – detailed, clear, strong voice. Really well done work.” And, “You’ve done an excellent job immersing readers into the moment with, as well as helping them to gain and understanding of, you. Your works are quite memorable, and are ones that readers will surely be able to connect to.”
David Yun (Judges said, “The BEST writing contains beautiful and vivid language to develop the relationship the speaker has with their sister. The THEMED piece brought tears to my eyes and chocked me up. Writing a letter to a natural place where the speaker bonded with family, most specifically his grandfather, was a perfect choice of genre.”
*These examples are meant to be used as inspiration to teachers and their students for the purposes of this award and to showcase the excellent work of these students. Please do not share or copy these students’ work improperly.*
Recipients of the Certificate of Recognition are listed by state below.
Eligibility:
Eighth-grade students in the current academic school year are eligible to be nominated by a school committee or department. It is recommended nominees be decided upon by several teachers. Students MAY NOT self-nominate. Nominees must demonstrate evidence of effective writing.
Schools in the United States, US territories, Canada, and American Schools Abroad are eligible to nominate students. Nominating schools must be US accredited.
The number of nominees allowed from each school is determined by the school’s average eighth-grade daily enrollment.
Use the following guide:
- Under 100 1 nominee
- 100–199 2 nominees
- 200–299 3 nominees
- 300–399 4 nominees
- 400–499 5 nominees
- 500 or more 6 nominees
Award Specifics:
Nominated students must submit their themed writing in PDF form.
- Themed Writing – must be written based on the topic developed by the Promising Young Writers Advisory Committee. Maximum length for the theme writing is ten (10) pages. The student’s name must appear on the upper left hand corner of each page.
General Directions for Themed Writing:
- One teacher completes one entry form per student and uploads the student’s writing in PDF form.
- The student’s name should appear in the upper left-hand corner of each page. This is very important so pieces can be judged accurately! (If you are submitting an arts-based entry like a photo essay or graphic novel, you may adjust this format as long as we can tell which piece is which. Email pyw@ncte.org with any questions.)
- The page number must appear in the upper right-hand corner of each page.
- The school’s name must not appear on the paper or within the body of writing.
- Use legible type – no smaller than 11 or 12 point.
- Double space with one inch margins on all sides. This does not apply to poetry.
- Research papers, term papers, and novels will not be accepted.
- Late entries cannot be accepted.
- The Themed piece should be written from the students’ personal voice and perspective. Take care to not make it sound like a school assignment!
Judging:
Teams of teachers across the nation will judge entries using a secure judging site. Entries with top scores will be selected as superior. Writings are judged holistically on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
If you are interested in signing up to judge, please email pyw@ncte.org.
Below are the guidelines by which your writing will be evaluated by the NCTE judges. Keep these guidelines in mind as you draft and revise:
- Effectiveness of each piece for its intended audience. The comprehensive question is whether the writer exhibits power to inform and/or move an audience through control of language. Fuzziness should not be mistaken for profundity, nor mechanical sloppiness for originality. Although editorial correctness is a virtue, meaningful variations should be allowed and the absence of mechanical error should not be overvalued. As a rule, flawed brilliance is to be preferred over correct dullness. But be sure your piece is well edited!
- Writing samples, whatever their type, reveal high achievement in writing for a student at this grade level.
- Judges have the opportunity to evaluate writing done on the same topic. The student’s individual expression is highly valued and cliches should be avoided.
- The writing sample will each be scored in three areas: Expression of Ideas, Language Use, and Unique Perspective and Voice.
Awards
Results are announced in May. Starting with the 2023 contest, a new structure for awards will be used.
To reflect various levels of distinction and recognition, there will now be four, rather than two, designations:
- Promising young Writers First Class
- Superior
- Excellent
- Merit
All nominated students will receive their appropriate certificate from their nominating teacher. Additionally, those who receive the First Class award will have their name and their school’s name appear on the NCTE website.
Recipients of the Certificate of Recognition are listed by state below.
For additional information contact pyw@ncte.org.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR 2022 RECIPIENTS!
2022 Award Recipients
This year, 116 students were nominated. Of that number, 66 received Certificates of Recognition and 50 received Certificates of Participation. Each student submitted two pieces of writing, which were read by national judges. Papers were judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
*No winners
Canada*
Alabama*
Alaska*
Arizona*
Arkansas*
Colorado*
North Dakota*
Oregon*
Rhode Island*
South Carolina*
South Dakota*
Tennessee*
2021 Award Recipients
This year, 90 students were nominated. Of that number, 56 received Certificates of Recognition and 34 received Certificates of Participation. Each student submitted two pieces of writing, which were read by national judges. Papers were judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
*No winners
American Schools Abroad*
Canada*
Alabama*
Alaska*
Arizona*
Arkansas*
Colorado*
North Dakota*
Ohio*
Oklahoma*
Oregon*
Rhode Island*
South Carolina*
South Dakota*
2020 Award Recipients
This year, 131 students were nominated. Of that number, 52 received Certificates of Recognition and 79 received Certificates of Participation. Each student submitted two pieces of writing, which were read by national judges. Papers were judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
*No winners
Canada*
Alabama*
Alaska*
Arizona*
Arkansas*
Colorado*
North Dakota*
Oklahoma*
Oregon*
Rhode Island*
South Carolina*
South Dakota*
2019 Award Recipients
This year, 157 students were nominated. Of that number, 77 received Certificates of Recognition and 80 received Certificates of Participation. Each student submitted two pieces of writing, which were read by national judges. Papers were judged on content, purpose, audience, tone, word choice, organization, development, and style.
American Schools Abroad*
Canada*
Alabama*
Alaska*
Arizona*
Arkansas*
Colorado*
North Dakota*
Rhode Island*
South Carolina*
South Dakota*
Tennessee*