Tthe Student Writing Contest of The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy

What We Are Looking For in the Student Writing Contest

Word Count
800-1,000 words.

The contest begins March 1st, 2008, and all entries must be received by April 1st, 2008. Early submissions are welcome, as they will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Topics:

Write an essay which addresses ONE of the following quotations by a well-known female author. Describe how the quotation relates to lives of women today. Support your opinion with specific details and examples.

1. “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it.  I want to have lived the width of it as well.” 
Diane Ackerman (1948-present)

2. “We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”

Marian Wright Edelman (1939-present) Families in Peril (1987)

Terms

§    Free submission.

§   Students will choose one of the topics as appropriate.

§   The decisions of the judges are final.

§   All entries must be written and edited by the named participant, without assistance from others.

§   The Public Affairs Section is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, incomplete, or illegible e-mail or for any computer-related, online, or technical malfunctions that may occur in the submission process.

§   Submissions are considered void if illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error, or obtained through fraud or theft.

§   Submissions will be considered made by an authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry.

Cover sheet: Provide a cover page with your name and contact information (address in Vietnam, email address, telephone number), your college or university, and your year in school or year that you graduated or expect to graduate with your ID number.

Essay Format: Typed in Microsoft Word, Times New Roman, size 12. Do not include your name on the essay pages.

Submit: Send the cover sheet and the type-written essay by emailed attachment to Ms. Quan Mai Binh at BinhQM@state.gov. Please do not send your submission in the body of the email, as it will not be judged.

The Public Affairs Section will host an award ceremony

on 21^st April, 2008. Winners of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes

will read their essays at the ceremony.

Address:

Embassy of the United States
Public Affairs Section

Rose Garden Tower

Phone: 844-850-5000

Fax: 844-831-4601
E-mail: irchanoi@state.gov