A nonprofit organization promoting ethics in community
Twentieth Annual TWI Ethics Essay Contest
Sponsored by The Williams Institute for Ethics and Management (TWI)
20th Annual Ethics Essay Contest Prompt
“Rights, Rights and More Rights”
Announcement and Contest Rules
Essay Contest Rules:
WHO: Open to all students enrolled in an 11th or 12th grade class at participating high schools
WHEN: Essay must be submitted online to The Williams Institute on or before the contest deadline.
Deadline: Friday, December 13, 2013. (Start date for submissions is Monday Nov. 11, 2013)
WHERE: Submit essay at www.ethics-twi.org. Look for Essay Contest in navigation bar.
HOW: Contest rules for eligibility:
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Essay must be 600-800 words in length.
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Student must respond to all of the components of the prompt.
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Essay must be the independent work of the student.
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Essay must be submitted as a word document.
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Essay must NOT have student's name, ID number, or course name on the pages.
CRITERIA: Essays will be judged on the basis of a thorough and well-organized response to all prompt
components and the ability to explore and discuss the ideas and ethical concepts that support his/her
position. No particular ethical perspective will be imposed on the entrants, so students are encouraged to
express themselves freely. Judging will be conducted in two parts by a committee of community leaders:
(1) judging the written essays, narrowing the competition to three finalists for each grade level (11 th and
12th) at each school, (2) conducting interviews with the finalists to better understand each student’s
perspective.
CONTEST PRIZES: A total of two cash scholarships of $500.00 will be awarded at each eligible
participating school(one winning junior and one winning senior).
The Williams Institute • 6615 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85250 • 480-517-1891 • www.ethics-twi,org
A nonprofit organization promoting ethics in community
Twentieth Annual TWI Ethics Essay Contest
“Rights, Rights and More Rights”
One person’s right implies another person’s duty
Prompt: Each student must create an essay that answers ALL of the following questions:

Choose one right (from those listed or one of your own choosing) that you feel strongly about
and develop a scenario or provide examples to illustrate the right you selected for the subject
of your essay.

Include in your discussion if this is a moral right, a civil right, an emerging right or some
combination.

Discuss your approval or disapproval for how this right is being supported or neglected or
violated. Present your discussion from either a local perspective or a national perspective and
make reference to the perspective you choose in your essay.

One person’s right implies another person’s duty. Discuss which individuals or groups you
feel are responsible for supporting the right you selected.

Discuss what action you can do now to support this right you chose.

Discuss what action you can do in the future to support this right you chose.
Rights – Moral (Or Natural) Rights
Natural…not invented or created by government
Universal…absolute, unchanging from culture to culture
Equal…same for all people, without discrimination
Inalienable…Not transferable to another person
Rights – Civil Rights
Legal protections and privileges given to all citizens of a government
Moral Rights - New emerging theories of rights
Our rights are an essential part of American life. Certain fundamental rights are enshrined in the
U.S. Constitution and some rights come out of those basic rights. There are also other rights, as
well.
Rights are how we protect our “…Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness.”
The Williams Institute • 6615 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85250 • 480-517-1891 • www.ethics-twi,org
A nonprofit organization promoting ethics in community
Here are some examples of types of moral and civil rights that may help your thinking:
Judicial rights Political rights
General rights Individual rights
Children’s rights Privacy rights
Religious rights Social Rights
The Williams Institute • 6615 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85250 • 480-517-1891 • www.ethics-twi,org
A nonprofit organization promoting ethics in community
ETHICS ESSAY CONTEST JUDGING PROCESS AND STANDARDS
Contest Rules and Judging
The Annual Ethics Essay Contest is one way that TWI promotes ethics in the educational community.
TWI offers a unique and rigorous essay contest that challenges students to reflect upon and write about
how ethical considerations impact their lives. To be eligible for consideration in the final judging of the
essays, all student submissions from participating schools must meet the following contest requirements
and criteria:
Submission Requirements
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
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Essays must be 600-800 words in length.
Entries must be submitted in Microsoft Word.
Entries must be submitted online by the deadline.
Essays must address the topic and respond to all essay components listed.
Essays must be the independent work of the student.
Judging Criteria
After screening for eligibility, essays are judged on the basis of: (a) the most thorough and well-organized
responses to all essay prompt components, and (b) the student’s ability to explore and discuss the ideas
and ethical concepts that support her/his position incorporating all components of the prompt. Grammar
and spelling are not considered in determining finalists. No particular ethical perspective is imposed on
the essays, so students are encouraged to express themselves freely.
Judging Process
Judging is conducted in three parts by TWI staff and community leaders: (1) screening all written essays
for compliance with contest requirements and criteria and identifying the top 10 essays at each grade for
each school, (2) rank ordering each grade’s 10 essays by teams of five readers (one team for each grade
level at each school) narrowing the competition to three finalists for each grade level at each school, (3)
conducting interviews with the finalists at their schools to better understand each student’s perspective.
Winning essays are selected for each eligible school.
The Williams Institute • 6615 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85250 • 480-517-1891 • www.ethics-twi,org