Xi State Essay Contest
31st Annual High School Essay Contest
Deadline: April 1, 2016
Purpose:
To encourage, to recognize, and to reward Tennessee high school students who demonstrate
outstanding writing skills.
Eligibility:
All Tennessee high school students (grades 9 – 12) are eligible. Each public or private high
school is limited to four (4) entries.
Topic:
“You can’t change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is
change how you react to it.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Words have power. A well-turned phrase can motivate, inspire, explain and so much more.
Realizing that the power of great words spoken by great people can produce many
interpretations, this quote provides the topic for this year’s essay contest. Students are asked
to respond to the quote by Mahatma Gandhi by providing a personal interpretation. The
student may include the context in which Gandhi was speaking and should focus on a theme
such as change, strength of character, intimidation/bullying, personal growth, or adversity.
They are not limited to the themes listed here.
Format:
The informational/explanatory essay must be 450 – 600 words in length. It must be typed or
word-processed and double-spaced on white 8.5” x 11” paper. Please use size 12 Times
New Roman font for ease of reading.
A cover sheet, stapled to the essay, must contain the following information:
 the student’s name, address, phone number, and email address
 the student’s school name and address
 the name of the student’s teacher
 the name of the Delta Kappa Gamma Chapter represented
 the name and email address of the President of the Delta Kappa Gamma Chapter
 the name and address of the local newspaper
Scoring:
Essays will be scored using the TCAP/WA Informational/Explanatory Rubric-Grades 9 – 12
found on the Tennessee Department of Education’s TNCORE website. www.tncore.org
If you have any questions, please email Kim Thurman at Thurman_k@hcde.org
Prizes:
First Prize $300
Second Prize $200
Third Prize $100
Fourth Prize $50
Deadline:
All entries must be postmarked no later than April 1, 2016.
Mail together all entries from each school to:
Allison Maynard
814 Fairmount Ave.
Signal Mountain, TN 37377
Confirmation:
Students or schools wishing confirmation of the essays having been received should enclose
a stamped/addressed card or envelope.
Disclaimer:
All submissions become the property of Xi State of The Delta Kappa Gamma Society
International. Winning submissions, as the property of Xi State, may be published in the
official publication of Xi State, Xi State News, on the Xi State website www.xistate.org or
by other electronic means. Additionally, winning submissions may be displayed at Xi State
events and used in Xi State presentations.