TippingPoint
EssayWritingRules“ThePrivatizationofOurSchools”
RULES/HOWYOUWILLBEJUDGEDONTHEESSAY/WHOMAYENTER,GUIDELINE
ASTOWHATTOINCLUDEINYOURCONTENT,LEGALSTUFF
RULES:
1. Minimumwordcountforthisessayis1500wads-thatdoesn’tincludesmall
wordslike(the,or).Tobesureyouressayis1500wads,runitthroughthe
wordcounteronMSWord.Youressaycanbemorethan1500wdsbutno
morethan2,500
2. Essayswillbejudgedonthefollowingcriteria:
A. Creativity&originality
B. Persuasiveness
C. Grammar&spelling
D. Understandingofsubjectmatter
E. Relevancyofresponsetotopicquestion
F. Essaysmustbe1,500–3,000words.Footnotes,citations,endnotes,and
essaytitleswillnotbecountedaspartofthe1,500–3,000wordsallotted
totheapplicant.
G. Applicantsmustusepropergrammarandspellingintheessayandwillbe
penalizedforuseofimpropergrammarorspelling.
H. Applicantsarenotpermittedtoincludeanyformsofmediaotherthan
plaintextintheiressays,suchasphotos,diagrams,orcharts.
I. Essaysmustbetypedin12pointTimesNewRomanfont,doublespaced.
J. Applicantsmayopttociteexternalreferencesintheiressays,suchas
statisticsorquotes.Allexternalreferencesmustbeproperlycitedas
parentheticalcitations,footnotes,orendnotes.
K. Essaysmustbetheoriginalworkoftheapplicant.Essaysmustneither
havebeenenteredinanothercompetitionnorhavebeenpublished
previouslyinanyformorsoldforpublication.Essaysmustnotcontain
materialthatinfringesontheintellectualpropertyrightsofothers.Any
essaythatviolatestheseruleswillbedisqualifiedandanyawardsmade
forsuchessaywillberescindedandmustbereturnedtoJunior
Achievement.ESSAYSMUSTNOTBEPLAGAIRIZED.Theywillbe
checkedbyaprofessionalservicecalledPlagairisma.Com.Ifplagiarism
isfoundyoutheessaywillbedisqualified
L. StudentsForABetterFuture.Comwillcollectpersonallyidentifiable
informationaboutapplicantsaspartoftheapplicationprocess.This
informationwillbeusedtocontactapplicantsinconnectionwiththe
essaycompetitionandinannouncements,events,andpressreleases
relatedtotheessaycompetitionandwillbeprovidedonlytoparties
relatedtoStudentsForABetterFuture.Com,andtheapplicant’sschooland
legalguardians.Nopersonallyidentifiableinformationaboutthe
applicantswillberevealedtoanymemberofthejudgingcommitteeat
anytimeduringthejudgingprocess.Applicantsshouldnotincludetheir
name,theirschool’sname,orpersonallyidentifiableinformationeither
withinthecontentoftheessayoronanypagesonwhichtheessayis
printed.Personalinformationmayonlybeincludedonthecompleted
applicationform.
M. WeightonGrading:Essayswillbejudgedongrammar(30percent),and
content(70percent).Grammar-remembertousepunctuationcorrectly
andspell.Usethespellcheckerinwordifyouhaveto.
N. Allcontestantsmustalsoberegisteredonourwebsiteat
http://www.studentsforabetterfuture.com
O. Allcontestantsmustcheckthemarkbelowtherulesandregulationthat
theyreadtheminbeforeenteringthecontest.
P. Aftercompletingtheessay,allessaysmustbeuploadedandemailedto
STUDENTSFORABETTERFUTURE@OUTLOO.COMAttn:Doreen.No
laterthan11:59pm.Thefinaldayoftheessaycontest.Ifitis11:59pm
WHOMAYENTERandWHOMAYNOTENTER
Q. Contestantsmustbe18andolderatthetimeofregistering,attendinga
twoorfourYearUniversityintheUSA.Atthetimeofyourregistration,
youmustsubmitagovernmentphotoid(adriverslicenseorpassportto
showUSCitizenandabirthcertificate).-oranygovernmentformthat
showsyourage.Forcollegeoruniversityverification,youmustsupply
thecurrenttuitionbillforthetermyouarein,yourcollegeid,or
transripts
R. Youmaynotenterifyouarethefirstorsecondbiologicaldegreerelation
toanofficerofSTUDENTSFORABETTERFUTURE.COM
S. Studentsforabetterfuture.comstrictlyadherestoEEOCrulesanddoesnot
discriminateagainstrace,color,creed,sexualorientation,religiousor
otherbeliefs.
T. Thewinnersarefullyresponsibleforallapplicablefederal,stateandlocal
taxes,licensingandanyotherfees.
U. Anyonenotobeyingtheseruleswillbedisqualifiedandtheirfeenon
refundable.
WHATTOINCLUDEINTHETOPIC
Youmaywanttodoanoutlinebutitisnotnecessaryforyoutosendthe
outline,onlytheessay.
Hereiswhatwearelookingfor.
Beginyouressaywiththefollowing:In2012,theUnitedStatesranked35thin
theworldontheProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessmenton
Mathematics,23rdforReading,and27nthforScience.Wecurrentlyspendon
averagebetween15-20thousandtoeducateapupilinthepublicsystem
annually-muchofitcomesfromthepropertytax-andifyouareinNJ,you
havetofundtheAbbottdistricts.Howcantheprivatizingofourschoolshelp
improveperformanceinourstudentsaswellasensuringthatmoneydoesn’t
get“misspent?”Youmayincludeinyouranswer
1. TherolethatCorporations,Parentsandlocalcommunitiesmayplay.
2. IfyouareinNJ,youmayincludetheAbbottDistricts.
3. Mightinclude“ForProfit“or‘Charter“Schools
4. Effectofprivatizationandhowitreducesthenumberofstudentsina
class.–smallerclasssizetendstoleadtomoreindividualinstruction.
5. Youmaydiscussactssuchas“VirtualSchoolsandAlternative
CertificationAct.”–andalsoagroupcalled“StandYourGround.”
Unlessyouoptout,alloftheessayswillbemadeavailableonourwebsiteat
http://www.studentsforabetterfuture.com/essay/
Thewinnerofthiscontestwillreceivea$500.00monetaryawardtobeissuedby
April30thof2016