Florida Society - Sons of the American Revolution

Florida Society Rules 2008-2009

 

Eligibility:

This contest is open to all students residing in Florida who are United States citizens or legal aliens who are attending public, parochial, or private high schools (including accredited home schools). Contestants shall be in their sophomore, junior or senior grade of study during the contest year. Only one entry per student is permitted each year. The first place student at the state level from the prior year may not enter.

 

Topic, Research, and Length:

The contest is for an original researched and proven topic written in English. The topic of the essay shall deal with an event, person, philosophy, or ideal associated with the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, or the framing of the United States Constitution. Students must source at least five (5) references with a minimum of 3 being book sources.  References from Encyclopedias or Internet sites will be accepted, but are not considered as part of the three book sources. The use of all electronic sources will cause the essay to be disqualified. Extra consideration will be given to entries which reference original source material. There are no length restrictions.

 

Essay Format and Documentation:

The essay shall have three parts: a) title page, b) essay, and c) bibliography (works cited). The bibliography shall be listed on a separate page.  Information on the title page shall include the title of the essay, contestant's name, address, telephone number, email address (if available) and grade level and the name, address, and telephone number of the high school in which the contestant is enrolled.

 

The essay shall be documented in accordance with the Modern Language Association publication, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or Turabain's, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Graphics are not permitted.

 

Submitting an Essay:

Entries may be submitted via post or email.

Postal entries must be postmarked on or prior to Wednesday, January 31, 2009 and mailed to:

            Knight Essay Chairman

            7507 Summerbridge Dr.

            Tampa, Florida  33634-2260

Entries submitted via email should be sent as an attachment in Microsoft Word format. The subject of the email should read, “Knight Essay Entry”.

Email the essay to: sar-essay@hotmail.com

 

Judging Criteria and Rules Interpretations:

The essay will be judged on historical accuracy, clarity of thought, the strength of the thesis and proof, organization and flow, grammar and spelling, and documentation. Participants in this contest agree that the interpretation of rules and the decisions of the NSSAR, the FLSSAR and its judges shall govern without reservation.

 

Awards:

Florida State Society:

First Place:       $1,000 and a winning recognition plaque

Second Place:   $500

Third Place:       $250

 

National Society:

First Place:       $2,000.00 a winning recognition certificate; airfare and one night hotel for two at the SAR 119^th Annual Congress in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2009.

Second Place:   $1,000.00

Third Place:       $500.00

 

Publication Permission:

Participants in this contest agree that their essays may be published in the publications and websites of the Florida Society, and National Society. It is the intent of the Florida Society to publish on its website all entries submitted to this contest.

 

Entry into the National Society Contest

Usually, the winning essay in the Florida Society contest will automatically be entered into the National Society contest. However, the National contest has more restrictive rules than the Florida Contest and in some cases it may not be possible to make the winning essay conform to these rules. Upon notification, the winning student will be given the opportunity to make alterations to the work in order to conform to the National contest rules. If this is not possible for some reason, the State Committee reserves the right offer the opportunity to enter the National Contest to the second place essay. Should neither essay be suitable for entry, the State Committee will proceed through the other entries in order of finish until a qualifying essay can be submitted to the National Contest.

 

-