CANE Writing Contest 2008-09

The Student Writing Contest Topic for 2008-09:

"Living Antiquity: Classics and Modern Life"

Guidelines for Students

You are invited to participate in the annual Writing Contest of the Classical Association of New England. This contest, or written project on a classical subject, is open to all students taking Latin, Greek, or Classics in New England middle and secondary schools. The project may be an essay, short story, poem, or drama. The three top winners in each state will receive certificates and prizes; the New England-wide winner will receive a certificate and a U.S. Savings Bond at the 103rd Annual Meeting of CANE to be held in the spring of 2009. Projects will be judged on their content, originality, style, and clarity. The regional judges will score the projects anonymously, using a point system with equal points for these four categories: (1) the overall application to the topic, with cogent evidence to support its thesis; (2) the coherence and focus of the argument; (3) the organization of the project and logical flow of ideas; and (4) the style, with emphasis on clarity of expression and mechanics of good writing. Since we want all students to have an equal chance to win this contest, each project must be the student's own work, written independently without any help from other students, teachers, or parents. Therefore, we ask that participants follow these guidelines:

(1) You may discuss the general topic with your teacher to be sure you understand it. Be creative, but support your thesis with quotations from classical authors; cite references to works of art or examples of classical culture such as social traditions, religious rites, or customs of family life; or compare classical and modern works or practices.

(2) You should follow general guidelines for good writing, as practiced and taught by your teachers. Compose a rough draft, revise it for content and style, and proofread the final draft carefully and correct it neatly. The final project should be submitted to your teacher on a date (your teacher will specify the date) early enough for your writing to be judged and submitted to the State Representative by December 15, 2008.

(3) Your project must be accompanied by a statement that the writing is your own work. (See writing guideline statements below.) Note that the project is invalid without this statement.

FOLLOW THESE ADDITIONAL WRITING GUIDELINES:
a. The written project should be 700 words maximum. There is no minimum length.
b. The project should be typed or word-processed using double-spacing. If someone else types the final draft, be sure to give that person a clear copy and ask him or her not to edit or revise your writing in any way.
c. Your name should not appear on the project itself. Instead, you should submit a cover page, giving your name, grade, home address, telephone number, current level of your Latin, Greek, or Classics course, your teacher's name, and the name and address of your school.
d. You may use library resources, audio-visual materials, or personal interviews for this project; if you do use any source materials, you must provide documentation (i.e. footnotes) and a bibliography.
e. With your project you must also enclose a separate page on which you type the following statement and sign your name:

This project represents my own original work. No outside help has been provided for this project.

Signed ___________________________ Date ________________

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Guidelines for Teachers

The CANE Writing Contest is a regional competition open to students of Latin, Greek, or Classics in New England middle and secondary schools. We believe that the goals of the contest can best be served by requesting that the written project be the student's own work. Hence, the student should not ask for any help in writing or correcting the project before submitting the final copy. To ensure that all entrants have an equal chance to win this contest, we urge all teachers to follow the guidelines given below.
1. Present the topic to your students and answer any questions they may have about it.
2. Give your students a copy of the Guidelines for Students, supplementing these with any additional suggestions you may have about revising the rough draft and proofreading the final copy.
3. Explain that the projects must be original works on the given topic and that students may not seek help from others, whether students, teachers, or parents, although they may arrange to have the final draft typed or word-processed by someone else.
4. Give your students a deadline early enough to allow you to judge your students' projects and submit the three best projects to your State Representative by December 15, 2008.
5. Make sure your students sign and enclose the statement that their projects are their own work. The intent of this pledge is to emphasize that all students are expected to follow the same guidelines, so that all entrants will have an equal chance for success. Unless this signed statement is enclosed, the project will be marked invalid. We have, unfortunately, had to disqualify excellent projects in the past because the required statement was not enclosed.
6. Remind your students that this is a contest, with certificates and prizes given to the three finalists in each of the New England states, and that the New England-wide winner will receive a certificate and a United States Savings Bond for $200, to be presented at the 103rd Annual Meeting of CANE, in the spring of 2009.
7. You may find it helpful to provide your students with copies of past winning projects, published in the New England Classical Journal. For copies write to: Jeremiah Mead, Chair, CANE Writing Contest (address below). Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope with this request.
8. Mail the best three projects from your school to your CANE State Representative by December 15, 2008, making sure that you enclose each student's signed statement that the project is his or her own work. For names and addresses of the State Representatives see the listing under CANE Executive Committee on the CANE website. Students may not submit their projects directly to the Chair of the Writing Contest. To do so will invalidate the projects.
9. Please do not rank the three projects that you submit from your school to your state representative. If you wish, you may recognize the authors of all three projects in some appropriate way, but at this preliminary level students' projects are not to be ranked first, second, or third place. The State Representatives will choose the best three submissions, and these will be awarded first, second, and third places within the state, with appropriate certificates.
Attention State Representatives: After you have read your state's entries, please advise Jeremiah Mead of your first, second, and third place choices by the agreed upon date. Please include the names of the students' teachers and of their schools.

Jeremiah Mead
20 Dalton Road
Chelmsford, MA 01824
978-256-2110
jeremead@msn.com

The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed the CANE Writing Contest on the 2008-2009 NASSP National Advisory List of Contests and Activities as a regional program for participation by students in middle and secondary schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Students from other states who are enrolled in independent or parochial schools in New England are eligible to enter the CANE Writing Contest. Each year we have many inquiries about the CANE Writing Contest from students in schools outside the area served by the Classical Association of New England. We are happy to answer these inquiries with information about the contest, but we regret that students enrolled in schools located outside New England are not eligible to participate.

Jeremiah Mead, President-Elect
Classical Association of New England
CANE 2008-2009 Writing Contest