The judging process: All essays will be marked anonymously to ensure fairness.
Competition Rules: Following last year’s success, we are launching the 2016 Essay Competition. All students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity and outstanding writing skills in the subject area of their choice.
Miss Brash and Mrs Miles will select five essays from all the submissions received, which they feel best fit the competition criteria, to put forward to our external judge.
You can read the 2015 winning essays by Becky Howitt and Amelia Kemp, the 2014 ones by Katherine Skipper and Jasmine Chilton, and the 2013 ones by Haydee Thomas, Becky Howitt and Zahra Khan, on the Dollin Essay Competition page on Moodle.
Oxford Historian, Hazel Tubman will assess these five essays to choose the overall winners. A prize of £150 will be awarded to the winner and £50 to the runner-up, thanks to the generosity of Mr Michael Dollin, a school governor.
This competition will reward two essays written by Wycombe High School students which are judged to display the best combination of:
The judge’s decision is final. All essays will be retained by the School for further use. Entrants will not receive specific personalised feedback to their essays.
Talent for expressing complex ideas in simple terms but in a manner that a subject expert would enjoy.
Prizes will be awarded in early November. Regulations: Entrants must write their submissions entirely independently. No consultation with, or involvement of, staff at the school is permitted, beyond a short, initial discussion.
An argument that is logically pursued; it must have a starting point, develop over a series of paragraphs, and reach a clear conclusion. Evidence of enthusiasm for the task.
All research materials and academic sources must be correctly referenced and cited in a bibliography (use the referencing and essay planning on the Information Literacy page on Moodle).
A desire to reach beyond subject syllabi and to show wider understanding and general knowledge. Originality in challenging the question and devising ingenious solutions to tough intellectual arguments.
Plagiarism will result in disqualification. If you fail to follow the guidelines, your essay may be disqualified.
How to enter the competition: Entrants can be from any year group in WHS. Entrants must select one essay title from the range of different subjects which will be listed on Moodle from 16 May, and on display outside the Hall and in the Miller Study Area.
Follow the simple procedure: Pick one essay title from the questions displayed on the Dollin Essay Competition page on Moodle. Write no fewer than 1,000 words and no more than 2,000 words.
Essays must be between 1000 and 2000 words long. They must be word-processed, doublespaced and single-sided. They should include a bibliography and a word count. Please DO NOT write your name on your work.
Make sure any external sources have been correctly referenced and credited in a bibliography.
Entrants must hand their essay in to Mrs Winser in her office in Miller (which is at the end of the Old Common Room on the third floor). Each student will receive from her an identification number. Mrs Winser will be the only person who knows who has written each essay.
Do not put your name on it.
Do not plagiarise.
Print off a hard copy and take it to Mrs Winser in her office in Miller before the deadline of Friday 23 September 2016. Collect an identification number and wait for the results of the competition.
The closing date for submitting essays is 3.40 pm on Friday 23 September 2016. 22