Getting Started

How do I get started?

Students

If you are a student, getting started is easy. Check out any of the links in our "For Students" section of the main menu. Some of the things you can do include:

• Read the contest rules to make sure you're eligible and understand the question
• Read some sample essays written to give you an idea of what an Excellent, Good, and Poor essay are
• What exactly do we mean by "Founding document"? Find out here with some examples
• Get some tips for writing your essay to make it the best it can be

Once you have an essay started, let your teacher know you want to participate! Only your teacher can submit your essay for you, so you need to get them to work with you to refine and polish your essay.

Lastly, take a look at what you could win.

Teachers

Teachers: You can register to participate by going to the Teacher Registration Form. Some teachers submit essays for self-motivated students who have discovered the contest on their own; some teachers invite students to submit essays to the contest for extra credit; some teachers assign the essay to their whole class; and some teachers use our lesson plan and activities as a way of talking about civic values with their students before asking students to reflect on civic values by writing on the essay topic.

However you choose to participate, we ask you to submit up to five of the best essays your students have written. These essays will be judged blindly by a panel of current and former high school teachers from around the country.