Students and community members are encouraged to participate in an essay contest as part of the 2011 Cayuga Reads community reading project. Writers may choose to write about either the main selection, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson, or the young-adult selection, I Stay Near You: One Story in Three by M.E. Kerr.
To enter the contest, respond to one of the following prompts:
1. I Stay Near You: One Story in Three by M.E. Kerr: Although there is no real moment where the author offers readers a list of the life lessons to be learned from the reading, as readers, we have had the opportunity to think about the lessons. Based on evidence from the text, identify three life lessons that M.E. Kerr intended for readers to experience as a result of reading I Stay Near You: One Story in Three.
Now, what about you? What did you learn from reading M.E. Kerr’s work? What evidence from the writing supports your learning?
2. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson: Bryson writes, "I can't imagine there has ever been a more gratifying time or place to be alive than America in the 1950s." (Chap. 1, p. 5). What does he mean by this? What evidence does he present in the book to support this statement?
Do you agree with Bryson’s claim that America in the 1950s was the best time in history? Prepare an argument in support of the claim, or create an argument for a time that you would support as the best time to be alive.
Submission guidelines
The contest is open to students and community members.
Essays should be no more than 500 words and should be typed and double-spaced. A cover sheet should include the writer’s name, address, phone number, and, if applicable, grade, age, school and sponsoring teacher’s name.
Submitting entries
Entries may be submitted by mail or e-mail.
For entries by mail: Send to Robert Montgomery, Director of Secondary Curriculum, Auburn Enlarged City School District, 78 Thornton Avenue, Auburn, NY 13021. Entries must be postmarked by Oct. 7, 2011.
For entries by e-mail: Send to Robert_Montgomery@auburn.cnyric.org by Oct. 10, 2011.
Judging criteria
Each entrant may submit one essay of no more than 500 words on one of the prompts, provided that the essay is the original, individual work of the entrant. Essays will be judged on clarity, originality, voice and development of ideas. Three winners for each essay choice will be selected. Prizes will be awarded at a reception at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES.
