General Education Essay Competition

Phi Beta Kappa is pleased to announce its Twenty-fourth Annual General Education Essay Competition for first-year students and sophomores, as well as the Fourteenth Annual Competition for juniors and seniors sponsored by the Humanities Program. The Phi Beta Kappa competition was initiated by Professor Barbara Cooper to encourage freshmen and sophomores in general education courses to strive for excellence in written work.

Each competition will award a first prize of $100 and up to two additional prizes of $50 at the Phi Beta Kappa initiation ceremony on May 5, 2012 for superior essays of no more than 3000 words, written as regular assignments in general education courses offered in fall 2011 or spring 2012.

Essays submitted in courses offered during spring semester 2011 are also eligible, but only if their due date was subsequent to April 15, 2011. The deadline for submission of essays is Monday, April 16, 2012. Essays must be endorsed in a statement by the instructor of the course.

Essays will be judged on depth of analysis, clarity of thesis, originality of thinking, synthesis of evidence, clarity of expression, correct usage, and organization. Submissions should be scholarly essays rather than personal narratives.

For further details, contact by email Prof. Scott Smith (Classics) or contact by calling 862-2388.