Wordsmith Competition

Molly Brough, MLIS2015

Wordsmith

Wordsmith Writing Olympics is sponsored by the University of Memphis Department of English & Shelby-Memphis Council of Teachers of English.

Students who participate will compete to showcase their talent in “four modes of nonfiction: description, narration, persuasion, and exposition” (Dice, 2013).

What is Wordsmith?

Who: Students grades 7-12

What: An annual writing competition involving approximately 30 schools in the Memphis area

When: February 2015

Where: The University of Memphis

Why: Gain recognition and awards for your talent as an aspiring writer

Preliminary Competition

Initially, all students participating in Wordsmith will compete in a 40 word dash, an 80 word dash, and a 120 word dash.

Each of these events will acknowledge the top three competitors and two honorable mentions from each grade level.

Students who place in the top three will go on to compete in a 400 word dash.

40 Word Dash

Basics: Students will have 10 minutes to describe an object “so that a reader who has not seen the object can visualize it” (Dice, 2013).

Entries should be in the present tense and include between 32 and 48 words.

40 Word Dash: Object Examples

40 Word Dash

Things to consider when describing your object: Sight Sound Touch Smell

80 Word Dash

Students will have 20 minutes to write a “narration of an event shown in a black-and-white copy of a photograph” (Dice, 2013).

“Because no explanation accompanies the picture, different writers will use their imaginations to interpret the same picture in various ways” (Dice, 2013).

Entries should be in the present tense and include between 64-96 words.

80 Word Dash: Example Photo

80 Word Dash: Example Photo

80 Word Dash

Entries “should convey the logical sequence of the actions and interpret the emotions and motives that are implied by the images” (Dice, 2013).

120 Word Dash

Students will have 30 minutes to compose a persuasive letter to the editor regarding a current controversial issue.

Entries should be 96-144 words and “state a definite, clear position about the issue and try to persuade the readers of the newspaper to agree with that position” (Dice, 2013).

“The writer should state a definite, clear position about the issue and try to persuade readers of the newspaper to agree with that position” (Dice, 2013).

120 Word Dash: Headline Examples

”O, say, are we sure Beyonce was lip synching? Everyone weighs in on Beyonce lip-sync controversy – except for Beyonce” (University of Memphis, 2013, p. 9).

“Lance Armstrong’s former doctor Michele Ferrari says American would have won without doping. If Lance Armstrong comes clean, should he be reinstated?” (University of Memphis, 2013, p. 9).

Main Event: 400 Word Dash

Students will have 60 minutes to write 320-480 words to write an “exposition on a given topic” (Dice, 2013).

Writers should use “examples, comparison, analysis, definition, etc.” to support their essay (Dice, 2013).

Students must qualify to compete in the 400 word dash.

Main Event: 400 Word Dash Topic Examples

Example #1 (from the 2013 competition):

“If you were a superhero, what powers would you have? How would you use these powers? For example, if you could breath under water, what would you use this power to accomplish? Would you devote your time to saving others or would you use your powers in a different way?” (The University of Memphis, 2013, p.10)

Judging Criteria

Dice (2013) explains the following criteria is used to judge entries:

“Sharply focused controlling idea”

“Unity, coherence, completeness”

“Imagery”

“Accurate, specific details”

“Fresh, figurative language”

Awards

“The first-, second-, third-place and honorable mention winners in each grade in each of the Tournament Day events receive a ribbon” and go on to compete in the main day 400 word dash event (Dice, 2013).

The top 3 students per grade level are awarded medals (Dice, 2013).

The top 3 schools in each grade division are awarded trophies (Dice, 2013)

The first place student in 12th grade is awarded a scholarship (Dice, 2013).

Additional Information

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6NK7HxGASs

Works Cited

Dice, C. (2013). WordSmith: Writing Olympics for grades 7-12 [PDF document]. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/folderview?pli=1&id=0B5GMvYGaAQxGdnRrN05YNTJFcUU&ddrp=1#

The University of Memphis. WordSmith 2013. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/folderview? pli=1&id=0B5GMvYGaAQxGRll0Njd SaDZvLWs&tid=0B5GMvYGaAQxGdnRrN05YNTJFcUU