2006 BYU STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST RULES AND TIPS

Guidelines and helpful tips for students writing for the magazine's essay contest.

THEME:

Enter to Learn. Write a personal essay based on a learning experience you have had as a BYU student. This could have taken place in the classroom, in the dorms or an apartment, in your ward, on study abroad, or in any other BYU-related setting.

RULES:

• Be nostalgic. Be witty. Be serious. Be whatever you want, but be it in 700 or fewer words.
• The first-place award is $500; the winning essay will be published in BYU Magazine and on the magazine Web site (magazine.byu.edu).
• The second- and third-place awards are $400 and $300, respectively; they will be published on the BYU Magazine Web site.
• Writer must be a full-time student (undergraduate or graduate) at the time of submission.
• All essays should be typed and double-spaced. Fill out a cover sheet. Write your name on the cover sheet only; do not write your name on the essay itself.
• Submit your original, unpublished entry to 218 UPB by 5 p.m. on March 27, 2006.
• Questions? Call 422-1963 or 422-4711, or e-mail peter_gardner@byu.edu.

TIPS:

Be Creative: Whatever your take on the topic Enter to Learn, approach it creatively: tell a story; use descriptive diction; consider imagery, tone, and pacing. Remember, this is a personal essay, not an academic essay.

Be Polished: Do a spell-check; get feedback from a roommate; read the essay over one more time for glaring errors.

Be Focused: Center your essay on one event, idea, or theme. The 2002 winning essay contained several events, but they were all well tied together by a unifying concept.

Be Mindful of Audience: Remember that the winning essay will be published in BYU Magazine and should be appropriate for and of interest to its audience—BYU alumni, faculty, and students and friends of the university.

2005 BYU Magazine Student Essay Contest Winners:

First Place: “The Bells and BYU,” by Victoria A. Bradley (’05)
Second Place: “Ordinary Forks and Ordinary Folks,” by Melissa Draper
Third Place: “Handel’s Hallelujah,” by Alicia Packer

2004 BYU Magazine Student Essay Contest Winners:

First Place: “Higher Education,” by Benjamin John Bernards (’05)
Second Place: “Simple Wonder,” by Brenda Williams McKenna (’03)
Third Place: “A Guy’s Girl in a Women’s Dorm,” by TeriLyn Hutcheon (’07)

2003 BYU Magazine Student Essay Contest Winners:

First Place: “Common Cents Education,” by Erika Dahl Price (’97)
Second Place: “Of Solitaire and Sardines,” by Richard D. Salgado (’03)
Third Place: “Foreign Language Fairy Tales,” by Kara M. Andrus (’03)

2002 BYU Magazine Student Essay Contest Winners:

First Place: “I Change,” by Marilyn Nelson Nielson (’02)
Second Place: “From Bathrooms to Bizet,” by Erika Dahl Price (’97)
Third Place: “Sinai,” by Amberly Page (’02)

Download a cover sheet for your essay.