• Divisions send five(5) entries from each level to County
• Counties send five(5) entries from each level to State
• States send five(5) entries from each level to National

Time: Contest Opens August, 2009

Deadlines for the contest are:
     Division-January 5, 2010
     County-February 5, 2010
     State- March 5, 2010
     National-April 6, 2010

SUBJECTS:
     Level 1 grades 6, 7, 8:
     "Role of Women in 1916 Rebellion"

     Level 2 grades 9, 10, 11, 12:
     "The Irish Playing the Game: The Sports of the World"

LENGTH:
     Level 1 grades 6, 7, 8:
     Not less than 500 or more than 1000 words

     Level 2 grades 9, 10, 11, 12:
     Not less than 750 or more than 1500

Eligible:
All children in levels 6-12 attending public, private, parochial and home

PRIZES:

1. All Irish History Writing Contest entries must be double spaced and may be legibly hand written or typed, on one side of the paper only. Typeface may NOT exceed 12 point.
2. Each writing must have a separate cover sheet with:
   Contestant’s Name, home address, and age
   Contestant’s School Name, School Address and Grade Level
   Number of words in essay, exclusive of cover page, introduction and bibliography
   Subject

WRITING GUIDELINES:

• Be sure to submit writing. Do not simply list facts. Show that you know and understand your subject and give your opinion or interpretation. You may set the scene by giving facts then drawing your conclusion. This contest is intended to produce essays which show that students have researched, read about and understood the subject and formed their own opinions. The writing should not be just a recap of facts and others’ opinions, comments or observations.
• Be careful to stick to the topic.
• Be sure to give the source credit if you quote someone else’s work. Every time you borrow someone else’s words, facts or ideas, you must DOCUMENT the source - that is give a reference telling readers that you borrowed the material and where you borrowed it from. Although this is not a research paper, information in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is a good reference tool for writing and citing sources. List only those sources that contribute to the development of your writing. Be sure NOT to use exact words from your sources without giving credit. If you do so, you are committing plagiarism.
• Be sure to include a bibliography, or a list of sources on the information you used. When assembling a final bibliography, list your sources in alphabetical order by authors' last names. Sources that don't have authors such as encyclopedias, should be alphabetized by title.
• Drawings, maps, etc. should not be included in the Writings
• Only original and unmarked writings (i.e. no corrections, judges’ marks) will be accepted for the Writing Contest
• All winners and non winners will receive certificates.

Essays will be judged by persons competent in the areas of English composition and Irish Culture who will fairly assess the originality of the presentation and knowledge of the subject matter as well.

LAOH Division #18 Daughters of Erin
      This year our Division will award:
           1st Place- $50.00
           2nd Place- $25.00
           3rd Place- $10.00
Winners will be invited to our annual Division Anniversary Meeting to read their essays.
The deadline for returning completed essays to our local division is January 3, 2010.

Please send entries to:
     Carol K. Green, Division #18 Historian  
     Annetta Whitecavage, Division #18 President