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About
the Knight Essay Contest
Updated: 9/13/2018
"The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
(SAR) invites all high school students (9th through 12th grades)
interested in the American Revolution to participate in the
George S. & Stella M. Knight Essay Contest. The contest is open
to all students attending home schools, public, parochial, or
private high schools in that same grade range. The National
Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this program
on the 2017-18 NASSP List of Approved Contests, Programs, and
Activities for Students."
"To participate, students must submit an original 800 to 1,200
word essay based on an event, person, philosophy or ideal associated
with the American Revolution, Declaration of Independence, or
the framing of the United States Constitution. Each student's
essay will be judged based upon its historical accuracy, clarity,
organization, grammar and spelling, and documentation."
"The contest is conducted in three phases: the local chapter,
state-level society, and national phases. The contest must be
entered through an SAR chapter near the student's residence.
Only one entry per student is permitted per contest year."
(From the National SAR website: https://www.sar.org/education/youth-contests-awards/george-s-stella-m-knight-essay-contest)
Contest
Rules
Contest entries must be submitted as PDF files attached to an
email to the Contest Chairman.
The essay must have four parts:
- Title
Page
- Essay
Pages
- Bibliography
or Works Cited
- Applicant's
Biography
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The title
page, bibliography, and applicant's biography must be listed
on separate pages and no reference to the applicant's name or
information can be part of the essay pages or bibliography.
Additional
Contest Rules
- Plagiarism
will be grounds for immediate disqualification.
- The
first page of the essay must include the title of
the essay. (No contestant information must appear
on these pages as they are separated and distributed
to the judges for grading to prevent possible grading
bias.)
- An
original copy of the essay must be submitted. Poor
quality copies will not be accepted.
- When
counting words in a date, a numerical date (1776)
or a date spelled out (Seventeen seventy-six) shall
be counted as one word.
- The
essay must have a minimum of 800 words and not exceed
1,200 words (excluding title page, footnotes, bibliography
page, and biography page).
- Graphics
are not permitted.
- No
bindings or special covers are needed.
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Citations in the essay and references in the bibliography must
be documented in accordance with a widely used and publicly
available citation system. Examples of a citation system include
the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Manual of Style,
the MHRA Style Guide, The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation,
and "Harvard referencing." The bibliography page must specify
the system used.
Students must source at least five references with the minimum
of three being published works to allow for verification of
sources if necessary. References from encyclopedias or the Internet
will be accepted, but are not considered as part of the three
published book sources. If there are no published references,
the essay will be disqualified.
Please follow these rules exactly as essays that don't conform
may be immediately disqualified.
Click
Here - Official Knight Essay Contest Rules from SAR National
Scoring
(Maximum = 300 Points)
The Required Elements - (Max Credit = 25 Points)
- The
essay must have a cover sheet (Title Page) with the
name, address, school, and telephone number of the
entrant. (Possible 5 Points)
- The
topic of the essay must deal with an event, person,
philosophy, or ideal associated with the American
Revolution, Declaration of Independence, or the framing
of the United States Constitution. (Possible 5 Points)
- The
essay must be typed and doubled spaced. (Possible
5 Points)
- All
references must be listed on the last page. (Bibliography)
(Possible 5 Points)
- No
Plagiarism found in document. (Possible 5 Points)
- *
Are there any spelling errors? (Deduct 2 points for
each word misspelled)
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The Required Segments - (Max Credit = 100 Points)
- The
opening paragraph in which is found the thesis statement
(or controlling idea of the essay) (Possible 34 Points)
- The
body (usually three paragraphs, each developing one
aspect of the subject) (Possible 33 Points)
- The
final paragraph (the conclusion) where the paper is
brought to close (the reader is brought back to the
main idea, to paraphrase (state in another way) the
thesis statement. (Possible 33 Points)
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Additional Points - (Max Credit = 175 Points)
- Is
the thesis statement clear to the reader? (Possible
30 Points)
- Does
the thesis statement limit and focus the paper? (Possible
30 Points)
- Does
everything in the paper relate to the thesis? (Possible
25 Points)
- Are
all main points adequately supported with quotes and
references; are they fully developed? (Possible 50
Points)
- Do
transitions connect the paragraphs of the essay? (Possible
20 Points)
- Is
the paper easy to read? (Possible 20 Points)
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Knight
Essay Contest Awards
Piedmont
Chapter Winner |
1st
Place |
2nd
Place |
Cash
Prizes and Certificate |
$300
* |
$150
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- *
The Piedmont Chapter winner qualifies for the State
SAR competition.
- *
A contestant from Piedmont that finishes first in
the State SAR competition will receive an additional
$100.
- All
other applicants receive an SAR Certificate of Participation.
- Judging
is on individual applicants, not per school.
- Entry
deadline to the Piedmont Knight Essay contest is December
1st.
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Georgia
State SAR Winners |
1st
Place |
2nd
Place |
Cash
Prizes and Certificate |
$500
* |
$400
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- The
Georgia SAR winner qualifies for the National SAR
Knight Essay competition.
- Entry
deadline to the Georgia State SAR Knight Essay contest
is December 15th. (by Contest Chairman)
- Source:
http://gasocietysar.org/youth-programs/the-george-s-stella-m-knight-essay-contest/
- *
State 1st place cash award changed at 7/28 State BOM
meeting per G. Thurmond.
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National
Winners |
1st
Place |
2nd
Place |
3rd
Place |
Cash
Prizes and Certificate |
$5,000
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$2,500
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$1000
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- National
winner receives a medal and recognition certificate;
up to $500 toward travel expenses and one-night hotel
stay for the winner and chaperone at the annual SAR
Congress held in July.
- Source:
https://sar.org/education/youth-contests-awards/george-s-stella-m-knight-essay-contest-rules#
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Agreement
by Participants
The winning essay of the national contest will be submitted
for publication in the SAR Magazine. Participants in this contest
agree that their essay may be published in the SAR Magazine
and on the SAR Knight Essay Contest webpage. Winning essay participants,
on all levels, may be required to supply a tax identification
number in order to receive their award. By entering this contest,
all participants agree that if their essay is chosen as the
national winning essay, it will be the property of the National
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). All participants
further agree that the national winning essay may not be submitted
to any other contest or used for any other purpose without the
express permission of the national SAR Knight Essay Contest
Chairman.
Applicants in the Knight Essay Contest agree that the interpretation
of the rules and decisions of the National Chairman and its
judges must govern without reservation and that decisions of
the judges and/or the National Chairman are final and not subject
to review.
Contest
Deadline & Contact Information
Entries to the Knight Essay Contest must be submitted by December
15th.
Questions can be answered by the Piedmont Chapter & State SAR
Contest Chairman.
Piedmont Chapter Contest Chairman
Stacey McCarver 404-831-2801 | Email
The Georgia State SAR Knight Essay Chairman:
Terry Gibbs | Email
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