Announcing the 4th Annual UMUC Social Science Essay Contest!
Maryland Theta, UMUC’s chapter of Pi Gamma Mu – the International Honor Society for the Social Sciences – is proud to sponsor the Social Science Essay Contest this year.
We welcome all UMUC students to enter an essay contest to express their social science knowledge and critical thinking skills. Here is key information about the contest!
Essay Topic: Choose a contemporary social problem or issue and analyze it from any theoretical perspective or approach of one or more disciplines in the social sciences. For example, you could write an essay that analyzes the problem of school violence from the labeling perspective in sociology or that takes a community policing approach to pose solutions for reducing the murder rate. In your essay, include possible solutions to the problem or resolutions to the issue. Students are encouraged to submit papers (or revised papers) from their social science classes that fit with the essay topic.
Length: Approximately 1,500 words, not including tables or the reference list.
Sources: Cite an appropriate number of authoritative sources (a general rule is two sources per page). Examples of authoritative sources are scholarly articles in academic journals (see the library guide: http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/identify.shtml), as well as articles in reputable publications such as The New York Times and Newsweek. Books written by experts and published by established publishers (such as a university press) are also excellent sources. If you use a Web site, be sure to evaluate its trustworthiness (see the library guide: http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/web.shtml#Evaluate). Feel free to ask a Librarian at UMUC for research help! (http://www.umuc.edu/library/help/ask.shtml)
Citation and Reference Style: APA, 6th edition.
Cover sheet: Include your name, major, and email address on a cover sheet. Please do not include any identifying information in the rest of the paper.
Deadline: Email your entry to Dr. Donna Maurer at DMaurer@faculty.umuc.edu by April 30, 2011. All entries will receive a confirmation email. Late entries will not be accepted. Only one entry per person.
Judges: A panel of three judges from UMUC will be reviewing the papers and deciding upon the winners. An announcement will be made by May 31, 2011.
Judging Criteria: Judges will rank the papers based on their evaluation of the essays according to the following criteria:
• A thesis or research question that is identifiable and clear
• Effective, logical argument in direct support of the thesis or research question
• Clear writing that is free of grammatical and spelling errors
• Use of authoritative sources, using APA 6th edition style
Prizes: First place – a student membership in the academic organization of his or her choice (up to $100)
Second place – social science book(s)
Third place – social science book(s)
Each winner will also receive a certificate; all winners will be announced in a variety of UMUC publications. Winners will be encouraged to submit their essays to Pi Gamma Mu’s flagship journal, International Social Science Review.
