The Achievement Awards in Writing is a school-based writing program established in 1957 to encourage high school students in their writing and to recognize publicly some of the best student writers in the nation. The National Council of Teachers of English will give achievement awards in writing to students nominated and cited as excellent writers by judges. Only students who are JUNIORS in the academic year 2009-2010 may be nominated for 2010 awards; they must be candidates for high school graduation in 2011.
Note: 2010 brochure will be available in October 2009.
Nomination ProceduresEach high school selects its own nominee or nominees: one or more juniors agreed upon by the English department, not chosen by an individual teacher. Home-schooled students may submit through a cooperating school.
- Nomination form for each student must be submitted to NCTE, postmarked no later than February 17, 2010.
- One student may be listed on each form. Students may not nominate themselves.
- All entries from a school must have the same nominating teacher's name to receive the follow-up instructions in March.
- All entry forms from a school must be mailed to NCTE in the same envelope.
- All information requested on the nomination form must be provided.
Number of Nominees
The number of nominees allowed from each school is determined by the current total enrollment in grades 10, 11, 12. The enrollment figure used must be an official one from administrative reports of the current year and must not include ninth-grade students.
Entries
Two Written Compositions
- Impromptu theme written under teacher supervision in no more than 2 hours. The topic is designated by NCTE.
- Best writing sample (prose and/or verse) that the student considers his or her best work, regardless of the amount of revision. No entries are returned. Teachers or students should make copies of the compositions before submitting the originals. No publication of a student's work will be made without his or her written permission.
2008 Achievement Awards Student Receiving Certificates for Superior Writing
Holistic Evaluation Chart used by judges to score papers.
Impromptu Topics previous 10 years.
Nomination Brochure
PDF of the 2009 brochure . To request a brochure by mail, email your school mailing address to aa@ncte.org. Note: 2010 brochure will be available in October 2009.
Achievement Awards 2010 State Coordinators List
State coordinator information will be mailed to teachers with impromptu topics in March.
The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this program on the NASSP Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities for 2009-2010.
