The 2017 application is closed.
Eligibility
The Baldwin Prize is open to students in every grade at Baltimore City College High School. Winners from previous years may participate but will not be eligible for awards.
Awards
Submissions will be judged and awarded in two divisions, one for upper-class students (eleventh- and twelfth-graders) and one for lower-class students (ninth- and tenth-graders).
The winner in each division will receive $400 to spend on the educational opportunity of his or her choice. Judges may also award an honorable mention in each division.
This Year’s Prompt
This year’s prompt is about empowerment.
Describe a moment when you felt empowered. This could have arisen from a single event or an ongoing activity. It could be in any setting--social, professional, academic. Why did you feel empowered? What did you do with that power? Did you use it responsibly?
Instructions
Please read before writing your essay.
1. Make your essay no more than 1,000 words.
2. We encourage you to bring all of your thoughts and creativity to the writing process. Dig deep. But please do not include information that you would not feel comfortable sharing in a highly public forum, such as a newspaper. Your entire essay or excerpts of your essay may be shared widely, including on the Baldwin Prize website.
3. To submit, use this form. You will need your student ID number. The essay must be your own work. You may, of course, quote from or refer to other sources, such as books or films, but you must do so in a way that properly credits the author or creator. Do not pass off someone else’s work or ideas as your own.
a. Submit your essay by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 16, 2017. The winner will be announced during an awards ceremony in early April. Details about the awards ceremony will be posted on this site.
b. The Baldwin Prize may use all or part of your essay to brag about you, promote the Prize, fundraise, encourage other students to participate, or for any other purpose. By participating, you acknowledge and accept this fact.
Scoring
A panel of judges will rate and rank essays according to how well they do the following:
1. Respond to the prompt.
2. Offer insight into human nature.
3. Demonstrate compassion and authenticity. Describing something that is true to you can inspire and embolden others.
4. Use language to engage the reader.
5. Demonstrate that the writer is using the essay as an opportunity to become a better writer and thinker.
Tips for writing a good essay
1. Gather your thoughts. Take notes on what you might like to write, and create an outline.
2. Write in the first person.
3. Imagine you’re writing to someone you like and respect. Keeping this person in mind can help you maintain an engaging tone and voice.
4. Good writing almost always requires rewriting. Write a draft, identify things that can be improved, and improve them.
5. Conduct a grammar and spelling check. Do everything you can to eliminate errors.
6. Read your essay aloud. Great writing often has a strong aural quality. If you stumble over a word or passage while reciting your essay, it’s very likely that section would give a reader trouble and could be fixed.
7. Be accurate.
8. Be clear.
9. Before you submit, get feedback from writers or readers that you trust. (But, again, make this essay your own. This must be your original work.)
Resources
From the College Board, “8 Tips for Crafting Your Best College Essay”
Two pieces that might inspire you:
James Baldwin, “A Talk to Teachers”
David Foster Wallace, “This is Water”
Eligibility
The Baldwin Prize is open to students in every grade at Baltimore City College High School. Winners from previous years may participate but will not be eligible for awards.
Awards
Submissions will be judged and awarded in two divisions, one for upper-class students (eleventh- and twelfth-graders) and one for lower-class students (ninth- and tenth-graders).
The winner in each division will receive $400 to spend on the educational opportunity of his or her choice. Judges may also award an honorable mention in each division.
This Year’s Prompt
This year’s prompt is about empowerment.
Describe a moment when you felt empowered. This could have arisen from a single event or an ongoing activity. It could be in any setting--social, professional, academic. Why did you feel empowered? What did you do with that power? Did you use it responsibly?
Instructions
Please read before writing your essay.
1. Make your essay no more than 1,000 words.
2. We encourage you to bring all of your thoughts and creativity to the writing process. Dig deep. But please do not include information that you would not feel comfortable sharing in a highly public forum, such as a newspaper. Your entire essay or excerpts of your essay may be shared widely, including on the Baldwin Prize website.
3. To submit, use this form. You will need your student ID number. The essay must be your own work. You may, of course, quote from or refer to other sources, such as books or films, but you must do so in a way that properly credits the author or creator. Do not pass off someone else’s work or ideas as your own.
a. Submit your essay by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 16, 2017. The winner will be announced during an awards ceremony in early April. Details about the awards ceremony will be posted on this site.
b. The Baldwin Prize may use all or part of your essay to brag about you, promote the Prize, fundraise, encourage other students to participate, or for any other purpose. By participating, you acknowledge and accept this fact.
Scoring
A panel of judges will rate and rank essays according to how well they do the following:
1. Respond to the prompt.
2. Offer insight into human nature.
3. Demonstrate compassion and authenticity. Describing something that is true to you can inspire and embolden others.
4. Use language to engage the reader.
5. Demonstrate that the writer is using the essay as an opportunity to become a better writer and thinker.
Tips for writing a good essay
1. Gather your thoughts. Take notes on what you might like to write, and create an outline.
2. Write in the first person.
3. Imagine you’re writing to someone you like and respect. Keeping this person in mind can help you maintain an engaging tone and voice.
4. Good writing almost always requires rewriting. Write a draft, identify things that can be improved, and improve them.
5. Conduct a grammar and spelling check. Do everything you can to eliminate errors.
6. Read your essay aloud. Great writing often has a strong aural quality. If you stumble over a word or passage while reciting your essay, it’s very likely that section would give a reader trouble and could be fixed.
7. Be accurate.
8. Be clear.
9. Before you submit, get feedback from writers or readers that you trust. (But, again, make this essay your own. This must be your original work.)
Resources
From the College Board, “8 Tips for Crafting Your Best College Essay”
Two pieces that might inspire you:
James Baldwin, “A Talk to Teachers”
David Foster Wallace, “This is Water”