The 2018 deadline has passed. The information below is for reference purposes only.
Eligibility
The 2018 Baldwin Prize is open to ninth-grade students at Baltimore City College High School.
Award
The first-place winner can choose from one of two prizes: a travel grant of up to $6,000 to study abroad or $2,500 to use on an educational resource.
Judges may also decide to award honorable mentions.
This Year’s Prompt
Write about a time when you felt that you made your own destiny. What steps did you take to shape your future? During the process, did you ever feel that forces other than your own will were controlling your fate? What were those forces, and how did you deal with them?
As you draft your essay, think about a specific moment and the details that might interest your reader. And take the reader on a journey: give your essay a beginning, a middle, and an end.
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 22, 2018. The winner will be announced during an awards ceremony on April 20.
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.
Judging
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--and would use the prize--as an opportunity to become a better writer and thinker. This year, the first-place winner can choose to accept either (1) up to $6,000 for a study-abroad experience or (2) $2,500 to be put toward the educational purpose of his or her choice. For example, City College is planning trips to France, Spain, and possibly other destinations for summer 2019. The winner could use the prize for one of those trips, a different trip, or some other resource or activity (e.g. a computer, books, or a different educational experience).
On the essay submission form, you will be asked to answer the following question in a few sentences: If you win the Baldwin Prize, what would you most like to do with the prize? Why would you use the prize in that way?
Use your imagination. The choice is yours. As you respond, please be aware that a key part of the Baldwin Prize's mission is giving students resources and experiences that can help them grow--to become more knowledgeable, more compassionate, more aware of who and what they are and what they can become, and more capable of meaningful interaction with other people. Priority consideration will be given to students who demonstrate (1) a desire to engage in activities that can help them grow in this way and (2) a need for resources to pursue such activity.
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 2018 Baldwin Prize is open to ninth-grade students at Baltimore City College High School.
Award
The first-place winner can choose from one of two prizes: a travel grant of up to $6,000 to study abroad or $2,500 to use on an educational resource.
Judges may also decide to award honorable mentions.
This Year’s Prompt
Write about a time when you felt that you made your own destiny. What steps did you take to shape your future? During the process, did you ever feel that forces other than your own will were controlling your fate? What were those forces, and how did you deal with them?
As you draft your essay, think about a specific moment and the details that might interest your reader. And take the reader on a journey: give your essay a beginning, a middle, and an end.
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 22, 2018. The winner will be announced during an awards ceremony on April 20.
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.
Judging
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--and would use the prize--as an opportunity to become a better writer and thinker. This year, the first-place winner can choose to accept either (1) up to $6,000 for a study-abroad experience or (2) $2,500 to be put toward the educational purpose of his or her choice. For example, City College is planning trips to France, Spain, and possibly other destinations for summer 2019. The winner could use the prize for one of those trips, a different trip, or some other resource or activity (e.g. a computer, books, or a different educational experience).
On the essay submission form, you will be asked to answer the following question in a few sentences: If you win the Baldwin Prize, what would you most like to do with the prize? Why would you use the prize in that way?
Use your imagination. The choice is yours. As you respond, please be aware that a key part of the Baldwin Prize's mission is giving students resources and experiences that can help them grow--to become more knowledgeable, more compassionate, more aware of who and what they are and what they can become, and more capable of meaningful interaction with other people. Priority consideration will be given to students who demonstrate (1) a desire to engage in activities that can help them grow in this way and (2) a need for resources to pursue such activity.
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”