The following are important tips and guidelines when writing your essays. Be advised, there will be NO RE-SUBMISSIONS! An applicant receiving a “C” grade or below on their essay will not receive an award for that semester regardless of their GPA. Awards are final and cannot be appealed. Follow these few tips to ensure qualification.
– Format. Essays must be 2½-3 pages (not including Cover and Citation pages) with 2-3 citations. Standard 8½” x ll” paper, double-spaced using Times New Roman 12 point font with 1 inch margins. Click here to see a sample essay.
– Stay on the subject! Do not submit “fluff”! Fluff can be described as sentences added just to fill space. They will be red-lined and subtracted from the page requirement.
– You must have a minimum of two (2) citations! Papers without at least two citations from the list below will be automatically disqualified.
– Citations must come from the following news sources:
ABC CBS CNN FOX
NBC BBC Associated Press USA Today
Politico NY Times Washington Post Wall Street Journal
– PROOFREAD your work! Spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors will affect your award.
– ABSOLUTELY NO RE-SUBMISSION! Awards are final and cannot be appealed.
– Essay Topics:
- Social media is trending in today’s society. Can the excessive use of social media contribute to addictive behaviors (drugs, tobacco, alcohol) or mental health issues? Explain the impact of social media on addictive behaviors and/or mental health issues.
- There has always been controversy regarding the United States healthcare system. Most developed nations have universal health coverage. Explain why the U.S., one of the wealthiest nation in the world, does NOT have universal health coverage?
- The 2016 United States Presidential Election presented a new era of media coverage, and perhaps influence, for potential Presidential candidates. Explain how media coverage can affect elections.
- In 2012, President Obama order the creation of the DACA program by way of an Executive Order. Several years later, the Trump administration rescinded that order affecting the future of many of its recipients. Please explain the DACA program and the current controversy surrounding the legal, social and ethical ramifications of ending such an initiative.
- In the past decade there has been an exponential rise in the number of school shootings in the United States. Please research and explain three (3) recent U.S. school shootings and discuss, if any, the legal and societal changes that have resulted in the aftermath of each event.
- Currently, the geopolitical spectrum has been experiencing vast and numerous migrations. In the Middle East, refugees are fleeing the Syrian Civil War. In addition to this, the Rohingya people of Myanmar (which is located in the South Pacific) are facing an ethnic cleansing. What is the United States response to both these tragedies and how does that response impact our unofficial status as the “world’s police”?
– Scholarship Application: click here
