The Hatton W. Sumners Editorial Contest
On The Principle Of
American Self-Government
2008

Purpose
The Hatton W. Sumners Editorial Contest is designed to build on the success of the Hatton W. Sumners Institutes on the Founding Documents and to provide incentives for more active participation in the study of the principles of American democratic self-government in high schools across Texas. In doing so, it will recognize both those students and their teachers who demonstrate an understanding of those basic American principles through superior editorials.

Awards
At the congressional district judging level, each of the six Finalists and six Honorable Mentions will receive an appropriate certificate recognizing their achievement, as will each honoree's teacher. In addition, these entries may be forwarded to local newspapers for use in the weekend "Op/Ed" page.

At the statewide level, the awards will be as follows:

1st Place: A $1,500.00 college scholarship and suitable plaque or trophy.
2nd Place: A $1,000.00 college scholarship and suitable plaque or trophy.
3rd Place: A $500.00 college scholarship and suitable plaque or trophy.
Honorable Mentions: A $250.00 college scholarship and suitable plaque or trophy.

The top three state winners will be honored at a Hatton W. Sumners Teacher Workshop during June 2007.

In addition, the teachers of the winners and honorable mentions will receive, respectively, $750.00, $500.00, $250.00, and three $100.00 awards for use in acquiring additional classroom materials/resources.

Eligibility
The Hatton W. Sumners Editorial Contest will be open to all public, private and parochial high school students (grades 10-12) studying a relevant social studies curriculum.

Entry Rules

1. All entries must be submitted in editorial (not essay) format, requiring the writer to amass information, analyze it, and state a conclusion in succinct form.
2. The editorial must be written during the 2007-2008 school year.
3. Editorials must be typed double-spaced, and they must be 500-600 words in length.
4. Editorials must include a bibliography.
5. Each entry must be accompanied by a cover sheet providing the following information:
   1. Title
   2. Student's name and grade level, home address and phone number
   3. Sponsoring teacher's name, home address and phone number
   4. School name, address and phone number
   5. U.S. Congressional district number of the school
   6. Principal's name, school address and phone number
   7. Superintendent's name, school address, and phone number
   8. Local newspaper's name, address and phone number
   9. Local newspaper editor's name, address and phone number
6. Each classroom teacher must select no more than ten editorials to advance to the congressional district level of judging.
7. Deadline: All entries must be submitted by the teacher to the "We The People" congressional district coordinator no later than Friday, April 11, 2008. There is a limit of ten entries per teacher.
8. If you do not know the congressional district of your school, please go to www.house.gov/writerep and, using your school’s zip code, you will be able to find the number of the congressional district. Once you have the congressional district number, click here to visit the page on our site where we list the e-mail address for your specific your Congressional District Coordinator. Scroll down the page to find the number of your school’s district. E-mail the coordinator and ask for the mailing address to submit your essays.
9. District Judging: Each "We The People" congressional district coordinator will lead a judging panel composed of a teacher, local attorney and school administrator. From all entries received, each congressional district judging panel will select three Finalists and three Honorable Mentions. These six entries then will be forwarded to Law Focused Education, Inc., for statewide evaluation April 17, 2008.
10. Statewide Judging: A maximum of 192 entries (6 from each of 32 congressional districts) will be judged at the statewide level. The statewide panel will select a 1st Place, 2nd Place and 3rd Place winner, as well as three Honorable Mentions.
11. Awards: The 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, and three (3) Honorable Mentions editorials winning at the state level will be notified no later than Monday, May 9, 2008.

Sponsors
Law Focused Education, Inc., will administer this contest under a restricted-use grant from the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation. It is supported by the thirty-two Texas congressional district coordinators of the Center for Civic Education's "We the People...The Citizen and the Constitution" program.

For further questions please e-mail or call Linda DeLeon at 800/204-2222, ext. 1822.

Hatton W. Sumners Editorial Question FOR 2008

As the war in Viet Nam was winding down in 1973, the United States Congress passed, over President Nixon’s veto, the War Powers Act.  The purpose of the act was “to insure that the collective judgment” of both the president and Congress would determine when U. S. troops were to be committed to combat.  To accomplish this, the law directs the president “in every possible instance” to “consult with Congress” if American soldiers are to be sent into a hostile situation.  It was common knowledge that the act was an attempt by Congress to rein in the war making power of the president.  

Every president since the act’s passage has protested its constitutionality, and Congress has been reluctant to refuse funds necessary to continue military force.

Research the provisions in the 1973 War Powers Resolution.  In your opinion, has the War Powers Act achieved its goals?  What, if any, provisions would you change in light of the United States’ involvement in Iraq and the global war on terror?

Guidelines for Editorial Writing

Generally speaking, an editorial is an article giving the viewpoint of an editor on some topical issue. Its purpose is to persuade the reader to a point of view, encourage some kind of action, or support or oppose a policy position.

Also, an editorial can be used to provide perspective on the daily jumble of events: To step back and take a look at something that isn't clear to the public, so readers can understand it better (a good current example is welfare reform). Obviously, the two functions go together: Once a subject is explained, people will be more ready to adopt a point of view concerning it.

In trying to persuade people, it is advisable to use facts and reason, not emotion. The goal should be to inform and motivate the reader, rather than simply expressing the writer's feelings. To most of us, the mere fact that somebody else is enthusiastic or hopping mad about a subject is not convincing.

Within these guidelines, the approach and style of an editorial can vary—for example, through the use of humor, anecdotes, or colorful phrasing. However, some general rules for effective editorial writing are as follows:

1. Make clear at the outset what the editorial is about. For example, whether to build a highway, elect a candidate, raise or lower taxes, and so on. This too can be done in different ways, but the basic idea should be to set up an issue to be examined, a problem to be solved, or question to be answered.
2. To solve the problem, or answer the question, the writer must come up with facts that explain the issue and lead to a conclusion. Obviously, this means the writer needs to know the facts about the topic, which requires reporting, reading, and research. Someone who doesn't know very much about a subject will have a hard time persuading others.
3. Not all facts are created equal. Simply dumping a lot of data into an editorial is not persuasive in itself. What is needed is information that helps people understand the issue. A doctor trying to diagnose an illness, or a detective trying to solve a case, is looking for key facts that point to a solution. The reasoning process in an editorial should be the same.
4. Sorting out the facts requires some grasp of goals to be accomplished—benchmarks by which to measure things: Better educational results, improving health care, cutting back on crime, protecting individual freedoms, etc. In order particular issues and proposals, the editorial writer needs principals and standards for evaluation.
5. The writing should be clear and to the point, so readers can follow what is being said and understand the reasoning. Don't assume the reader knows technical terms or has a great deal of factual information beforehand. If you've done your homework, most people won't know nearly as much about the subject as you do.
6. Reach a definite conclusion, based on your evidence and reasoning. An editorial that simply states alternative views—"on the one hand, this, on the other, that"—is not convincing, and comes off as wishy-washy. Likewise, a comment that ends by saying "somebody should look into this "suggests the writer hasn't.

Editorial Structure
For this competition, editorials must be double-spaced, and between 500 and 600 words in length, excluding cover sheet information.

Generally speaking, the editorial should contain four basic structural elements: The Caption or headline, the Lead paragraph, the Body, and the Conclusion.

The Caption can be a short phrase or a shorter sentence designed to capture the reader's attention and identify the subject of the editorial.

The Lead paragraph , in a few sentences, sets the scope of the argument being presented in the editorial. It can contain the writer's basic premise, identify some benchmarks or goals, and key facts supporting the writer's position.

The Body contains the "meat" of the editorial and may be more than one paragraph long. Here, the writer should provide a combination of fact and opinion, usually in that order. The length of the body varies depending on the number of pertinent facts needed to support or justify the writer's opinion on the issue at hand.

The Conclusion is a short, closing paragraph that brings the editorial to a definite end. Based on the reasoning put forth in the Lead and Body of the editorial, it should be a clear, concise summation of the writer's opinion that offers the most potential for creating a lasting impression on the reader.

A Closing Comment
Before beginning this competition, each participant should become a frequent reader of the editorial pages of several different newspapers. Editorial styles often differ and contestants should study and compare the style and structure of those editorials and opinion articles. Seeing how others write can be very helpful.

In judging entries, however, structure and style will not be the sole determining factor. Content, including the persuasiveness of the writer's argument and facts used to support it, will count for a great deal.