The United States Capitol Historical Society ask you to write an essay, examining the role that well read and educated citizens have in making the American system of representative self-government work. The competition is called “Making Democracy Work” Student Essay Contest.  

You must cite sources in your essay such as the U.S. Constitution, newspaper and magazine articles, and books.  Web sites can be used with care.

Some things to consider might include:

• What do citizens need to know about how government works and how can they learn more? 
• How can the individual be involved in the political process? 
• What difference can the individual make? 
• How can you share your views with others and make your opinions known to elected officials?

Judging:

Entries will be judged on the depth of their content, the mastery of the topic, and the skill with which they are written. Students should develop a point of view on the issue and demonstrate critical thinking, using appropriate examples, reasons and other evidence to support their position. Essays should be free of grammatical errors and should be clear, concise and well-organized.

Eligibility:

1. Submitted essays should be in 12-point type, doublespaced and with 1-inch page margins.
2. Essays must have a title, and they must be within the word limit for each division: Junior Division (grades 6, 7, and 8) 600 to 800 words; Senior Division (grades 9, 10, 11, 12) 800-1,200 words. To ensure fairness, do not put your name, address, school or any other identifying information on the essay itself.
3. Sources must be used and must be cited and credited in a bibliography, consistent with an accepted citation style.  For citation and bibliography style, please consult either the MLA (Modern Language Association) Style Guide or Kate L. Turabian, Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.
4. All fields on the registration form must be completed.
5. Each submitted essay must also include an essay adviser form (see below), signed to verify the essay is the original work of the student.
6. The essay, registration form, and essay adviser form may be submitted by mail or by email.  Entries submitted by postal mail must be mailed to the following address, postmarked no later than June 15, 2012:

2012 Making Democracy Work Essay Contest
U.S. Capitol Historical Society
200 Maryland Avenue, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
 

Entries submitted electronically as MSWord or Adobe Acrobat PDF files should be emailed by June 15, 2012 to: uschs@uschs.org.  The signed essay adviser form may be scanned and submitted electronically, but you must retain the original signed copy.