For Other Professionals
Citizen Writer Challenge
Free to…
The first amendment to the Constitution guarantees U.S. citizens five important freedoms: Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Assembly, and the Right to Petition. We want you to exercise your freedom with this prompt. Write a short essay or article about an issue that is important to you. Demonstrate your knowledge of the topic and use persuasive language to build a strong case for your point of view. Note: this essay/article can be about an issue that is important to you, to your local community, or the whole country.
Submission guidelines
- Deadline: April 30, 2011
- e-mail a Word doc or PDF of your essay or article.
- Subject line for your e-mail: 2011 Writing Contest
- Include your name, age, grade level, and address with your submission.
- If you are not able to e-mail the essay or article, please send a hard copy to:
Reading Rockets
WETA Public Television
2775 S. Quincy St.
Arlington, VA 22206
Common Core Standards
- Range of Writing
- Research to Build and Present Knowledge
- Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
See Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (2MB PDF)*
Related resources
- The Five Freedoms (The First Amendment Center)
- The Constitution at Work (National Archives)
- First Things First: Using the Newspaper to Teach the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment (Newspaper Assn of America Foundation)
- Citizens Together: You and Your Newspaper (Newspaper Assn of America Foundation)
- KidsSPEAK!
