Do you have an opinion that everyone disagrees with? Are you a controversial thinker? Is there something that matters to you that you believe others should care about, too? If so, you might already be working on your critical essay for Scholastic. If you haven’t started yet, here are some things you’ll want to consider: The Contest: Scholastic’s Art and Writing Awards (https://www.artandwriting.org/awards/) is one of the most prestigious writing competitions out there for creative teens. The key word here is “creative.” Keep in mind that Scholastic encourages students to think outside the box and approach writing with an artistic perspective. It celebrates originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. In other words, Scholastic is all about awarding writing that is authentic to you! The Content: Before working on your essay for Scholastic, we strongly recommend reading some of the winning essays in its Critical Essay category (https://www.artandwriting.org/gallery). Some of its published essays have titles like “Why Slang Words With A Positive Meaning Should Be Allowed in Private Schools” or “The Joy Luck Club: A Cautionary Tale of the Mother-Daughter Dilemma.” As you can see, these are critical essays that emerge from a firmly established point of view. To come up with truly original and relevant content for your essay, we recommend spending 1-3 hours brainstorming possible topics that are important to you, and narrowing down your ideas until you come up with something surprising and less well-known. The Structure: Remember that a critical essay is not a memoir or strictly academic essay—it actually draws elements from both categories. To achieve the perfect balance, you might want to aim for a 6-8 paragraph essay that follows this basic structure: Introduction: in this paragraph, you can begin with a compelling personal experience that explains your connection to your topic. You should also add concrete details that lay out your argument before stating your thesis. Body: your body paragraphs can contain: 1) background knowledge or historical details that relate to your topic, 2) 1-2 main issues that your topic raises and your response to them, and 3) a discussion of the contemporary relevance of your topic. Conclusion: in your conclusion, you can return to the personal details you shared in your introduction and then reflect on them in light of your thesis. The Message: As Scholastic is all about authentic, original, and critical essays, you should think carefully about the overall message your essay is sending. Are you hoping to enlighten your readers? To make them reconsider something they may have closed their mind on? Do you want your readers to think more positively about a situation they may view negatively? Try to be as introspective as possible and map out your goals before writing. Remember, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self.” As long as you are true to yourself, your critical essay will be, too.
