Main Tips on Essay Contests for High School Students. What You Need to Know

Nowadays, many educational institutions, particularly, high schools, engage students in different activities called to develop analytical thinking and creativity. Essay writing is among them, as well. Taking the opportunity and participating in such kind of competitions is often a great idea as they provide you with both priceless experience and the possibility to win.

Don’t miss the chance, as student essays will improve your language, they will also teach you to express your ideas laconically. Keep reading and make your way as a talented essay author.

Choosing essay topics for high school students

Sometimes the topic is set beforehand, but in other cases, you need to choose it on your own. If so, it is better to go for an up-to-date theme that allows discussion, for instance, social problems, technology, health, etc. Try to avoid too obvious messages like “Is it good to study?” unless you decided to get really creative there. In other case, the essay is at risk of being tedious.

Also, defend your position. It is fine if your tutor’s point of view varies from yours. They assess your ability to provide arguments, not the statement itself.

Types of essays you’ll meet in college

Being a productive high school student, you will probably turn into a college student someday. And there, your essay writing will not stop. Actually, in college, people face the tasks of essay writing more often. Here are some popular types of those works:

• argumentative essay. “Show me you can defend your thoughts”. That’s what an argumentative essay is saying to you. Choose a trustworthy position and then arrange the facts in such a way that they show your understanding of the situation and awareness of different views on the problem. Choosing argumentative essay topics for college students can be tricky. You need to take the theme you are familiar with; also, the idea itself should not be plain. Otherwise, there will be nothing to defend. Try to speak on something you really care for. This will give the inspiration. And remember, not only the essay has to show your knowledge and writer’s mastery. It needs to be interesting to the reader.
• persuasive essay. This one is almost a twin to the previous type. But there is still a difference. While writing such an essay, you do not concentrate a lot on considering the alternative points of view. You only acknowledge their existence. For example, you say “I support tax reduction as it is good for these reasons…” in a persuasive essay and you say “I support tax reduction because, in other case, this may lead to these consequences… And the reasons why we should reduce the taxes are the following…” Persuasive essay topics for college students may be chosen under the same principles as for the argumentative writings. It will work if you know enough about the theme and most likely if you believe what you are saying.
• cause and effect essay. Probably the most appreciated by lovers of detective stories. Here you need to show how some event causes certain effects. There can be three main variations in structure here. You may write about a single event causing a number of others, or about a bunch of factors leading to one consequence. Also, you can make use of the “domino effect”, when each event causes the next one. This is called a causal chain. The cause and effect essay topics for college students usually deal with historical events, but they can touch almost any other sphere of knowledge. Psychology, art, science – this kind of writing fits them, as well.

Essay contests for high school students may seem tough, but they are actually extremely wholesome most of the times. Students master their language skills, consider different ideas and learn to stand for their beliefs. Pay a little extra attention and study the lists of the essay topics for high school students provided on the internet, they may give some fresh ideas. Your work will result in better performance and more efficient skills in general.