Texas Society Children of the American Revolution
Essay Scholarship Contest
Deadline to Chapter – December 31st
The Texas Society SAR provides the Texas SAR Children of the American (CAR) Revolution Essay Contest to CAR members to help defray costs for books, tuition, room, and board while attending an accredited college or university.
To be eligible, Contestants must be:
- A Texas Society CAR member;
- Be a member in good standing for two (2) years or more;
- Enrolled in an accredited high school (or equivalent program, including home school) as a sophomore, junior, senior student; or enrolled in an accredited college or university as a freshman student.
There is a four-year window of eligibility to compete in this Contest. Contestants can submit applications and enter the Contest each year, as long as they meet eligibility criteria.
The Contest calls for an essay on a pre-designated topic that deals with an event, person, philosophy, or ideal associated with the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, or the framing of the United States Constitution. The current topic for the 2022 year will be posted on the Texas Society’s website. Students must source at least five references, with a minimum of three being published works to allow for verification of sources if necessary. References from encyclopedias or the Internet will be accepted but are not considered as part of the three published book sources. If there are no published references, the essay will be disqualified.
The essay will be judged based upon its historical accuracy, clarity, organization, grammar and spelling, and documentation.
The essay must have four parts:
- Title page;
- Essay pages;
- A bibliography or works cited; and,
- The Contestant's biography.
The title page, bibliography, and Contestant's biography must be listed on separate pages. No reference to the Contestant's name or information can be part of the essay pages or bibliography. the following provides more information on the above requirements:
- The title page must include the essay's title, Contestant's name, Contestant's school grade level, home address, telephone number, and e-mail address. In addition, the title page must include the name, address, and telephone number of the high school in which the Contestant is enrolled and the Contestant's grade level. Additionally, the title page must include the name, address, and telephone number of the school in which the Contestant is enrolled. A statement of how the Contestant learned of the contest is also to be on the title page. For example, if the Contestant learned of the Knight Essay Contest through the Internet, include the URL of the website. The title page is separated from the essay for judging purposes.
- The essay must have a minimum of 800 words and not exceed 1,200 words (excluding the title page, footnotes, bibliography page, and biography page). Word counts based on a word processor are acceptable. The word count should only reflect the number of words in the essay's text, articles of speech (e.g.: the and a/an) should not be counted in your word count. (Use the Find command for "_a_", "_an_", and "_the_" in your document to count the number of these articles, which you can then subtract from the total number of words.) Make sure the word processing software is not counting your bibliography or the title. All essays must be submitted as PDF files attached to e-mails. Essays submitted in any other format will be disqualified. The first page of the essay must include the essay's title. No Contestant information of any kind must appear on these pages as the essays are separated and distributed to the judges for grading to prevent possible grading bias. The essay must be formatted using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and with 1-inch margins on all sides. The essay's pages, including the bibliography page, must be sequentially numbered, beginning with the first page of the essay as page 1. No Contestant information may appear on the essay or bibliography pages. No bindings or special covers are allowed. Graphics are not permitted. Contest entries that do not conform precisely to these requirements will be disqualified. Plagiarism will be grounds for immediate disqualification.
- Citations in the essay and references in the bibliography must be documented following a widely used and publicly available citation system. Examples of a citation system include the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Manual of Style, the MHRA Style Guide, The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, and "Harvard referencing." The bibliography page must specify the system used. No contestant information may appear on the bibliography page(s).
- The Contestant biography is limited to one page and must include information regarding the Contestant's academic awards and achievements, school activities, community activities, and college plans. This page is separated from the essay and bibliography for judging purposes.
Essays that meet the criteria above will be accepted and judged equally on the following criteria:
- Historical accuracy
- Clarity of thought
- Organization and proven topic
- Grammar and spelling
- Documentation
Those interested in participating in this contest should complete and return the Contestant Application Form as soon as possible. This allows the chapter to know that you will participate in this contest. It also provides an opportunity for the chapter to offer you additional resources in improving your chances of success in the contest.
Contestants are to send the following, via e-mail, to the Chapter by December 31:
- Completed Texas Society CAR Essay Contest Application Form;
- Contestant completed essay and bibliography;
- Letter of Support;
- Contestant's biography; and,
- Signed parental release/permission form.
The Paul Carrington Chapter's Texas CAR Essay Contest winner will receive a certificate and a scholarship check. After that, the chapter will forward the winner's application for competition in the Texas Society's contest. The first-place state winner will receive a medallion, a certificate, and a scholarship check for $2,500. The second-place winner will receive $750, the third-place winner will receive $500, the fourth-place winner will receive $300, and the fifth-place winner will receive $150. (Please note that the TEXAS SAR Patriots Fund Projects Committee determines funding for the state-level awards during the Annual TEXAS SAR State Convention preceding the contest year.)*
The Texas CAR Contest first-place winner will be invited to the Texas SAR State Convention with Travel Expenses (hotel, meals for winner and one adult guest, and mileage) paid for following the Travel provisions shown on the Texas SAR website.
SPECIAL NOTE: The essay portion of this Contest corresponds with the SAR Knight Essay Contest, the Eagle Scout Contest and the Orations Contest. Therefore, the essay can be used for each of these contests. However, each Contest has different committee and contest requirements. Please follow directions for each Contest and submit separately to each contests.
For any questions and transmission of all Contest submissions, please e-mail the Paul Carrington Chapter CAR Essay Contest Chair
*Please note that scholarship amounts may vary each year.
Paul Carrington Chapter No. 5, Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution
1415 South Voss Ste 110-425 — Houston, TX 77057-1086
President.HoustonSAR@Gmail.com
The Paul Carrington Chapter is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting patriotism,
preserving American history, and supporting education for our future generations.
Copyright © 2023 Paul Carrington Chapter — Last Modified: Thursday, April 25, 2024
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