Commentary ( Print News/Online Class II - 1,000-1,800)Back
Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: Monarch HS / Newspaper Entry Title: Fast Fashion Entry Credit: Minh Anh Le
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Arvada West HS / Newspaper Entry Title: Our Obsession with Appearance: The Issues with Glow Ups Entry Credit: Chloe Rios
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Doherty High School - Newspaper Entry Title: The Big Picture of Texturism: How to Avoid Racist Comments About People’s Hair Entry Credit: Emily Williams
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Monarch HS / Website Entry Title: A Flame Apart Entry Credit: Maya VanVleet
Competition Comment: What separates the top entries is their focus on a central opinion, a call to action. The best pieces hit this core opinion several times throughout, always bringing supporting details and body paragraphs back to the main point.
Sometimes, pieces have several opinions, and a piece can 'rant' more than persuade. Emotion is an important and useful tool, but the end goal should always be to get the reader to understand, and even agree with, your main point, and it is much more effective for this to happen with one well-developed opinion.
Finally, the opinion needs to be meaningful. In the best pieces, many readers will not agree, and what the author is asking for is often difficult, and the writer is taking a risk, but one they feel is important.
