STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST

The Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday Committee of Washington, DC in partnership with the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute Alumni Association and our Community Partners have joined together to sponsor The Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Essay Contest.

Presented by: Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute Alumni Association

View essay contest rules and submission instructions below before getting started.
ALL students must UPLOAD their essays via a .WORD DOC or a .PDF

Essay Topic

“Bending Toward Truth and Justice“

Elementary School Essay Prompt:

Identify two problems in your neighborhood or community and what would you do to solve those problems.

Middle School and High School Essay Prompt

What solutions would you offer to bring peace to our city? What would be the role of young people in your solutions?

Word Requirements:

Elementary 4th-5th  |  250-500 words
Middle  6th-8th  |  500-700 words
High School 9th-12th  |  700-1,000 words

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2023 at 11:00 PM

GET STARTED - Elementary
GET STARTED - Middle School
GET STARTED - High School

 Email Questions and Concerns ONLY to:
MYLIAlumni@gmail.com

ESSAY WRITING SUPPORT!

The 5 Step Essay Writing Process That Will Help You Write Better Papers

  • Step 1: Determine your purpose for writing the paper. …
  • Step 2: Write down everything and anything about your topic. …
  • Step 3: Organize your thoughts. …
  • Step 4: Start writing, then take a step back. …
  • Step 5: Grade your own paper.

Essay Topic Support Videos & Essay Writing Assistance Links

 

    Essay Contest Rules and Submission Instructions

    Contestants must be a DC Resident and a student attending a Public School, Charter School or Private/Parochial School.

      Essay Contest word count submissions for each contestant group will be:

      • Elementary School Students Grades 4 and 5 a minimum of 250 and a maximum of 500 words
      • Middle School Students Grades 6, 7 and 8 a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 700 words
      • High School Students Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 a minimum of 700 and a maximum of 1,000 words
    2. Submissions must be original work that has been produced or created by the contestant.
    3. We ask that all contestants include their name, school, grade and e-mail address (if you have one) with your essay submission.
    4. All essay contest winners will be requested to provide a short biography and a picture that could be published with your essay in local newspapers, on the internet on the DC MLK, Mayor’s Youth Leadership Alumni Association and some of our partnering organizations websites, publications, and television shows. Winning contestants will be required to sign a Media Release Form. Contest Winners that are 17 years and younger must have the parent/guardian(s) sign the Media Release Form.
    5. All essay submissions must be received by December 16, 2023, 11:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).
    6. Contestants can submit only one essay entry.
    7. Submissions must be relevant to the essay topic as mentioned above. Essays will be judged upon their clarity, relevance to the topic submitted, organization, sentence structure, grammar, mechanics and spelling.
    8. Contest finalists will be notified by email.
    9. Contest winners will be announced.
    10. Contest winners schools will be notified as well.
    11. Contest monetary prizes will be:
      • 1st Place Elementary, Middle School, High School Divisions -$300 dollars
      • 2nd Place Elementary, Middle School, High School Divisions -$200 dollars
      • 3rd Place Elementary, Middle School, High School Divisions- $100 dollars
    12. Prizes will be awarded through check or money/pay cards.
    13. Essay Contest entrants who do not have access to the internet or an understanding of how to submit their essay on-line are encouraged to get assistance from a parent/guardian, family member, teacher or school administrator to submit their essay on-line.
    14. Handwritten essays should be scanned to a file and submitted on-line.
    15. In the event that a student has no means to submit the essay on-line they should call Norman Nixon on (202) 236-6904.

    Essay Contest Submission Instructions

     

     

    1. Go to the MLK Holiday DC website at https://mlkholidaydc.org and click on the Get Involved link and scroll down to the MLK Student Essay information page and click on the Get Started link to fill out the contest application and submit your essay.
    2. We ask that all contestants include their name, school, grade and e-mail address (if you have one) with your essay submission.
    3. Essays can be typed into the essay submission portal or uploaded through the attachment link provided.
    4. The MLK Holiday DC Committee or the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute Alumni Association (MYLIAA) are not responsible for connectivity issues or unexpected site outages that my prevent participants from submitting essays for consideration before the deadline. We consistently maintain the site in order to have it available and operational at all times. However, it is recommended that contest submissions are not left to the last minute in case of unexpected technical difficulties with the site.
    5. In order to be considered, all essays must be submitted by December 16th, 2023 – 11:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).
    6. If you have any additional questions, please submit them to: MYLIAlumni@gmail.com