Logo for the English department essay contest.

The Mineral Area College English Department is excited to host its annual essay contest!

Contest is open to area high school students. Prizes will be awarded to the top winners in each grade level (9-12). Top Junior winners will win a MAC scholarship!

Students can choose from these writing prompts:

1. Write about an experience that taught you a lesson.
2. Write a narrative about something you’ve accomplished. Why is this accomplishment so important to you?
3. Tell about a time something happened to you, but there was no resolution. What did you learn from this experience?
4. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
5. Write about a time when someone unexpectedly made you happy or grateful. How did this experience affect or motivate you?
6. Recall a time when you faced a challenge or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

1. Write about an experience that taught you a lesson.
2. Write a narrative about something you’ve accomplished. Why is this accomplishment so important to you?
3. Tell about a time something happened to you, but there was no resolution. What did you learn from this experience?
4. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
5. Write about a time when someone unexpectedly made you happy or grateful. How did this experience affect or motivate you?
6. Recall a time when you faced a challenge or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

The following parameters will guide judging:

• Your narrative should be 3-5 pages in Times New Roman, double-spaced with one-inch margins, and have an effective title. The title should appear on page one.
• Narratives will be evaluated based on the following:
• Use of sensory detail (smell, sight, taste, touch, sound)
• Main point is developed and impactful 
• Each essay needs a title page with the title, student’s name, grade, and school. The student’s name and school should not appear anywhere else in the document.
• Essays with more than five proofreading errors will be disqualified.
• Essays generated by AI will be disqualified.

Essays must be either a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. If you're working in Google Docs, you'll need to download your essay as one of the previous file types and submit. Teachers or counselors may submit on behalf of students. 

Entries due by 4:00 pm Friday, March 27!

Enter the Essay Contest

Main Campus

5270 Flat River Road
PO Box 1000
Park Hills, MO. 63601

(573) 431-4593

Mineral Area College serves our communities by providing excellent, affordable opportunities for learning, personal growth, and career development in a safe and welcoming environment.

Mineral Area College

Mineral Area College

Main Campus

5270 Flat River Road
PO Box 1000
Park Hills, MO. 63601

(573) 431-4593

Mineral Area College serves our communities by providing excellent, affordable opportunities for learning, personal growth, and career development in a safe and welcoming environment.

Mineral Area College

Mineral Area College

Main Campus

5270 Flat River Road
PO Box 1000
Park Hills, MO. 63601

(573) 431-4593

Mineral Area College serves our communities by providing excellent, affordable opportunities for learning, personal growth, and career development in a safe and welcoming environment.

Mineral Area College

Mineral Area College