POINTERS FOR STUDENTS ON HOW TO WRITE THE SHORT STORY

Read as much as you can. Familiarise yourself with different styles of writing but be original when it comes to your own work.
Increase your word power. The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing will be.
Read your writing aloud to yourself and ask friends who read to comment on it as well.
Use correct spelling, punctuation, grammar.
Keep a dictionary, a thesaurus and a basic grammar book handy.
Don’t write in a rush. Spend a lot of time with your writing and make sure not to end your piece abruptly.
Always carry a notepad and pen with you. Jot down out-of-the-blue thoughts, make a note of interesting observations; they’ll never go to waste when you’re writing.

POINTERS FOR SCHOOLS/PRINCIPALS/TEACHERS

Please fill in all the required details in the online submission form.
The participating school must evaluate the best entries from both Group 1 (Classes 4-6) and Group 2 (Classes 7-9).
Only two entries per group will be accepted per school.
A total of only four entries will be accepted from each school.
Schools should submit only those entries that have been evaluated and are considered worth entering in the competition.
The school must go through the final four stories that are being submitted to check for plagiarised, copied or unoriginal stories.
If any story is found to be plagiarised, copied or unoriginal, the entry will be disqualified along with the other three from the school.
Disqualified entries will not be entitled to any certificates of participation.
Entries receive after the last date will be disqualified.

SCHOLASTIC INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED
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Infocity -1, Sector 34
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Ph: +91-124-4842800

Scholastic India is pleased to announce the Scholastic Writing Awards 2013 for outstanding original works by students of Classes 4 to 9, in the category of fiction/short story in English.

Scholastic Writing Awards is an annual competition that encourages students to use their writing skills and creativity.

Category for this year	Fiction/Short story
Group 1 (Classes 4-6)	1200-2000 words
Group 2 (Classes 7-9)	2000-2500 words

Choose one of the following themes and write an original short story using that theme.

Topic for Group 1	Topic for Group 2
Journey Write about a journey taken across a strife-torn land.	Rewind A twelve-year-old begins to remember events from her/his past life. Are these memories to be believed or are they just tricks of the mind?
The Secret Diary Write a story around a diary found amidst the rubble of a demolished building.	Starting line – And they lived happily ever after
Change What happens when climate change becomes impossible to ignore and our world starts getting engulfed by the oceans? Construct your story around a particular family or set of people and the way they react to this apocalypse.	Falling No one knows you have vertigo, and at your town's annual fair, your friends have urged you to take a ride on a Ferris wheel. But the lights have gone out, and the people below disperse, while you remain suspended in mid air with your friends. Write about a journey taken across a strife-torn land.

An expert committee of educators, authors and editors will select the top 25 entries from each group. Out of these top 25 entries from each group, the panel of judges will select the top 3 entries.

The top three prize winners in each group will receive the prizes listed below.

Prizes
First	A Tablet PC
Second	A Digital Camera
Third	An iPod Shuffle

The three prize winning entries from each group along with the two runners-up entries will feature in an anthology titled For Kids by Kids: The Best of the Scholastic Writing Awards 2013.

The top 25 entries in each group will receive a certificate of honour.

All other participants will receive a certificate of participations.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

February 1, 2013
to
March 22, 2013

Entries received after the last date will be rejected.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Once an entry has been submitted, students and the schools are bound by the Award guidelines.

Children whose parents are employees with Scholastic are not eligible to win prizes.

SEND ALL
QUERIES TO:

If you have any queries, please email: swa@scholastic.co.in

GET PUBLISHED!

The three prize winning entries from each group along with the two runners-up entries will feature in an anthology titled For Kids by Kids: The Best of the Scholastic Writing Awards 2013.

Scholastic Writing Awards Go Online!

REGISTRATION OPEN!

Last date for submission of entries: March 22, 2013.

How to enter Scholastic Writing Awards 2013

Go to the Scholastic India homepage www.scholastic.co.in and click on the Scholastic Writing Awards icon or go directly to the following url: www.scholastic.co.in/swa
Click on Register.
Fill in the details in the online form.
Once you submit the form you will be sent a log in ID on the registered id of the school/student.
All registered users will be able to use the log in ID to submit their entry only after February 1, 2013 by going to the Scholastic India homepage www.scholastic.co.in or at the following url: www.Scholastic.co.in/swa
To submit an entry, simply log in using your log in ID and attach the entry as a Word document.
The name of your word document should be the same as the title of your story.
Make sure each submission also lists the name of the student, the class, the school and the address.
When you log in to submit an entry, please click on the relevant icon to do so: Group 1 (Classes 4-6) or Group 2 (Classes 7-9).
Schools can submit a maximum of four entries (two for each Group).
Entries received after the last date will be disqualified.