National Essay Contest Rules & Details

We wrote The True Patriot to spur national conversations about the values and principles that ought to guide our politics — and to inspire civic action consistent with those values. We believe that true patriotism is an inheritance derived from the progressive ideals of our nation's founders, and we believe we have an obligation to pass that inheritance on to the next generation.

To help create this legacy, we are launching a national high school essay contest on the question, "What does true patriotism mean to you?" The prize for the winning essay will be a $25,000 college scholarship. This one-time contest will conclude January 2009 and the winner will be announced prior to the inauguration of the next President.

Our hope is that this scholarship will encourage not only students around the country to engage on these issues, but also the parents, teachers, neighbors and mentors of those students.

Here are the guidelines:

• What: Write an essay of no more than 1500 words that answers the question, "What does true patriotism mean to you?" We are not looking for essays that simply mimic our own writings, but we welcome better articulations of the points we sought to make.
• Who: Any high school student in the United States may participate. Finalists will be recognized and one winner will be selected.
• When: Submissions will be received starting February 1, 2008 and ending September 1, 2008. A distinguished national panel of judges will select finalists and the winner. The winner will be announced in January 2009.

Formatting:

Please Prepare essays in MS Word. Text should be 12 point type, double spaced. Be sure to include your name, essay title and contact information (email preferred) on the top of every page of your essay.

Submission:

By email: Send your Word document as an attachment to Essays@truepat.org. You will receive a confirmation of receipt via return email. Submissions must be date/time stamped no later than 11:59 p.m. PST, September 1, 2008.

By REGULAR mail: If you are submitting an essay by regular mail, please be sure to also provide a contact email as confirmation of receipt and winner notification will be made by email only. Send printed essays to:

Please note that essay manuscripts cannot be returned. Essays must be postmarked September 1, 2008 to be eligible.