The idea of entering a writing competition may seem daunting to many (adults and children alike). However, at Artistic Strategies Academy, we believe in creating opportunities for our students to participate in writing competitions, both local and international. Here are three reasons why we enrol our students in writing competitions:
1. It Builds Confidence
When students win these competitions, see their work published on an international platform or receive certificates, such as the ones in the photo above, they develop a greater sense of confidence in their writing abilities. They begin to see themselves not just as students who write but as young writers. This allows them to take pride in their achievements and their courage- It takes courage for anyone to put their work out there for judgement and evaluation.
2. It Provides Them With Challenge
In the process of preparing for these writing competitions, our students realise that it is not just about writing a creative story, but meeting the requirements of the competition. For example, in one of the competitions, the participants had to adhere to the word limit of 200 words while writing a fractured fairytale (changing parts of a fairytale).
Meeting these requirements might pose a challenge for them, especially if they are used to writing only school compositions with the given three pictures.
3. Exposure to a Variety of Topics
In addition, participating in these competitions also provide them with the rare opportunity of writing about a variety of different topics. For example, the topics in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition included topics about peace and working towards a safer future. This pushes them beyond their comfort zones of writing short, realistic narratives. Yet, these competitions still give them the freedom to write content or the style that they want. Our students have submitted poetry and argumentative essays for the said competition on topics such as recycling, conservation of the environment and preventing racism and workplace discrimination.
One of our students, Saamiya Khan (see picture below) achieved the Bronze Award in 2017 from the prestigious Commonwealth Essay Competition in which there were more than 13000 participants.
At the end of the day, it not so much about what they achieve in the final product but most importantly, what they achieve in the process- both in terms of their writing skills but also qualities such as perseverance and resilience, as they work on improving the standards of their work.