Each prompt is a made-up news situation at a middle school, with facts and quotes from both sides. You write the editorial your school paper would run.
The contest
UIL A+ Editorial Writing gives a news situation with quotes from both sides. Students have 45 minutes to write an editorial for the school paper that explains the situation, takes a clear stand, supports it with specific examples and offers a logical solution. Judges rate those four things and rank the papers.
How practice climbs
- Read the prompt. Find the problem, the decision coming up, the two sides, and which statements are facts.
- Take a stand. Pick the strongest facts for a side, and the best answer to the other side.
- Build the structure. Choose a lead, then put an editorial’s parts in order.
- Style. Active voice, the paper’s “we”, and a fair tone toward the other side.
- Timed write. A fresh prompt, 45 minutes on the clock, then check your essay against the judges’ criteria.
A drill is passed when one of its last five tries was right. A step is done when 80% of its drills are passed, up to a few prompts’ worth. Every step stays open, so you can go back to any of them.
What judges look for
- Explain the situation early: what is being decided, by whom, and when.
- Take a clear stand early, and keep it all the way through.
- Back the stand with specific facts and quotes from the prompt.
- Answer the strongest point on the other side, fairly.
- End with a logical solution, not just a summary.
- Write as the paper: “we” or third person, never “I”. Prefer active voice (“the board voted”), which says who acted.
- Don’t put your name or school on the paper.