Essay Topic

Participants are asked to submit an essay that honor(s) or highlight(s) the life and legacy of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole.  You might consider one or more of the following in your essay: Who was Prince Kūhiō and what was his impact on Hawai‘i? What would Prince Kūhiō have to say about today’s world and why?  How has Prince Kūhiō affected you, your family, or community? How do you carry on the work of Prince Kūhiō? Why did Prince Kūhiō found the Hawaiian Civic Club? How do you see yourself contributing to the legacy of the Prince?   Essays are to be between 400 – 2,400 words, depending on age group category.

 

Essay Topic
Rules
Prizes
Tips
Submit

Rules

All essays should specifically address the Essay Topic, which is:

Participants are asked to submit an essay that honor(s) or highlight(s) the life and legacy of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole.  You might consider one or more of the following in your essay: Who was Prince Kūhiō and what was his impact on Hawai‘i?  What would Prince Kūhiō have to say about today’s world and why?  How has Prince Kūhiō affected you, your family, or community? How do you carry on the work of Prince Kūhiō?  Why did Prince Kūhiō found the Hawaiian Civic Club? Essays are to be between 400 – 2,400 words, depending on age group category.

Tips for the Essayist

We recommend you review our Tips for Essayists

Eligibility

The contest is open to writers of all ages.  However, for all essayists under the age of 18, essays must be submitted by a teacher, parent, or legal guardian.  Teachers, parents, and guardians may submit unlimited entries, but not more than one for the same essayist. All submissions must be written in either English or ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.

Essay Length

Essays should be between 400 – 2,400 words in length.  Submissions that do not meet this requirement, or that exceed it, will be disqualified.  Essay word count are specific to age group category as noted below:

Age Group Category Word count
10 years and under 400 – 800
11 – 14 years 800 – 1200
15 – 18 years 1200 – 1600
19 years and over 1600 – 2400

Submission Dates

Essays must be submitted between March 1st, 2019 and 11:59 pm Hawai‘i Standard Time, March 28, 2019.

Plagiarism

All essays must be the original work of the essayist whose name is listed on the submission form. Plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

Taxes

Winners will be solely responsible for any federal, state, and/or local taxes on winnings.

Judges

Essays will be judged on their understanding of the topic; structure, organization, and effectiveness in expressing a point-of-view or argument; original, critical, and/or creative thinking; and literary style, grammer, citations, and spelling.  The Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club will evaluate essay submissions in a fair and unbiased judging system, where judges will all use the same criteria. Judges will be selected by the Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club based on their backgrounds and expertise in education, writing, and the subject matter.  Decisions of the judges are final.

Ownership and Use

The ownership of any submission remains the property of the essayist, but entry into the competition constitutes the entrant’s permission and consent, without compensation, with or without attribution, for the Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club to use, reproduce, transmit, post, distribute, adapt, edit, and/or display the submission.

Prizes

Cash prizes will be awarded for up to the top four essays in each age group category at the dollar amount indicated below.  The Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club reserves the right to award less than four awards per Age Group Category.

Age Group Category Prize per Winner
10 years and under $100
11 – 14 years $150
15 – 18 years $250
19 years and over $500

 Tips for Essayists

  • Proofread your essay
  • Have someone else proofread your essay (no, that’s not cheating)
  • Have a teacher, parent, or guardian help with the digital submission of the essay, including assistance with typing if needed
  • Ensure that all names are spelled correctly
  • Check grammar rules if you’re unsure
  • Check your facts
  • Double-check quotes
  • Academic research and interviews are encouraged
  • Cite your sources using the most recent editions of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA), or Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).  Checkout Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab’s Citation Style Chart for an essay reference.
  • Bibliographies are not required, only citation notes
  • Citations count towards word count
  • Essays should be saved in Microsoft Word file format

 Submit

Submit your essay here