Criteria for an essay

I am organising an essay writing contest, primarily to raise awareness of what Greens political parties stand for worldwide, but particularly in my country, Australia. Posting these criteria is part of the preparatory work.

Here is an excellent and amusing set of criteria for fiction, but some of them apply to any writing.

What is the purpose of the essay?

• Advance an argument regarding some issue [to present a coherent argument in response to a stimulus or question, and to persuade the reader that your position is credible (i.e., believable and reasonable)].
• Invite the reader to adopt a particular philosophy or point of view [The writer’s goal is to change the minds of the readers or at least to get the readers to question their position on a debate and consider the writer’s point of view].
• Inform the reader regarding some set of facts or findings [The emphasis should be on working with other people’s ideas, rather than reproducing their words, but your own voice should show clearly].
• Induce a desired emotional response from the reader.
• There may be a combination of the above, as long as the essay is clear and logical.

Criteria

Technical

Spelling, grammar, punctuation, correct word use.
Clear, easy-to-understand prose. Avoidance of overlong and convoluted sentences.
Logical break into paragraphs, and sections if used.
Score out of 10

Relevance

Content of the essay should clearly relate in some sense to the theme of the “Four Pillars.”
score out of 5

Research

No footnotes of formal referencing is required. However, any claims of fact should be supported with publicly available evidence.
Score out of 5

Organisation

The essay should be logically consistent, with a powerful opening to hook the reader, logical progression within the body of the essay, with a satisfying conclusion.
Score out of 20

Emotional impact

The essay should be memorable, with a significant impact on the reader.
Score out of 20

Total

This leads to a total score of 60.