General Guidelines
- An entrant must be a Freshman, Sophomore, Junior or Senior at a New Mexico high school.
- All entries must be double-spaced, contain indented paragraphs, be in PDF format and received by the contest deadline to be considered. ENTRIES NOT MEETING THESE CONDITIONS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. The deadline for the 2022 NMEW Essay Contest is 11:59pm MST on Friday, June 10th, 2022.
- Entries must follow the contest guidelines in terms of length, adherence to theme and topic.
- All entries must be the original work of the entrant.
- Essays become the property of NMEW and may be used in print, digital and web-based promotional materials by NMEW.
- Cash prizes will be awarded for the top three essays in the following amounts:
- 1st place $500
- 2nd place $250
- 3rd place $150
- Honorable Mention (2) $50
- Winners will be notified during the summer. NMEW requests that winners attend an in-person, or video conference ceremony that will be held during the summer of 2022, where they will be presented with their prize and a certificate.
- The judging and selection process will be at the sole discretion of New Mexico Ethics Watch, and the judging committee(s) chosen for such purpose. Submissions may be disqualified if submission rules are not followed. Decisions of the judges are final and binding.
- Entrants are responsible for complying with these guidelines.
- Open to New Mexico residents only.
Submission Information
Each essay contest entry must be between 500-1000 words and must adhere to the theme: Is it possible to have an ethical government without equity for all of its citizens? Take a position and develop an argument with relevant evidence. All essays must be submitted by June 10th, 2022 to essays@nmethicswatch.org
All submissions must include a cover page that contains the following information:
- Entrant’s full name
- Entrant’s age
- First and last name of the entrant’s parent/guardian (if under 18)
- Entrant’s mailing address
- Name of the high school attended
- High school city and state
- Entrant’s telephone number
- Entrant’s email address
Personal information should only be entered onto the cover sheet, as all essays will be judged blindly.
Any submissions that include personal information in the body of the essay will be automatically disqualified.
All essays will be judged using the following criteria: relevance to theme, clarity, creativity, and grammar/spelling.
Any submissions that include personal information in the body of the essay will be automatically disqualified.
All essays will be judged using the following criteria: relevance to theme, clarity, creativity, and grammar/spelling.
