Nicola Lazenby from South Africa won the Essay Competition in 2004 and was a runner up in 2005.
Amitabha Basu / The achievement of using new technology in a traditional farming community / © Commonwealth Photographic Awards
"I am of Indian origin. Both my parents were born in India and much of my family live in India or Great Britain. I enjoy taking part in the Commonwealth Essay Competition as it has allowed me to learn more about my country and its history". Student, 2002
Guidance for Candidates
GUIDANCE FOR CANDIDATES:
1 It is the essence of the Competition that candidates take full responsibility for what they write. Teachers and families must not intervene in any way which compromises a candidate's responsibility or the trust on which the Competition is based.
2 Candidates must pay attention to the topics which have been set and ensure that within the specified word count they fully answer what they have been asked to do. Otherwise the Examiners will not consider them eligible for the prizes and awards.
3 Examiners expect candidates to show a competent command of English as a written language. This includes a good standard of spelling and punctuation, neat presentation and clear handwriting or word processing. Examiners take into account whether English is the first, second or third language of the candidate.
4 Prize-winning entries may vary enormously in the way they are written. However they will invariably engage the reader's attention in an entertaining, interesting or thoughtful manner. Qualities shown by candidates may include originality, imagination, creative writing skills, clarity of thought, sincerity of voice, skilful story telling, sound scholarship or well-documented research.
5 When giving Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, Examiners will usually choose those entries which have shape and structure, keep to the point and demonstrate care and effort on the part of the writer.
6 Where appropriate, candidates are encouraged to carry out research by reading suitable books and articles and/or by making use of the internet. It is expected that they consult more than one identifiable source of information, attribute quotations by means of footnotes and list their sources at the end of the entry.
7 Candidates must not plagiarise material. Remember that Examiners have access to the internet and can easily identify material published on-line.
8 In the younger Classes (C and D), Examiners enjoy entries which are illustrated by hand or by using computer generated images and photographs provided the illustrations are relevant to the subject-matter of the entry and do not detract from the writing.