Contest Dates: Nov. 7, 2019 – Dec. 10, 2019
Do you have strong opinions about books, music, fashion, restaurants or TV shows? Are you a theater buff or a foodie?
If so, you’re in luck. In this contest, we invite you to play critic and write an original review for our Fifth Annual Student Review Contest.
What can you choose? Anything that fits into a category of creative expression that The New York Times covers — from architecture to video games.
We do ask, however, that you pick something new to you. Part of the reason we created this contest is to encourage you to stretch your cultural imagination. So go see a local art, design or fashion show; explore a building; watch a movie or TV show or dance performance or play; listen to an album; read a book; play a game or eat in a restaurant that is novel and interesting to you.
Please note: For the first time ever, we plan to have two submission categories for this contest: middle school and high school. We will update this page with more detailed rules and submission forms on or before Nov. 7, 2019, the date when this contest officially opens.
Until then, here are useful resources so teachers and students can begin planning for this contest:
• Our 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 winners, runners-up and honorable mentions.
• Our lesson plan “Thinking Critically: Reading and Writing Culture Reviews.”
• A link to add this contest to your Google calendar.
• Our contest rubric.
If you have any questions about this contest, please contact us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.
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2019 Contest Rules and Guidelines
1. Review something that fits into one of the categories of creative expression that The Times reviews.
• books (fiction, nonfiction and children’s books)
• video games
• music (albums and events, popular and classical)
• movies
• theater
• TV shows
• fashion
• architecture
• dance
• art
• restaurants
• hotels
• technology
2. Be concise. The review must be 450 words or fewer, not including the title.
3. Assert an opinion and back it up. A review is not simply a plot summary or description. State an opinion and support it with detail that makes your case.
4. Know your audience. Be mindful that you are submitting a review to The New York Times, not to a school newspaper, and that your potential audience therefore includes a broader cross-section of people. But, be sure to take into account who the creative work’s target audience is as well. For example, if you are reviewing a video game intended for 10-year-old girls, aim to write a review that will be useful for 10-year-old girls (and their parents).
5. Write something original. For this contest, you cannot submit anything you have already published, whether in a school newspaper or elsewhere.
6. Whatever you choose to review, it should be new to you. That doesn’t mean it can’t be a classic work and has been around for decades — just that it should be a fresh experience for you.
7. Use appropriate and engaging language, and give context. Assume that your audience is interested in learning more about your topic but does not have the same background about it that you do.
8. Only one submission per student is allowed.
9. What is the “prize”? Having your work published on The Learning Network.
10. We plan to offer two different categories for this contest: middle school and high school. Please stay tuned for more details.
