Woman Around Town is conducting an essay contest for high school students. You must review these Official Rules before you can enter the Essay Contest. Participation in the Essay Contest constitutes an agreement by each contestant (and his or her parent or guardian as applicable) to comply with these Official Rules. All decisions regarding interpretation of these Official Rules and administration of the Essay Contest made by Sponsor (as defined below) are final and binding. Sponsor reserves the right to amend or cancel this Essay Contest at any time.
ESSAY TOPIC: Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way” is about seeking acceptance in yourself and accepting others. What does it mean to you?
SPONSOR: The Woman Around Town Essay Contest is sponsored by Woman Around Town, WATNY LLC, 954 Lexington Avenue, Suite 239, New York, New York 10021.
CONTEST PERIOD: The Essay Contest begins at 12 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 and ends at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.
ELIGIBILITY: Subject to the additional restrictions below, to be eligible to enter the Woman Around Town Essay Contest, the contestant must (1) be a U.S. citizen or permanent U.S. legal resident, (2) be enrolled in a private or public high school or a homeschool (grades 9-12) in the United States, and (3) have obtained a parent’s or legal guardian’s prior permission on the Consent Form if the student is under the age of eighteen (18) years. If the contestant is eighteen (18) years or older, the contestant may complete the Consent Form on his or her own behalf where indicated. Minors who enter must have the written consent of a parent or legal guardian in order to be eligible to win a prize. This Essay Contest is void in Puerto Rico, U.S. territories and possessions, outside of the U.S., and where prohibited by law.
TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. All essays must comply with the following requirements:
• No literary form other than an essay will be accepted. Works of fiction or poetry will not be accepted.
• Only one (1) essay may be submitted by each contestant.
• Each essay must reflect the contestant’s own writing and original thinking.
• Copyrighted materials and quotations must be identified properly. Failure to identify non-original material will result in disqualification.
• The essay may not contain any defamatory, obscene or otherwise unlawful matter or contain any other inappropriate content (as determined by Sponsor in its discretion).
• The essay text is limited to 750 words.
• Essays must be computer-printed, double-spaced and in English.
• The essay must include a title page, not considered text, with the following information: essay title, contestant’s full name, contact phone number, contact email address, number of pages of essay and school name, address and phone number.
• In order to keep the identity of the contestants concealed from the judges, each page of essay text must contain in a header the contestant’s contact phone number, but not the contestant’s name.
• Essays may be submitted in one of two ways:
(1) as an attachment to an electronic mail transmission to the following address: entries@womanaroundtown.com or
(2) by mail or courier delivery to Woman Around Town Essay Contest, c/o WATNY LLC, 954 Lexington Avenue, Suite 239, New York, New York 10021.
• The Consent Form must be completed, signed and attached to the essay submission (scanned if electronically submitted and in print if submitted in hard copy). Essay submissions by minors without Consent Forms attached in the same submission will be disqualified.
• Essays will not be returned to the contestants; please retain a copy before mailing.
DEADLINE: In order to be eligible for the Essay Contest, deadline for receipt of entries, whether by mail or electronic mail, is 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time, on April 18, 2012.
SELECTION OF WINNER: Judging will be completed by a panel of three (3) qualified judges and will be scored using the following criteria: material organization (logical interpretation of the subject); adherence to the topic; vocabulary and style; grammar, punctuation and spelling; and creativity. The winner(s) will be announced on or about June 1, 2012. If the selected winner is ineligible, or if Sponsor is unable to make contact with the selected winner after reasonable effort and time, the prize shall be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner.
PRIZES: There will be a first, second and third prize winner, along with several honorable mentions as deemed appropriate by the judges. The winning essays will be published on the Woman Around Town website and a biographical feature story about the author will accompany the publication of the essay.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For inquiries: entries@womanaroundtown.com
For submissions: entries@womanaroundtown.com
Website: http://www.womanaroundtown.com
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