The English Department of Long Beach City College and the Long Beach City College Foundation are pleased to announce the Jacaranda Essay Contest to acknowledge students for outstanding work written in composition and literature classes at Long Beach City College.  

Winners of Long Beach City College's

2011 Jacaranda English Endowment Essay Contest

Expository Essay Category Winner:
Mary Isabel Brown, Intellectual Property and Copyright Laws, (Professor:  Wendy Greenstein)

Honorable Mentions:
Adam Rodriguez, Fat People, (Professor: Natalie Schiavone)
Magdaleno Gutierrez, School Bonds: The Only Option to Improve Schools? (Professor: Dr. Karen Rose)

Persuasive Essay Category Winner:
Magdaleno Gutierrez, The Loss of Freedom One Hospital Bill at a Time, (Professor: Dr. Karen Rose) 

Honorable Mentions:
Jacqueline Ayala, A Utopia in American Society, (Professor: Dr. David Morse) 
Rex Loperena, The Green Revolution, (Professor:  Dr. Karen Rose)

Literature Paper Category Winner:
Matt McGaw, The True Nature of a Villain, (Professor: Dr. Laura Scavuzzo Wheeler)

Honorable Mentions:
Taylor Conley, Trail Guide Thoreau: An Adventure of Reinventions, (Professor:  Dr. Kenneth Speirs)
Paul Bradshaw, Pity Poor Jason? (Professor:  Dr. Laura Scavuzzo Wheeler)

Many thanks to the judges for contributing their valuable time and expertise!
Natalie Schiavone, Carrie Haddix, Laurie Potter, Lisa Montaigne, John Hsiao, Ingrid Wollank, Rudy Besikof, Charla Howard, Tom Warken, Jeff Wheeler, Sheng-Tai Chang, Jordan Fabish, Chris Glover, and Sabrina Sanders

Contest Rules 

1. Entrants must be enrolled in one of the following LBCC courses: English 105, 896AD, 899AD, 801, 1, 1H, 2, 3, 3H, 18, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43A, 43B, 44, 44H, 45, 45H, 46, 47, 48, 48H, 51A, 51B; or, ESL 34. 

2. Essays must be written for a general audience. The essay must be written for the class in which the entrant is enrolled. Each entrant may submit only one essay per category, per semester. 

3. All entries must be submitted with an entry form signed by the entrants' instructors. Entry forms are available in P119 at the Liberal Arts Campus or may be printed from this web page (see below). 

4. While writing the essay, entrants may seek the assistance they would normally receive from their instructors or the Writing and Reading Success Center.

5. Essays must be the original work of the entrants. 

6. Because winning essays will be published, the subject matter must not infringe upon the rights of any third party. 

7. The deadline for submission is the end of the first week of classes of the semester following the class for which the paper was written. 

Essay Format 

1. Each entry must be typed or printed and double spaced. The entrants' names should not appear on the essays. Essays will be identified by entry blank. The essay's title must be typed along with the page number in the upper-right-hand corner of each page. Do not staple; fasten pages together with a paper clip. 

2. Essays are not to bear instructor's remarks. 

3. Entrants must submit any available notes and drafts that went into the essay's composition. 

4. Entrants must document primary and secondary sources using MLA parenthetical format and must include a Works Cited page. (See MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers) A copy of this book is available, as is the MLA Handbook, at the LAC Library's reference desk. 

5. Include a completed entry form with each essay.

6. Entrants must submit a paper copy and a digital copy of the essay. 

Submit a paper copy of the essay to:
Essay Contest
Department of English, P119
Long Beach City College
4901 E. Carson St.
Long Beach, CA 90808

Email the digital copy of your essay as an .rtf attachment to Dr. Laura Wheeler at lwheeler@lbcc.edu (Essays will not be returned). 

Prizes and Recognition 

1. Prize winning essays will be selected for the following qualities: 

Originality and Insight
Strength of Purpose
Convincing Development
Clarity and Precision of Language
Effective Arrangement of Parts 

It is expected that essays will be generally correct in grammar, mechanics and documentation. 

2. Up to three prizes of $50 each may be awarded in each category. An entrant may not win more than one prize per category. 

3. "Honorable mention" awards may be given to additional essays of merit. 

4. Winning essays will be made available to faculty and students through the English Department Website in the 2009-2010 academic year. 

5.Winning entrants will be notified by mail. 

Click on the link below to download the essay contest form:

Jacaranda Essay Contest Form