- Young persons worldwide are eligible to apply.
- NGS membership is not required.
- Students must apply under the appropriate age/grade award.
Submission
- Must be in English
- Must be original unpublished work
- Become property of NGS and will not be returned
- Are not eligible for later resubmission
- Will not be returned if incomplete
Eligible Nationalities for Rubincam Youth Writing Competition in USA
All nationalities
Steps to Apply:
Step 1:
Choose a person in your family whom you admire and respect, and conduct face-to-face oral interviews. You can record the interview with the permission of this person or take very good notes for reference in your written narrative essay. Some open questions for family members may include:
- Name: how did your parents name you? You have a nickname?
- Residences: Where did you spend most of your growth? How did your family come to live there? Describe one of the houses (or apartment, farm, etc.) in which you live. How many rooms? How many bathrooms? Do you remember anything special around the house?
- Childhood Memory: What is the first memory of your childhood? What types of games have you played? What kind of toys do you have? What was the pastor’s favorite entertainment (movies, beaches, etc.) on October 31, 2019? Do you do housework? Who is the hero of your childhood and why? How is today's world different from when you were a child?
- Family: Who do you remember was the oldest relative when you were a child? What do you remember that person? What stories have you heard about your parents? Do you know your grandparents? Did your grandparents tell you a family story? Do you have any stories about celebrity relatives in your family? Of all the things you learned from your parents, what do you think is the most valuable? What world events have the greatest impact on your growth? Does any of them have a personal impact on your family?
- School: What was your school like when you were a kid? What are your best and worst songs? What elementary school did you go to? Where did you go to high school? Where did you go to university? What school activities and sports did you participate in?
- Religion: what is your religion? Have you participated in religious ceremonies as a child? What did you do on Saturday / Sunday? How are religious holidays (Christmas, Diwali, Eid, Kwanzaa, Easter or others) celebrated?
- Holidays: How does your family celebrate special days (birthdays, Chinese New Years, May 5, Thanksgiving, July 4, etc.)? Does your family have a unique food or tradition?
- Employment: What was your profession? What do you choose that job? What was that if had another occupation? Why was your first option? What results are you most proud?
Step 2:
Are there relics, photos, Bibles, or other special mementos that have been passed down to family members? Items may include periodicals / journals, letters, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, birth or wedding announcements, family bibles, baby books, photo albums, commemorative cards, and signed books.
Ask to review some of these family resources with your family members. When you look at these articles, listen carefully to what your family members have to say about them. Ask the following questions: Why is it important to you? Who are these people? (These questions may overlap with some of the information from the previous exercise.)
Step 3:
Create a timeline of the lives of your family members. In addition to relevant biographical information (including date and place of birth, names of parents, marriage, death of parents, spouse, and birth of children), it also includes historical events related to the homeland.
You can sketch a timeline on paper to organize events in chronological order, or research apps or software to help you organize the timeline.
Step 4:
Based on the information you gathered in steps 1, 2 and 3, write a narrative article for submission. It should be 750 to 1200 words and four to five pages. In addition to relevant biographical information (including date and place of birth, parents' names, marriage, spouse and children's names), please review the information you have collected in order to bring your special person to readers. Use your timeline to help shape your narrative sequence. Finally, express why this person is important to you.
Submission Style:
- Typed on 8 ½ʺ x 11ʺ letter‐quality paper
- Double‐spaced One‐inch margins on all four sides
- Pages numbered consecutively, with the title (cover) page as the first page
- Submission should not exceed one title (cover) page and five written essay pages
- Submission should be a Word or PDF document Please include an authorization letter from the principal person of your essay.
Submission via email:
Awards@ngsgenealogy.org
Include "Rubincam Youth Writing Contest" in the subject line.