Adult-level Writing Contest

TO: Adult and non-credit community college ESL educators
FROM: Sylvia Ramirez and Barbara Lehman, CATESOL Adult-level Chairs
RE: CATESOL Adult-level Writing Contest

Barbara and I are pleased to announce the second annual adult level writing contest sponsored by John Dicker and Greenfield Learning, Inc., (ELLIS). We would like to invite students in ESL classes offered by non credit community colleges and K-12 programs to compete in this contest. Students in international education programs are not eligible for this contest. CATESOL has a separate IEP level for international students. Unfortunately, this level does not currently sponsor a writing contest.

Students may submit essays in response to the writing prompt listed below. We are very pleased that the idea for this prompt came from discussions on the adult level listserv. Barbara and I will use the CASAS writing rubric to score the essays and select a winner. The winning student will receive a $500 prize from Greenfield Learning, Inc. and be invited to read his/her essay at the conference on Saturday, April 12, 2003. PLEASE NOTE THAT The winner, along with his/her teacher, must be able to travel to the state conference in Pasadena without fiscal support from CATESOL. The state CATESOL conference is from April 11 – 13, 2003.

The deadline for submission is January 31. Please make copies of this letter and writing prompt and invite your colleagues to have their students submit essays. Mail entries to Sylvia’s home address: 1460 Pine Avenue, Carlsbad CA 92008. If you have any questions, contact Sylvia at sramirez@miracosta.edu or Barbara at barbaralehman@fresno.k12.ca.us.

Thank you for helping us provide a public forum for our talented adult ESL students.

Adult-level Writing Prompt

Write an essay of no more than 500 words to answer the following prompt:

Describe a successful learning opportunity activity or lesson.

• What did you learn?
• How did you learn this activity or lesson?
• What made this activity or lesson important to you?
• How have you used what you learned in this activity or lesson outside of the classroom?
• How do you plan to use what you have learned in the future?

The essay needs to be typed and double-spaced. Put your name, your teacher’s name, and the name of your school on the left hand upper corner. Mail the essay to Sylvia Ramirez, 1460 Pine Avenue, Carlsbad, CA. 92008. Entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, January 31, 2003.

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