2022-2023 THEME: GEOGRAPHY OF THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD

WHAT IS THE SCRIBO WRITING CONTEST?

Students may submit any original literary pieces in the following four categories: short stories, poems, comics, and fill-in-the-blank stories for younger students

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

School fee: $15.00 
Fee per entry: $5.00

HOW DO I SIGN UP?

Registration is done through the ACL store using this link https://www.aclclassics.org/Product/etc-store/scribo; submissions will be accepted via a google form which will be provided after registration. 

Registration: September 15-March 15
Submissions Due: March 15-April 15

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

All entries must be electronic with a maximum of 250 words.

  1. Only one entry is allowed per student.
  2. Entries are limited to 5 per category per school. 
  3. Each entry will be graded against the same category (i.e. novice poems v. novice poems; advanced comics v. advanced comics).
  4. Due to the lack of nuance provided by online sources (ex: William Whitaker's Words, latdict.com), print dictionaries are encouraged. 
  5. Teachers are asked to check entries for plagiarism before submitting. Any entry that is plagiarised will not be graded.
  6. Submissions that fail to comply with the rules will be disqualified. Any English that appears in the Latin writing will be penalized more heavily than Latin grammatical mistakes. 
  7. Poetry and prose submissions must make use of the templates below, which include: a short author's explanation of the literary piece, the Latin composition, and an English translation that matches the Latin. Poetry submissions do not necessarily need to employ a classical meter, but if classical meter is employed, it should be identified.
  8. Comic submissions must make use of th templates below, which includes: a short author's explanation of the literary piece, the Latin composition, and an English translation that matches the Latin. 
  9. For Comic submissions, illustrations are encouraged but not required for all entries. If illustrations are not present, the grammar/creativity categories will be weighed more heavily. Illustrations do not necessarily need to hand drawn, but if origianl artwork is employed, it should be identified.

WHAT IS THE THEMATIC CONTENT?

Click this link to access the thematic SUGGESTED vocabulary.

WHAT TEMPLATE MUST I USE PER CATEGORY?

HOW WILL ENTRIES BE EVALUATED?

Click this link to access the SCORING rubric.

WHAT ABOUT AWARDS?

All entries will be judged by Latin teachers or professors who have training in Latin composition according to the following categories: grammatical and syntactical accuracy, choice of vocabulary, originality, literary quality, and connection to the theme.

We encourage the students to write several drafts of their story. You may have students peer edit (preferred) BUT a teacher may NOT edit the work. Please remember this is a contest for the students and we want them to improve their Latin. We encourage the editors to not just give the students answers but allow them the chance to discover the correct answers for themselves.

Awards are based upon the national average for the year's entries.

  • Summa cum laude certificate awarded to top scorers
  • Maxima cum laude certificate to second-place winners
  • Magna cum laude certificate to third-place winners
  • Cum laude certificate to fourth-place winners

The pieces and names of winners of Summa Cum laude will be published in PRIMA, the publication of the Excellence Through Classics Committee.

Click this link to access prior SCORE breakdowns across award levels.***

ARE THERE RESOURCES TO HELP ME PREPARE MY STUDENTS?

Click this link to access prior SAMPLE submisisons across categories.***

Click this link to access the slides from our Zoom session on exam changes, tips and tricks on preparing your students, or watch the video below.

WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS?

If you have more questions, contact the SCRIBO chair,  scribo@etclassics.org.