The LEAF Academy Essay Competition is open to all Slovak students aged 14 to 19.

The competition has been organized along with LEAF, Martinus bookstore, The Slovak Spectator, GROWNi, and DASATO Academy.

PRIZES

All the winning places (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) in every category will be awarded our prizes! The winners can look forward to:

  • 3x e-book readers,
  • 2x Bluetooth speakers, 2x wireless headphones, and a wireless weather station,
  • Book vouchers and merch pack from Martinus,
  • Publishing of your essay in the Slovak Spectator online magazine,
  • Mentoring and /or workshop sessions within GROWNi & DASATO Academy, 
  • Invitation to the 2nd and 3rd round of DASATO Academy,
  • Merch pack from LEAF Academy and DASATO Academy.

TOPICS

Category A – students of 8th and 9th grades of Primary schools + students of Year 1 and Year 2 of Secondary schools:

  • If I were the next prime minister of Slovakia,…
  • What defines a hero?
  • My best friend.

Category B – students of Year 3 and Year 4 of Secondary schools 

  • Slovakia and gender equality: where do we stand?
  • How do the obstacles we encounter in life make us better?
  • Is it too late to stop climate change?

Category C – anglophone students (students of bilingual secondary schools and students of any year who studied at English school abroad)

  • The attitude of Slovak people toward immigrants. 
  • Are we still fighting for human rights today?
  • If you could remove one stress factor in your life, what would it be and how would your life be better without it?

ESSAY REQUIREMENTS

All essays should be submitted in accordance with the essay’s requirements. Read the requirements carefully. 

TIPS FOR ESSAY WRITING

Read our tips on what to do & don’t do when writing an essay. These tips will help you to have your essay well-organized, structured, and focused on what is important. So check them out!

Watch the video with the title “Putting it Together with Transitions”. This video was created for LEAF students when writing in their CES WR Y2 class. It will help you to think about how you can improve the clarity of your writing by using specific words that help to organize your ideas for the reader.

JURY

All entries will be judged by an independent committee comprising representatives from the SCELT – Slovak Chamber of English Language Teachers, the Bridge – English language center, Pedagogical Faculty of Comenius University in Bratislava, and English Language Teaching and Translations field.

The jury will also ensure that submitted essays are original works.

Read the criteria according to which the jurors will assess your essay.

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Competition opened: October 20, 2022
  • Deadline for submitting essays: December 15, 2022
  • Entrants will be informed of the outcome: on January 31, 2023
  • Prize-giving ceremony:  the second half of February 2023, date TBA 

HOW TO ENTER THE COMPETITION?

To enter the competition, submit us your essay by December 15, 2022. 

SUBMIT YOUR ESSAY

EXAMPLES OF THE WINNING ESSAYS IN 2022

Have a look at the examples of the winning essays from last year on the web of The Slovak Spectator.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

All students from 8th grade to any other grade of a high school (bilingual schools included) can apply to the Essay Competition, according to the category they belong to. Every student applies by himself/herself/themselves by filling out the application, no action from the teacher is needed.

Your school is the decisive factor – choose a topic from Category C. 

If you are hesitant about what Category you belong to, contact the competition coordinator at andrea.pechova@leafacademy.eu.

To enter LEAF Academy Essay Competition, you can only submit one essay. If you have any issues with your submissions, then please contact the Essay Competition coordinator at andrea.pechova@leafacademy.eu

Do not forget, your essay should not include your name on it.

The moment you fill in the Form, attach your essay and send it, you can be sure we will receive it. You will also receive an automatic confirmation email.

Every participant should send the essay for him/herself/themselves from their email address so that we can inform you directly about the results.

No matter the circumstances, we will not accept essays sent after the deadline. Please, make sure you send your essay on time, even a few days before the deadline to avoid any trouble.

All entrants will receive an email on January 31, 2023. If the jurors assess your essay as one of the best, you will be invited to the Ceremony that will take place in Bratislava in February 2023. The winners in each category will be announced during the Ceremony.

Due to the number of essays we receive, we will not be able to provide feedback on your essay.

 

DO YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS? GET IN TOUCH WITH US 🙂

The contact person is Andrea Pěchová, tel. number +421 918 991 129, email andrea.pechova@leafacademy.eu.

In order to support the administration of the competition, personal data in the scope of name, surname and email are collected and processed. For information on how we process and protect personal data please visit  https://www.leaf.sk/ako-spracuvame-a-chranime-osobne-udaje/.