A Note from the RWC Writing Consultants:
All papers in the 2011/2 competition responded to a statement by UK Labour MP, Kate Green: “Lowering the voting age to sixteen would help to reconnect young people with their communities.”
The annotations that follow each essay below attempts to identify some of the features of the essay that made it a winner. Some things are done better than other things in each essay. In fact, hypothetically, the structure of a Third Place essay may be better than the structure of a First Place essay, but it is the accumulation of things done well that is eventually measured. With the 2011/2 essays below, the compelling nature of the argument, in the final analysis, won the day.
FIRST PLACE: Marian Brosnan, Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher - View Essay and Annotations
SECOND PLACE: Liam McMahon, Ardscoil Ris, Limerick - View Essay and Annotations
THIRD PLACE: Lee Dillon, Ardscoil Ris, Limerick - View Essay and Annotations
