2010-2011 PAPER COMPETITION FOR EMS STUDENTS

The William Grundy Haven Student Paper Competition

The aim of the competition is to encourage excellence in writing by students in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
The College is particularly interested in recognizing and rewarding those who communicate well to an educated audience
on subjects of interest to the programs within the College. It is our intent to showcase the winning papers on the College
website and other publications.

Entrance Requirements
 The student must be in his/her second-year or higher of attendance as an undergraduate in good academic
standing in a major in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
 A faculty member in the College must sponsor the paper and sign the cover page.

Paper Requirements
 The topic should be related to one of the majors represented in the College. Papers originally written for classes or
technical papers may be used as a basis for a submission. However, the audience for this competition is
intellectually curious and educated—not scientists in a peer reviewed journal. Write in a way that is informative
and useful for both educated non-specialists and professionals. Review scientific articles written for popular
magazines such as Scientific American, National Geographic, The Atlantic Monthly, and Science News. Follow
the conventions for audience engagement from these models.
 Content must have depth with a style that demonstrates a clear purpose, logical organization, creativity, audience
engagement, and sentence fluency.
 Information should be current and sources must be appropriately cited. Model the citations after the conventions
of popular scientific magazines. Use the bibliographic sentence and lead-in verbs to cite in-text. Include at least
two references and a works cited for the reviewers. The paper should have a professional appearance.
 Students may submit papers as an individual or a team. The team should have no more than five members. Prize
money will be distributed evenly. All team members must fulfill the entrance requirements and submit individual
entrance forms.
 Typed papers should be approximately 1500 words. Be concise.
 Contact the writing tutor in the Ryan Family Student Center and schedule an appointment to refine your paper.
Allow at least one week prior to the due date to ensure adequate time to complete the necessary revisions.

Submission Process
 The deadline for submission is any time before midnight on February 15, 2011.
 Complete the entrance form that indicates you meet the entrance requirements found online or in the Ryan Family
Student Center (RFSC).
 Submit your paper and the completed form to the Giles Writer-in-Residence in 14F RFSC or electronically at
kdb9@psu.edu.
 Email an eLion grade report from your most recent past semester to kdb9@psu.edu.

Award Presentation
Awards will be presented at the College Wilson Awards Banquet in April.
First Place: $1000
Second Place: $750
Third Place: $500
Honorable Mention(s); one to three awards: $250
In the event of a tie, or the absence of a winning entry, the committee will adjust the prize amounts.

The William Grundy Haven Awards were established in 1950 by William A. Haven in memory of his son William Grundy Haven,
who was a Penn State geology student who volunteered for service in World War II. He was killed in action at the Battle of the Bulge
in 1944.