Prizes include: College Scholarships and Free Critical Thinking Products. 


Seaside, California (October 1, 2008) – The Critical Thinking Company,
award-winning publisher of complete curriculum and supplemental educational
books, software and DVDs for all ages, announces The Critical Thinking
Company 50th Anniversary Essay Competition for middle and junior high school
students during the 2008-2009 academic year. The essay competition consists
of two separate topics each with a limit of 500 words. The first topic
challenges students to describe how they benefit in their everyday lives
from critical thinking educational materials published by The Critical
Thinking Company over the last 50 years. The second topic requires students
to imagine how their everyday lives, 50 years from now, will benefit from
strong critical thinking skills. Complete details for the competition can be
found below. 

50th Anniversary Essay Competition 
Part of The Critical Thinking Company's mission is to inspire a love of
thinking while developing important critical thinking skills. Our hope is
that the essay competition will inspire and encourage middle school students
to continue practicing higher order thinking in high school, college and
beyond. The essay competition asks middle school students to write an essay,
500 words or less, in response to one of the following topics: 

Topic #1 
Describe how you benefit today in everyday life due to The Critical Thinking
Company educational materials from the last 50 years. Utilize product
information, articles, and research material found on the
www.criticalthinking.com website, along with personal experience to outline
gains from critical thinking materials that are common place in everyday
life. 

Topic #2
Describe, 50 years from now, how your everyday life may benefit from strong
critical thinking skills. Utilize product information, articles, and
research material found on the www.criticalthinking.com website, along with
personal experience and your imagination to explain how your daily life will
be better, 50 years from now due to highly-developed reasoning skills. 

Students may submit two separate essays, each responding to a separate
topic, if they so choose. For specific details on entry requirements, see
the following sections. 

Due Dates: 
The Competition Opens on September 15, 2008 
Final Entry Is Due on or Before January 15, 2009

Winners will be notified on or after February 15th, 2009, depending on the
number of submissions. 

Eligibility
Any U.S. student enrolled in middle school, junior high school or home
school (under the age of 15) in the U.S. or its territories is eligible to
enter the competition for cash prizes. Non-U.S. citizens and students in
international locations can enter as well, but they are not eligible for
cash prizes. Free product and certificates will be awarded to each winner,
regardless of citizenship. 

A teacher, parent or guardian must sponsor each entry. This means that a
responsible adult must review and approve the student entry before it is
submitted to The Critical Thinking Company. The adult should also affirm
that the student did the research and writing themselves.  

Submission Requirements
Note: Student submissions shall be treated as being free of restrictions and
limitations on their use, reproduction and publication. 
Title page listing: Should list essay topic, student's name, school's name,
teacher's name, complete mailing address of school, type of school (private,
public or home school), grade level (6, 7, 8 or 9), and complete email and
phone contact information for student and teacher. 
All papers must be submitted digitally as MS Word or Adobe PDF documents.
Hard copies will be accepted but not preferred. 
Individual entries: No more than 500 words, typed, double-spaced, 12-pt.
font, one-side only, will be accepted. The 500 word limit requirement
excludes title page. 
Digital copies of file-size 5 megabytes or less should be sent via e-mail
attachment to ideas@criticalthinking.com. Subject line: The Critical
Thinking Company 50th Anniversary Essay Competition 
Please copy the information from your title page into the e-mail message. 

E-mail Submission Example:
To: ideas@criticalthinking.com
From: Name of sender
Subject line: The Critical Thinking Co. 50th Anniversary Essay Competition
Attached: Your essay attached as .doc or .PDF only
Body of message: Copy and paste your title page information into the body of
the e-mail. 
Do not put the essay itself into the body of the e-mail. 
For hard copies, please mail your entry to arrive no later than the due date
to:
The Critical Thinking Company 
50th Anniversary Essay Competition
PO BOX 1610
Seaside, C.A. 93955-1610 

Criteria for Evaluation
Each essay will be judged on its own merit by a group of educators and other
expert representatives. Award-level entries must be well written, thorough
and concise. Entries will be judged on how well students have focused their
essay, and how well they have addressed four basic criteria: Informed
Content*, Creativity and Imagination, Captivating and Inspirational, and
Writing Technique. 

Scores will be determined using the following guideline: 
Informed Content*, 30 points. 
Creativity and Imagination, 30 points. 
Essay is captivating and inspirational, 20 points. 
Organization and grammar of the essay, 20 points. 
*Informed content means that the students have educated themselves about the
products and the meaning of critical thinking, and the use of examples and
product information are accurate. 


ESSAY COMPETITION AWARDS
NOTE: ONLY U.S. CITIZENS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CASH PRIZES 

Each student that enters will receive a Participation Certificate from The
Critical Thinking Company. 

ELIGIBLE entries that receive the highest overall scores will receive
certificates, product and scholarships. 

The dollar amounts of prizes are subject to available funds. 

We expect to be able to make the following awards to the ELIGIBLE middle and
junior high school winners: 
First prize: $500 college scholarship and $100 in free product. 
Second prize: $300 college scholarship and $200 in free product. 
Third prize: $100 in free product. 
Each student that enters will receive a Participation Certificate. 


###


CONTACT INFO:

Nile Duppstadt - V.P. of Sales & Marketing
800-458-4849 x 109
niled@criticalthinking.com

Tim Sitar - Product and Assessment Specialist
800-458-4849 x 111
tims@criticalthinking.com

WEBSITE:  www.criticalthinking.com    
EMAIL: info@CriticalThinking.com    
PHONE: 800-458-4849


About The Critical Thinking Company 
Since 1958, The Critical Thinking Company has been a recognized leader in
teaching critical thinking skills. The company offers fun, easy-to-use
products that develop a wide-range of thinking skills and improve
standards-based learning in reading, writing, math, science, and history.
The company's award-winning books and software empower students with the
problem-solving skills needed for success in school and in life. The
Critical Thinking Company supplies educational materials to Sylvan Learning
Centers, Club Z In-Home Tutoring, leading U.S. public high schools, and
gifted & talented programs throughout the world. The Critical Thinking
Company guarantees better grades and higher test scores, or your money back.


The Critical Thinking Co. logos are trademarked or registered trademarks of
The Critical Thinking Co. Copyright © 2008 The Critical Thinking Co.
All Rights Reserved.

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