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Essay Resources

We want you to have a great experience as you write your essay. We also understand that writing can be especially challenging when you don’t know what your reader is looking for. Perhaps we can let you know why we are having the contest, and then you’ll have a little more insight into what you should write.

Our summer reading program was established to give all incoming freshman an academic topic to talk about when they arrived at BYU. We chose The Words We Live By because it focused on constitutional issues—things we knew you would be thinking about during American Heritage and the forum addresses of Senator Harry Reid and Chief Justice John Roberts. To further motivate thought about the constitution, we sponsored a photo contest and an online discussion group. With the Summer Reading Essay contest, we hope to provide a culminating experience that will enable you to pull together and reflect upon all of the things you’ve learned throughout your first semester.

So what are we looking for in a great essay? We want to see clear reflection about your learning and the summer reading. Show us how your reading has impacted your thinking. Don’t worry if you don’t know much about political theory or constitutional law—that won’t be much of a factor in the scoring. We want to know what you learned and how it impacted you; we’re not doing this to test your constitutional knowledge.

What type of essay should you write? Well, if you want to write a narrative, write a narrative. If you want to write a persuasive essay, write a persuasive essay. If you want to write something else, then write something else. Choose the format that best expresses how you think and learn. Your essay’s style is totally up to you.

Here is a rubric that will help you know what we're looking for in an essay:

Exceptional Good Acceptable
-Connects the summer reading to forum speakers or first-year courses
-Shows actions taken as a result of the learning experience
-Relates personal experiences with the summer reading		 -Discusses forum speakers or first year courses, but doesn't connect them to the summer reading
-Shows specific learning


-Discusses personal experiences 		-Discusses the summer reading
-Shows that the book has been read

-Implies personal experience with the summer reading

In addition to your copy of The Words We Live By, you might also benefit from these sources in your essay writing:

Devotional By President Cecil O. Samuelson

Forum Address by Senator Harry Reid

Forum Address by Chief Justice John Roberts
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