Scholarship details
For many years, reading has been the fastest and most productive way to assimilate knowledge. Today, our reading culture has deflated, and efforts have been made by individuals and organizations to revive it. The Penguin Publishers hosts the Signet Classics Scholarship Essay Contest each year to help celebrate their book collections.
This year, they will celebrate their 23rd edition, which is a testament to their progress over the past two decades.
In this article, you will learn about the Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest, the application process, and eligibility requirements.
About the Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest
Each year, Penguin Publishers holds an annual essay contest to celebrate its wide selection of books in the Signet Classics collection. This year, the 23rd Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest 2023 requires middle school or high school students to write an essay on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Applicants must select one of the following five topics:
- Huck and Jim are the protagonists of the novel, but can they also be called heroes? What qualities do they possess that make them such? How do they prove themselves through their actions?
- The dialect used in the book, particularly the racial slurs, has long been controversial. How do you add or remove the use of dialect from the book as a work of literature? Give examples.
- How does Huck’s attitude towards Jim change throughout the novel? He discusses some incidents that illustrate the evolution of their relationship.
- Huck starts with huge handicaps. He is orphaned and abused, often homeless and poorly educated. What personality traits, skills, and talents help you rise above his circumstances?
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been banned from several schools across the country. Critics cite the immoral behavior of the characters and racism as reasons for keeping the book away from students. What are your reactions to these criticisms? What arguments can you give against the ban on the book?
Level/field of study
This scholarship is open to 11th and 12th grades high school students.
Host nationality
The Signet Classics Student Scholarship Contest is hosted by Penguin Publishers, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, USA.
Eligible Nationality
This Signet Scholarship 2023 is open to citizens and residents of the United States and the District of Columbia.
Scholarship Worth
Five Grand Prize Winners (5) will each receive the following:
- A check for one thousand dollars ($1,000) to cover tuition and/or expenses related to your degree.
- A Signet Classics library for the winner’s school library or a public library in the case of a home-schooled winner. (Approximate retail value of jackpot: $2,600)
Eligibility
The Signet Scholarship is open to full-time students in grades 11 and 12 studying in high schools in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia, or home-schooled students ages 16-18 residing in the United States and the District of Columbia.
However, it is void where prohibited by law. In addition, all national and local restrictions apply.
How to apply
Enrolled students :
An English teacher must submit four (4) copies of the essay on behalf of the student (each English teacher may only submit one junior essay and one senior essay). Each of the four (4) copies of the essay must include a cover letter on the school’s letterhead and the following details:
- Date
- Student‘s full name, grade, address, email address, and home phone number
- Name of school
- The name, email, and daytime phone number of the English teacher submitting the essay (include summer contact information if different from school year contact information).
- Name, email, and daytime phone number of the head of school administration
- Selected topic (#1, #2, #3, #4 or #5)
- Certification by the professor that the essay is the original work of the student.
Essays submitted without a cover letter on school letterhead or cover letters that do not include the above information will be disqualified.
Homeschool Students :
A parent or legal guardian must submit four (4) copies of the essay on behalf of the student. Each of the four (4) copies of the essay must include a cover letter on parent/legal guardian letterhead stating that the student is being homeschooled and including the following details:
- Date
- Student’s full name, address, email address, and home phone number.
- An equivalent degree of the student.
- Name and daytime phone number and email of sponsoring parent/legal guardian
- Selected topic (#1, #2, #3, #4 or #5)
- Certification from the parent/legal guardian of the home-schooled student that the essay is the original work of the student.
Essays submitted without a cover letter on parent/guardian letterhead or cover letters that do not contain the above information will be disqualified.
Note: Essays must be at least two and no more than three double-spaced, typed or computerized pages (please do not tape-record presentations).
Entries should be mailed to Penguin Publishing Group, Academic Marketing Department, Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest #23, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Deadline for application
All entries for the 2023 Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest must be postmarked by June 15, 2023.
application link
For more information on the Signet Scholarship, applicants should click on the following link:
