Students are invited to showcase their writing and critical thinking skills with a chance to win a grand prize of $500 during the annual Constitutional Essay Contest.

The essay topic requires participants to analyze the Constitutional provisions and historical perspectives to argue whether the Electoral College is the most effective method for electing the president while reviewing Alexander Hamilton’s The Federalist Papers #68.

A diverse panel of Antelope Valley College instructors will determine the strongest essays. Five winners will be announced during the AVC Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, December 13 with monetary prizes for each winner.

The deadline to submit the essay is 8:00a.m. on Friday, October 25, 2024.

1st place: $500
2nd place: $300
3rd place: $100
4th place: $50
5th place: $25

The essay topic is:

Referring to the Electoral College, Alexander Hamilton argues in The Federalist Papers #68 that this “process of election affords a moral certainty, that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”

Review Hamilton’s argument and analyze the text of the Constitution of the United States regarding the presidential selection process. Examine the historical record and consider other credible sources and arguments about the Electoral College.

Your thesis should establish whether OR not the Electoral College is the best possible process for selecting the chief executive, providing a basis for why or why not this is the case, which your essay response will illuminate at length.

The essay requirements are:

• The essay should be no more than 1400-1800 words in length.
• You must use Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double space all lines.
• You must include a minimum of three citations from recent sources (five years old or less) to support your argument.
• Your citations must be in MLA format.
• You must include a Works Cited page.
• The title of your essay must reflect your answer to the topic question.
• You must be an AVC student enrolled in the Fall 2024 semester.

To enter the contest, you need to complete the essay by 8:00 a.m. on Friday, October 25, 2024.

• Go to www.turnitin.com (if you don’t have a Turnitin account, use your AVC email address to create one).
• Log in to Turnitin. The Class ID for the essay is: 45358762
• The enrollment password is: MARAUDER (the password is case-sensitive).
• Click on Constitution Day Essay and upload your paper.

Student winners will be recognized at the AVC Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, December 13, 2024.