Teen writers vie for Dublin prize
By Watchara Saengsrisin
The Nation
Published on November 7, 2007
http://nationmultimedia.com/
High-school students from all over the country are sharpening their pencils to compete in the Fourth Annual Junior IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards for Thailand, an essay competition designed to promote creative English-language writing among students.
The theme of this year's competition will be "If We Could Change the World" and the closing date for completed essays is December 15.
The overall national winner and a parent will win a trip to Dublin, to attend the Senior Dublin Literary Awards ceremony, the world's richest literary prize. The national winner will be chosen from the four regional winners.
Eugene Hutchinson, the Irish ambassador to Thailand, said the theme of this year's competition is clear and challenging; it will allow youths to express their hopes for the future of the world.
"It is widely accepted that confidence in English is the key to success in the global world of commerce, and the competition will enable Thai youths to develop a language skill which will prove to be very beneficial not only for themselves, but also for the country."
The first winner of the competition, Chompoonuch Tang-thavorn, 21, a third-year student at Chulalongkorn Univer-sity's Faculty of Law, had three tips for writing a good essay.
"Have a clear understanding of what you are writing, be sincere to your reader, and enjoy it."
This year's competition is open to Thai students studying in Thailand between the ages of 14 and 18 as of December 1 this year. Top essays from each of the four regions will earn Bt10,000 scholarship, and two merit awards worth Bt5,000 will also be given in each region.
Essays should be between 800 and 1,200 words, and the national winner will be honoured at an award ceremony on January 15, 2008. The contest will be conducted separately in the four regions, each with separate judges.
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