Tex Elects Competition Categories
Poster | Essay | PSA | Web site
Wanted: Voters – Poster Competition
Posters are a wonderfully expressive means of getting an idea to the public. They can be in color or black and white, they can be done using many different media, and they can persuade using any number of different methods.
Students could create a poster that encouraged people to vote in the upcoming election.
Each poster was judged on message clarity, persuasive appeal, design/composition, and the care and planning put into the project.
Submission Format/Media: Hard copy (17”x22”). Digital entries (11" x 17") must be JPEG or PDF. Digital entries may be submitted to strauss@communication.utexas.edu. Hard copies may be delivered or mailed to: 3001 Lake Austin Blvd., 2.316 Austin, Texas 78703. Each entry will be evaluated using a rubric.
Ready to get started, try this Activity Guide.
Teacher Tips! Have students view the poster exhibit available online at the websites below. Discuss the ways posters are used to influence a country. How has the art changed over time? How is the message delivered? What would be different today? Have students create their own poster about voting.
Poster Resources
Write You Are Pardner – Essay Competition
Once you're 18, you can vote! But why bother? Students wrote a persuasive essay to convince young people that voting isn't just for the old, rich, educated people - it's for everyone! Students chose to write in either an editorial or persuasive essay format.
High School Students: Entries should have a minimum of 500 words and a maximum of 1000 words.
Middle School Students: Entries should have a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 500 words.
Essays must be submitted in hard copy or via email to strauss@communication.utexas.edu. All entries must be crafted individually (no team efforts please).
All essays or editorials were judged on ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice and conventions.
Submission Format/Media: Hard copies or digital entries accepted. Digital entries must be MicroSoft Word attachments. Digital entries may be submitted to strauss@communication.utexas.edu. Hard copies may be delivered or mailed to: 3001 Lake Austin Blvd., 2.316 Austin, Texas 78703. Each entry will be evaluated using a rubric.
Ready to get started, try this Activity Guide.
Teacher Tips! This is a great essay assignment for your government, history, or even English class! Have students talk about why they believe people don't vote, then discuss what makes voting an important part of community life. After the discussion, have students write their essays.
Essay Research & Writing Tips
- http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/essay.html
- Strunk and White's Elements of Style
- CIRCLE Research on Youth Participation and Voting
PSA Y’all – Public Service Announcement Video Competition
Students were invited to create a public service announcement motivating people to register and vote. PSA's are advertisements that provide a message or information that is deemed to be of service to the community. Because they are considered to be of public value, PSA's are run free of charge on television and radio.
These messages are non-partisan and must consider a specific audience and message. PSA's must be video-based and no longer than sixty seconds. (In television, thirty seconds is the standard length for a PSA. Students may work in teams to complete an entry in the PSA category.
Each poster was judged on message clarity, persuasive appeal, design/composition, and the care and planning put into the project. Each entry will be evaluated using a rubric.
Submission Format/Media: .avi, iMovie, or MPEG
Ready to get started, try this Activity Guide.
Teacher Tips! Have students read the ten commandments of PSA's found on PSAResearch.com. Discuss what a voting PSA COULD do to break those rules. Then have students brainstorm and storyboard ideas for their own PSA's and explain how their commercials will persuade.
PSA Resources
Home On the Range – Web site Competition
In this category, students were invited to create a website homepage that encourages their peers or parents to participate in the electoral process. One of the best ways to get started is to examine existing websites and then try creating one on your own.
Website homepages should focus on a specific audience and a particular type of participation for example, voting, registration, caucusing, or block walking.
"Home on the Range" web homepage entries may be submitted by a team.
Each web homepage was judged on screen design, clear and concise messaging, writing conventions, originality, organization and evidence of planning. Each entry was evaluated using a rubric.
Submission Format/Media: Does NOT need to be a functioning URL site, though it is permitted. If URL is used, participants must host the website themselves, one will NOT be provided.
Homepage should not be more than 800px wide x 1600px tall.
File Format: HTML format (encapsulated on CD) or an active URL for the website
Ready to get started, try this Activity Guide.
Teacher Tips! Visit the computer lab to do some research about campaign websites. Have a discussion with students about what makes a good homepage. Ask students to describe which elements, information, and graphics are most appealing and informative? Afterwards, break students into teams and have students sketch their design ideas.
Campaign Website Resources
