17 Ways We Celebrate Your Writing

What We Look For

Bringing your unique perspective, fresh ideas, and own thinking to the table—no copying or reusing others' work without credit.

How We Score It

10: Wow—totally original! You share personal observations and no copied content. 7-9: Cool new take on a common topic with no plagiarism. 4-6: Mainstream idea but you add your own thoughts. 1-3: Room to grow—needs more of your own voice.

Awesome Example

An 8-year-old writes *The Ant Journal* and notices ants move because of food shortages, not just rain!

Room to Grow Example

Using ideas from an online article without adding your own thoughts or giving credit.

What We Look For

Your main point is clear early on, and you stick to it throughout your piece.

How We Score It

10: Main idea shines in the first paragraph and stays strong the whole time. 7-9: Clear main idea and mostly on-topic content. 4-6: Main idea is there but some parts drift. 1-3: Room to grow—hard to tell what the main point is.

Awesome Example

A 12-year-old opens with: "This essay shows why students should lead campus waste sorting, not just rely on teachers."

Room to Grow Example

Jumping between three unrelated topics without a clear focus.

What We Look For

Your ideas connect smoothly, build on each other, and make sense step by step.

How We Score It

10: Every idea has a clear link, and paragraphs build perfectly. 7-9: Ideas flow well with tiny gaps. 4-6: Basic flow but some jumps between paragraphs. 1-3: Room to grow—hard to follow how ideas connect.

Awesome Example

A 14-year-old breaks down phone use pros and cons, then shares balanced solutions in order.

Room to Grow Example

Jumping from talking about exercise to gaming with no clear link.

What We Look For

You use real examples, stories, or facts that back up what you're saying.

How We Score It

10: Every point has two or more strong, concrete details. 7-9: Main points are well-supported with tiny gaps. 4-6: Some details but a bit vague. 1-3: Room to grow—needs more examples to back up ideas.

Awesome Example

A 10-year-old talks about pet responsibility by sharing daily feeding and care stories for a whole year.

Room to Grow Example

Saying "we should protect the environment" without any examples or stories to show why.

What We Look For

Your piece has a clear start, body paragraphs that flow, and a wrap-up conclusion, with smooth transitions.

How We Score It

10: Full structure with smooth transitions and logical paragraphs. 7-9: Complete structure with tiny transition bumps. 4-6: Basic structure but a bit choppy. 1-3: Room to grow—needs clearer sections.

Awesome Example

A 16-year-old introduces global warming, shares three solutions, explains each, and ends with a call to action.

Room to Grow Example

Writing everything in one big paragraph with no clear start or end.

What We Look For

Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word choice are accurate and easy to follow.

How We Score It

10: No errors at all—super clear! 7-9: One or two tiny errors that don't get in the way. 4-6: Some errors but still easy to understand. 1-3: Room to grow—errors make it hard to read.

Awesome Example

A 13-year-old uses accurate tenses and spelling with great word choices.

Room to Grow Example

Frequent spelling and punctuation mix-ups that make the text hard to follow.

What We Look For

You use different words that fit your topic, without repeating the same ones too much.

How We Score It

10: Super varied, fun vocabulary with no repetition. 7-9: Good variety with tiny repeats. 4-6: Basic words with some repetition. 1-3: Room to grow—needs more word variety.

Awesome Example

A 15-year-old uses "beneficial," "valuable," "meaningful," and "worthwhile" instead of repeating "good."

Room to Grow Example

Using "very," "good," and "nice" in almost every sentence.

What We Look For

Tenses, sentence structure, and subject-verb agreement are correct and consistent.

How We Score It

10: No grammar errors—great job! 7-9: One or two tiny grammar slips. 4-6: Some grammar errors but meaning is still clear. 1-3: Room to grow—grammar makes it hard to understand.

Awesome Example

An 11-year-old keeps tenses consistent and subjects/verbs matching perfectly.

Room to Grow Example

Tenses jumping around randomly and sentences that don't form correctly.

What We Look For

You mix short, medium, and longer sentences to keep your writing interesting.

How We Score It

10: Sentence length and structure mix super well. 7-9: Good variety with a few repeated patterns. 4-6: Mostly simple sentences with some repetition. 1-3: Room to grow—all sentences follow the same pattern.

Awesome Example

A 17-year-old uses longer sentences for analysis and short, punchy sentences for emphasis.

Room to Grow Example

Every sentence is a basic "subject-verb-object" structure.

What We Look For

Your writing stays focused on the theme you chose, without going off on tangents.

How We Score It

10: 100% on-topic the whole time. 7-9: Mostly on-topic with tiny extra bits. 4-6: Some off-topic content. 1-3: Room to grow—mostly off-topic.

Awesome Example

A 9-year-old writing in *Animals & Nature* focuses entirely on their dog.

Room to Grow Example

Choosing *Science & Technology* but writing mostly about a vacation trip.

What We Look For

You look at topics from different angles and share your own thoughts, not just one side of the story.

How We Score It

10: Super balanced—you look at multiple sides! 7-9: Multiple angles with your own cool thoughts. 4-6: Mostly one side with limited reflection. 1-3: Room to grow—needs more of your own thinking.

Awesome Example

A 14-year-old analyzes both the good and tricky parts of social media before suggesting balanced use.

Room to Grow Example

Saying "phones are totally bad" without looking at any good parts.

What We Look For

You share original ideas or try fun new structures, not just sticking to basic templates.

How We Score It

10: Super creative—way beyond basic templates! 7-9: Cool creative touches within a familiar format. 4-6: A little bit of creativity. 1-3: Room to grow—needs more of your own creative spin.

Awesome Example

A 10-year-old writes an environmental essay as a letter to planet Earth.

Room to Grow Example

Rewriting a common essay template with only tiny changes.

What We Look For

Your arguments are compelling, feel real, and connect with readers.

How We Score It

10: Super compelling—readers feel your point! 7-9: Clear and persuasive. 4-6: Basic argument but not much impact. 1-3: Room to grow—needs more real details to back up ideas.

Awesome Example

A 12-year-old anti-bullying essay uses real campus scenes to help readers feel empathy.

Room to Grow Example

Repeating slogans like "We must stop bullying" without any real stories or details.

What We Look For

Your language and depth fit what other global teen readers can understand and connect with.

How We Score It

10: Perfect fit for teen readers! 7-9: Mostly aligned with tiny mismatches. 4-6: A bit too adult or too simple in places. 1-3: Room to grow—doesn't fit the target audience well.

Awesome Example

An 18-year-old explains economics using a school store analogy.

Room to Grow Example

An 8-year-old using super advanced adult words and long, tricky sentences.

What We Look For

Your writing follows basic formatting rules for headings, paragraphs, and citing sources if you use them.

How We Score It

10: Perfect formatting with clear citations if needed. 7-9: Proper formatting with tiny issues. 4-6: Basic formatting with some gaps. 1-3: Room to grow—needs clearer formatting.

Awesome Example

Clear headings, paragraph indents, and cited sources shown consistently.

Room to Grow Example

No headings, inconsistent punctuation, and no cited sources if you used them.

What We Look For

Your piece fits the recommended word range for your age group.

How We Score It

10: Perfectly within the recommended range! 7-9: Slightly over/under but totally okay. 4-6: 30% beyond the range. 1-3: Room to grow—way too short or way too long.

Awesome Example

A 10-year-old writes 450 words, right in the 400-600 word guideline.

Room to Grow Example

A 16-year-old submits 300 words, far below the 1500-2000 range.

What We Look For

How your writing feels overall—does it flow well, share real emotion, and leave readers with positive thoughts?

How We Score It

10: Excellent flow, real emotion, and positive vibes! 7-9: Good flow and positive tone. 4-6: Average readability. 1-3: Room to grow—needs smoother flow and more positive focus.

Awesome Example

Smooth, heartfelt writing that leaves readers with a strong positive impression.

Room to Grow Example

Choppy writing that shares negative or inappropriate ideas.