News Writing (UIL contest)
News Writing is one of several academic events sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League, and one of four in the Journalism category.
News Writing is designed to test students' ability to read critically, to digest and prioritize information quickly, and to write clearly, accurately and succinctly. Emphasis is placed on mechanical and stylistic precision, lead writing, use of direct and indirect quotes, and news judgment.
Eligibility
Students in Grade 9 through Grade 12 are eligible to enter this event.
Each school may send up to four students.
News Writing is an individual contest only; there is no team competition in this event. However, the school with the best performance in the four journalism categories (Editorial Writing, Feature Writing, Headline Writing, and News Writing) is given a special team award.
Rules and scoring
Students have 45 minutes to complete the contest; a time signal is given when 15 minutes remain.
Students are given a prompt and they are to respond with a news story. Students are given the option of either handwriting the story or using a computer (a portable printer is required).
The judging criteria are as follows:
- (1) Lead consists of the most timely and newsworthy information.
- (2) Facts are presented in descending order of importance.
- (3) Paragraph transition is smooth and logical.
- (4) Direct and indirect quotes are used effectively.
- (5) Writing is active, precise and stylistically exact.
- (6) All news questions are answered.
- (7) Editorialization is avoided.
- (8) Secondary consideration is given to grammar, spelling and neatness.
All papers are read and critiqued, with the top six papers ranked. There are no ties.
Determining the Winner
The top three individuals will advance to the next round.
As the top six papers are ranked 1-6, there are no ties.
For district meet academic championship and district meet sweepstakes awards, points are awarded to the school as follows:
- Individual places: 1st--15, 2nd--12, 3rd--10, 4th--8, 5th--6, and 6th--4.
- In addition, the five top places from each classification (A, AA, AAA, AAAA, and AAAAA) are judged against each other, and the overall winner is given a special "Tops in Texas" award.
List of prior winners
2008
| 1A | 2A | 3A | 4A | 5A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place: Erin Holland | 1st Place: Sarah Williams | 1st Place: Crystal Castro | 1st Place: Bethany Johnsen | 1st Place: Michelle Ward |
| 2nd Place: Stormie McClurg | 2nd Place: Kaitlyn Hale | 2nd Place: Kristi Barrett | 2nd Place: Sarah Mills | 2nd Place: Rheanna English |
| 3rd Place:Allyson Hochstein | 3rd Place:Kembra Gerner | 3rd Place:Jessi Taylor | 3rd Place:Jennifer Reel | 3rd Place:Karen Evans |
| 4th Place: Ryland Darilek | 4th Place: Nick Loftis | 4th Place: Jessika Street | 4th Place: Alyssa Lopez | 4th Place: Erin Jentz |
| 5th Place: Kelsea Urich | 5th Place: Katdie Norton | 5th Place: Dillon Fisher | 5th Place: Susan Xie | 5th Place: Taylor Jackson |
| 6th Place: Hannah Jones | 6th Place: Brad Strickland | 6th Place: Lindsay Grossman | 6th Place: Luis Cordero | 6th Place: Erin May |
2007
| 1A | 2A | 3A | 4A | 5A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Place: Dustin Schulte | 1st Place: Lauren Stewart | 1st Place: Matthew Hadley | 1st Place: Jennifer Reel | 1st Place: Walter Fick |
| 2nd Place: Christina Soto | 2nd Place: Paige Cole | 2nd Place: Dawn Lipscomb | 2nd Place: Kylie Morrison | 2nd Place: Katy Turner |
| 3rd Place: Emily Carson | 3rd Place: Kembra Gerner | 3rd Place: Britany McCraw | 3rd Place: Ahmed Mabruk | 3rd Place: Kristen Ditmore |
| 4th Place: Lindsay Martinez | 4th Place: Nick Loftis | 4th Place: Kaycie Smith | 4th Place: Kelsey Jarzombek | 4th Place: Roman Flores |
| 5th Place: Whitney Baker | 5th Place: Alyssa Word | 5th Place: Ashley Overstreet | 5th Place: John Dunavant | 5th Place: Kristen Lawrence |
| 6th Place: Shayli Whitaker | 6th Place: Ashley Yeaman | 6th Place: Jennigale Webb | 6th Place: Claire Klimko | 6th Place: Lauren Winchester |