how to start a law of life essay

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Laws of Life Essay Contest

Laws of life essay, submission deadline: thursday, march 21, 2024.

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Sir John Templeton

About the Competition

Since 1987, students in communities around the globe have competed for prizes in essay contests based on the Laws of Life in Sir John Templeton’s writings. Starting in 2009, students in The Bahamas have had a contest of their own, presented by The Bahamas Ministry of Education and the Nassau-based Templeton World Charity Foundation.

Students in primary, junior, senior, and college divisions are asked to select one of Sir John Templeton’s laws of life. To compete in the contest, students submit essays explaining how that specific law is meaningful in their own lives. Secondary students also have the option of creating a short video instead of a written essay. Winners receive cash prizes and are recognized in a popular event. In 2019, over 3,000 students submitted entries.

The current incarnation of The Bahamas Laws of Life Essay Competition, which has become the nation’s most successful student essay contest, celebrated its ten-year anniversary in early 2019.

Important Dates 2025 Competition Launch Date Friday, November 29, 2024

Essay & Video Submission Date Friday, February 7, 2025

Awards Ceremony Thursday, June 5, 2025 (To be confirmed)

Competition News

2024 Award Ceremony

10 June, 2024 — Congratulations to all the 2024 winners !

2024 Competition Announcement

1 Nov, 2023 — The 2024 Laws of Life Essay & Video Competition dates and requirements are now available. Essays are due on Friday, February 9, 2024.

Visit the “ Requirements ” page for more details regarding essay rules and the list of topics by division.

Submission instructions can be found on the “ Submit Your Essay ” page.

Please contact us via email at [email protected] with any questions.

2023 Award Ceremony

13 June, 2023 — Congratulations to all the 2023 winners !

Testimonials

A Successful Public-Private Partnership

In early 2008, the late Dr. John M. Templeton Jr. met with the former Minister of Education, Hon. Carl Bethel to discuss, among other things, his father, Sir John Templeton’s book, Worldwide Laws of Life , and how it could be used by the Ministry of Education. This led to the re-establishment of a successful and beneficial partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, with the annually anticipated Laws of Life Essay Competition now widely accepted as the country’s premier essay competition in public and independent schools across The Bahamas.

The most prestigious essay competition in The Bahamas.

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Guide for High School Students: Rotary Clubs' Laws of Life Essay Contest, Lecture notes of Law

Information on how to start a Laws of Life Essay Contest for high school students by Rotary Clubs and Districts outside the state of Georgia. The contest encourages students to reflect on their life experiences and values through a chosen saying or Law of Life. Benefits of the contest include providing an authentic purpose for writing, engaging writing activity for teachers, and recognizing students of all academic abilities. details on how to implement the contest, its benefits, and funding sources.

What you will learn

• What are some potential sources of funding for a Laws of Life Essay Contest?
• What are the benefits of the Laws of Life Essay Contest for teachers?
• What is the Laws of Life Essay Contest and how does it benefit students?
• How can a Rotary Club start a Laws of Life Essay Contest?
• How can schools encourage high student participation in a Laws of Life Essay Contest?

Typology: Lecture notes

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• Conversational Maxim View of Politeness: Focus on Politeness Implicatures Raised in Performing Persian Offers and Invitations ISSN 1799-2591 Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 52-58, January 2016 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0601.07 Conversational Maxim View of Politeness: Focus on Politeness Implicatures Raised in Performing Persian Offers and Invitations Mojde Yaqubi Malay Language, Translation and Interpreting Section, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia Karwan Mustafa Saeed School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia Mahta Khaksari Islamic Azad University, Baft Branch, Baft, Iran Abstract—This study reviewed the criticisms against Brown and Levinson’s (1987) claim about necessity of violation of cooperative principles (CP) in giving rise to politeness implicatures. To support these critiques, evidences from Persian offers and invitations were provided from the texts of 10 Iranian movies. As no alternative framework for analysing the content of these implicatures has been proposed so far, the researchers adopted two politeness principles namely ‘tact’ and ‘generosity’ maxims as well as the cost-benefit and directness-indirectness scales proposed by Leech (1983) to fill this gap in the area of Persian pragmatics. The results of this study showed that both generosity and tact maxims are the main reasons behind both direct and indirect offers and invitations. Besides, the results showed that cost-benefit scale can explain the politeness implicatures raised in performing these speech acts better than directness-indirectness scale. Index Terms—politeness implicature, offer, invitation Cooperative Principles (CP), Politeness Principles (PP), Brown and Levinson’s theory, Leech’s theory I. BACKGROUND OF STUDY Since the speech act theory has been postulated by Austin (1962) and refined by Searle (1969), it has been used in wider context in linguistics for the purpose of explaining the language use. [Show full text]
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• Examining Moral Necessity in the Kantian Categorical Imperative Mark E The Catalyst Volume 2 | Issue 1 Article 2 2012 Examining Moral Necessity in the Kantian Categorical Imperative Mark E. Harris University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: http://aquila.usm.edu/southernmisscatalyst Recommended Citation Harris, Mark E. (2012) "Examining Moral Necessity in the Kantian Categorical Imperative," The Catalyst: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 2. DOI: 10.18785/cat.0201.02 Available at: http://aquila.usm.edu/southernmisscatalyst/vol2/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in The aC talyst by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected] . Examining Moral Necessity in the Kontion Categorical Imperative could n?t be . the basis of Mar k E. Horns a law. When these inclina­ o:al necessi~ is the idea that specific imperatives tions are dispensed with as mor­ bmd the actiOns of a moral agent regardless of his ally impertinent, only the law M or her personal goals or wishes. Contemporary ethi- and respect for the law can de­ cists have debated whether the moral system of Immanuel Kant termine the will. 7 includes rules which do in fact bind necessarily on the moral agent. This paper will argue that Kant's categorical imperative Since there IS nothing per­ does not bind necessarily. The three different formulas given for sonal about the law which binds the categorical imperative can each be used to derive different a person to duty, then the law moral rules. [Show full text]
• Kantian Deontology KANTIAN DEONTOLOGY A. What is Deontology? 1. Deontological approaches in ethics usually contrasted with teleological approaches. 2. A teleological theory is goal oriented: - a morally right act is one that brings about goodness - egoism: a right act brings about good for the self - utilitarianism: right act brings about overall good 3. Deontological theories are not goal oriented: - rightness or wrongness of an act not explained in terms of its consequences, but its own features. KANTIAN DEONTOLOGY 4. Most famous form of deontology comes from the work of Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) B. Kant’s Rationalism 1. Kant poses the question of what the fundamental source of morality is, or: What is it about people’s actions that make them susceptible to evaluation as right or wrong? 2. The following are not classified as right or wrong: - actions of plants or inanimate objects - actions performed by animals out of instinct - actions performed by humans involuntarily 3. Kant’s conclusion: the source of morality is: - our ability to rationally make decisions - our possession of a “will” (in the sense of free will) 1 B. Kant’s Rationalism 4. Morality applies to all rational beings… … so its source cannot be pleasure or desire. (a) Morality would apply to non-emotional beings like Vulcans even though they cannot experience pleasure (b) Rational beings with superstrong emotions would not have a higher moral status than us. 5. Kant concluded that nothing besides rationality can dictate what the rules of morality are. B. Kant on Goodness 1. Moral or ethical goodness different from other kinds of goodness - A good basketball shoe is well-made, ergonomically designed and helps its wearer run and jump better. [Show full text]
• Kant's Ethics © Michael Lacewing Kant’s ethics THE BASICS Immanuel Kant argued that moral principles could be derived from practical reason alone. We only need to understand what it is to make a decision in order to discover what decisions we should make. To understand his claim, we need to put some premises in place. First, Kant believed that, whenever we make a decisions, we act on a maxim. Maxims are Kant’s version of intentions. They are our personal principles that guide our decisions, e.g. ‘to have as much fun as possible’, ‘to marry only someone I truly love’. All our decisions have some maxim or other behind them. Second, morality is a set of ‘laws’ – rules, principles – that are the same for everyone and that apply to everyone. If this is true, it must be possible that everyone could act morally (even if it is very unlikely that they will). From this, Kant devises a test for working out whether acting on a particular maxim is right or wrong. The test, the ‘Categorical Imperative’, is ‘Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law’ (Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals). (An ‘imperative’ is just a command. The moral command is categorical because we can’t take it or leave it, as we choose.) If I act on a maxim that it is impossible for everyone to act on, I must be acting immorally – because it is always possible for everyone to act morally. For example, suppose you want a gift to take to a party, but you can’t afford it, so you steal it from the shop. [Show full text]
• The Maxim of Order from Teachers' Perspective Surkhet The Maxim of Order from Teachers’ Perspective – Ganesh Kumar Kandel Abstract This article reports the perception of teachers towards the maxim of order. It also tries to reflect the teachers’ classroom behaviours or culture of teaching. It is physical reflection of their maxim that they have developed in their mind about different aspects of ELT. The researcher used classroom observation and interview as research tools. Ten teachers were the respondents in this study. These ten teachers were interviewed and three classes of each teacher were observed to obtain required information. Most of the respondents reported that they prefer calm, peaceful, ordered and disciplined classes. They provided several reasons to support their views. They expressed their positive and supporting view towards the maxim of order. The disciplined and ordered classroom is justified in this research. They argued that disciplined and ordered classroom assists the teachers to conduct their activities in comfortable way in the classroom and assists students to grasp what teacher offers them. Key words: ELT professionals, Government-aided and privately-owned boarding schools, Maxim of order, Beliefs, Teaching culture, and Reflection Background Teaching is the reflection of the teachers’ belief system. Different teachers have different belief system that is why we see different ways of teaching into the classroom. There is a growing body of evidences to indicate that teachers are highly influenced by their own belief systems. Borg (2001) says “Beliefs play an important role in many aspects of teaching as well as in life” (p.186). Beliefs construct about what we teach and how we teach. [Show full text]
• Kant on "Why Must I Keep My Promise?" Chicago-Kent Law Review Volume 81 Issue 1 Symposium: Promises, Commitments, Article 5 and the Foundations of Contract Law December 2005 Kant on "Why Must I Keep My Promise?" B. Sharon Byrd Joanchim Hruschka Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation B. S. Byrd & Joanchim Hruschka, Kant on "Why Must I Keep My Promise?", 81 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 47 (2006). Available at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol81/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chicago-Kent Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected] , [email protected] . KANT ON "WHY MUST I KEEP MY PROMISE?" B. SHARON BYRD AND JOACHIM HRUSCHKA* INTRODUCTION Why is it that I must keep my promise? Immanuel Kant,1 in his "Doc- trine of Right,"'2 tells us that everyone easily understands "I must." The duty to keep promises is a categorical imperative. 3 Kant says that any fur- * B. Sharon Byrd is a Professor of U.S. Law at the School of Law, Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, Germany and Joachim Hruschka is a Professor of Law at Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany. The authors would like to thank the members of the workshop "Economics, Ethics and Law (Contractualism and the Ethics of Contracts)" at the IVR World Congress, May 24-29, 2005, in Granada, Spain, for their valuable comments on an earlier draft of this article, and particularly Hora- cio Spector, who also organized the event. [Show full text]
• Kantian Ethics 1 Kantian ethics Good Intentions How can we demonstrate the importance of intentions in one’s moral evaluation? THOUGHT EXPERIMENT (TE) Compare identical situations in which all the consequences are identical, but vary the intentions. If intentions are morally relevant, then our moral evaluations should vary as the intentions vary. A shopkeeper charges fair prices, and as a result, attracts lots of customers. S/he charges fair prices because s/he 1. wants higher profits; 2. naturally does what is fair. 3. wants to act morally. 4. wants to act morally, despite the desire to charge higher prices. (a) Rank the shopkeeper in each situation in terms of moral praiseworthiness. What are your criteria of your ranking? (b) Who has the best moral intentions? Why? Which is most important in moral evaluations: intentions or consequences? TE: Compare and contrast the following two situations: (a) Someone has Divinely Pure intentions (Loves you Divinely) all the time towards you, but all his/her actions toward you are diabolical, and have totally diabolical consequences for you. (b) Someone has Diabolical intentions (Hates you Diabolically) all the time toward you, but all his/her actions toward you are divine, and have totally divine consequences for you. If you had to spend time with either one, whom would you choose? What does the TE prove? Good or bad intentions do not necessarily affect the moral quality of actions, and their consequences. How would Kant respond to “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions”? Why do we want people to have good intentions? They increase the chances of good consequences. [Show full text]
• The Pragmatic Maxim and the Proof of Pragmatism (3): Habits and Interpretants The Pragmatic Maxim and the Proof of Pragmatism (3): Habits and Interpretants A Máxima Pragmática e a Prova do Pragmatismo (3): Hábitos e Interpretantes Christopher Hookway Department of Philosophy University of Sheffield – UK c.j.hookwaysheffield.ac.uk Abstract: The paper explores a strategy for defending the pragmatist maxim which Peirce discussed in a manuscript from 1907 (MS 318). It tries to show that propositions are linked to habits of action by showing that such habits serve as ultimate logical interpretants of concepts or propositions. After analysing the arguments employed, the paper identifies gaps in their de- fence of the pragmatist maxim. It then speculates about how the discussion of interpretants could be connected to a defence of the pragmatist maxim. Key words: Peirce. Pragmatism. Habits. Logical Interpretants. Ultimate inter- pretants. Proof. Resumo: O artigo explora uma estratégia para defender a máxima pragmatista que Peirce discute em um manuscrito de 1907 (MS 318). O manuscrito tenta mostrar que proposições são ligadas a hábitos de ação, mostrando que tais hábitos servem como interpretantes lógicos finais de conceitos ou proposições. Depois de analisar os argumentos empregados, o artigo identifica falhas na sua defesa da máxima pragmatista. Especula-se, então, sobre como a discus- são de interpretantes pode ser ligada a uma defesa da máxima pragmatista. Palavras-chave: Peirce. Pragmatismo. Hábitos. Interpretantes Lógicos. Inter- pretantes finais. Prova. 1. Strategies for proving the pragmatist maxim Peirce’s pragmatic maxim was introduced as a methodological tool for clarifying the content of what in later years he referred to as “intellectual concepts” (EP2: 401). By enabling us to obtain explicit formulations of such contents, it provides information that we can use in carrying out inquiries into hypotheses containing those concepts. [Show full text]
• Framing in the Wild: Expressions of Decisions in Real-World Situations FRAMING IN THE WILD: EXPRESSIONS OF DECISIONS IN REAL-WORLD SITUATIONS by Lelyn Duane Saner Bachelor of Science, Eastern Mennonite University, 1995 Master of Arts, George Mason University, 2001 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2008 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Lelyn Duane Saner It was defended on March 18, 2008 and approved by Kevin D. Ashley, Professor, Intelligent Systems William M. P. Klein, Associate Professor, Psychology John M. Levine, Professor, Psychology Dissertation Advisor: Christian D. Schunn, Associate Professor, Psychology ii FRAMING IN THE WILD: EXPRESSIONS OF DECISIONS IN REAL-WORLD SITUATIONS Lelyn Duane Saner, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2008 An important phenomenon in the study of behavioral decision-making is the surprising finding that people who are given choices framed in positive vs. negative terms exhibit different preferences. This study focused on a newer question: what factors influence the selection of frames by decision-makers? The development of a decision frame that has positive or negative overall value is a process that can be influenced by a number of factors. Several theoretical approaches to decision-making were examined with respect to making predictions regarding factors that would influence frame selection: mental accounting, task complexity, mental workload, expertise, regulatory focus, and message formulation goals. Predictions were extrapolated from each of these approaches and tested with data from a real-world decision- making situation - planning conversations from a set of NASA mission control meetings. The planning statements were transcribed and coded for frame selection and other behavioral/situational elements that were predicted to be related to frame selection. [Show full text]

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Law: Legal essay

Four tips on how to write a good law essay.

An essay is a common type of assessment in a law degree. This resource offers tips and resources to help you plan and write law essays. There are usually two types of law essays: the theoretical based essay and the problem-style essay.

The theoretical based essay may ask you to critically discuss a new piece of legislation or a recent case in relation to existing laws or legal principles. You may also be asked to take a side in an argument or discuss the wider societal implications of a legal outcome.

Problem-style essays require you to advise a party based on the analysis of a scenario or given problem. You will be required to identify the legal issues and apply relevant law. See more on legal problem-solving in this resource . This resource will focus on theoretical based law essays. There are a number of strategies that may help you in starting, structuring and presenting a law essay.

1. Starting your answer

The first step to a successful law essay is understanding the question. One of the most effective ways of breaking down the question is to identify the direction, content, and scope or limiting words.

For example, look at the following essay question:

Direction Words : Critically analyse.

Content Words: tort of negligence; tort of battery; consenting to medical treatment; patient’s right (autonomous decision).

Scope/Limiting Words: the extent to which, protect.

• In this case, we need to critically analyse an area of law.
• Here, we need to research the torts of negligence and battery and the issues of consent in medical treatments and patients’ rights .
• Here we should critically analyse how well (the extent to which) the aforementioned torts do or do not protect patients’ rights in the context of medical consent .

You may also find it useful to look at the rubric to help you interpret your examiner’s expectations.

2. Planning your argument

When reading a case, journal article, book chapter or online article, it can be hard to know exactly how to use the source in an essay. This is where taking good notes while reading critically is helpful. Take a look at our other resources to help you Read critically and Read difficult material .

The next step is to take notes that help you understand different arguments and issues, or information and context, and refer back to your assignment question to keep you on track.

Writing a very short summary of each source is a great way to start. For example, for each journal article you read, try to summarise the author's main points in a few lines. This will help you to articulate the meaning in your own words.

Then, expand on this summary with some key points. Be sure that when taking notes, you make a note of the source and the pinpoint reference or page number, so that you can correctly cite the source in your essay.

Planning strategies

Understanding arguments.

Think about how you will use your resources. You may use a primary or secondary resource to:

• to support your argument with evidence
• to demonstrate a range of issues and opinions (remember, it’s OK if you don’t agree with all your sources! Show where these contrasting arguments fit into your discussion)

It may be helpful to ask:

• How does this source contribute to my argument?
• Do I agree or disagree with the author’s argument?

See our resource Master the art of note-making and Brainstorming and mind mapping for more tips.

Integrating resources into your essay

It is important to use your research well. One way to do this is to plan the main points of your essay, and how you will use your primary and secondary resources (such as journal articles, books, case law, legislation, websites) to support one or more of those points.

3. Structuring your answer

A key element of successful law essays is the structure. A good structure will enable you to communicate your ideas fluently and efficiently. This is an important and highly valued skill not only in law school, but in practice as well.

Usually, your essay requires an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Generally, you should have one idea per paragraph. This may mean shorter paragraphs than what you would ordinarily write in high school or other faculties. Concision is key in law. Therefore, we recommend a short paragraph which efficiently addresses an issue over a long and winding exploration of many different issues.

Remember to use subheadings to provide structure to your writing. It is a good idea to come up with your subheadings before you start writing so that you have a structure to follow. The subheadings should act as a series of subtopics which reflect the arguments needed to substantiate your thesis statement.

Below we have an overview of the working components of good law essays. Examiners expect you to use all of these in your writing. The samples come from Julie Cassidy, ‘Hollow Avowals of Human Rights Protection: Time for an Australian Federal Bill of Rights?’ (2008) 13 Deakin Law Review 131.

NB: This is an illustrative example only. It is not concise enough for an undergraduate research essay and you would be expected to remove phrases like “In the course of, it is suggested that, in regard to.”

4. Presenting your ideas

In order to do well, you must also present your essay so that it reflects academic standards. This includes correct citation practices, subheadings, Plain English, and grammar and spelling.

Examiners highly value closely edited and proofed work. First-year students commonly rely too much on passive constructions and embellished language. Good lawyers write in clear and concise English that is easily understood.

• Correct Citation
• Subheadings
• Plain English
• Grammar and Spelling

Your essay must adhere to the AGLC4 rules , including appropriate pinpoint footnotes and bibliography.

A comprehensive guide to AGLC4 is provided by the Library.

Law essays use subheadings frequently, but judiciously. This may be different to what you are used to.

Subheadings also help provide a structure. See the previous section for more advice.

In accordance with AGLC 4, the first word of your heading must be capitalised.

Examiners do not want to see the full extent of your vocabulary. They prefer to see complex arguments rendered in simple language.

This, surprisingly, is not easy. We tend to think through writing. That is, our ideas come to us as we are writing. This leaves a lot of writing which is repetitive, vague, or contradictory as our ideas evolve.

Use the editing worksheet to learn which words you can easily swap out to improve readability and strategies to avoid long-winded constructions.

Do not leave your assignment to the last minute. Not only will this create undue stress, but you will not have adequate time to proofread your assignment.

When we work intensively on a piece of writing, we need a period of time away, or distance, in order to re-read our work objectively. Give yourself 2-3 days before the due date so you can print your text and edit it carefully to remove any typos or grammatical errors.

Services like Grammarly may help to pick up errors that are missed by Microsoft Word.

Further resources

Legal essay strategies, legal essay strategies accordion.

• Writing a Law essay mind map Take a look at this useful mind map to see the steps involved and the questions you should ask yourself when writing a law essay.
• Melbourne Law School: Research essay guide / Legal essay checklist
• Professor Steven Vaughan (University College London): How to write better law essays ( Prezi slides )
• Associate Professor Douglas Guilfoyle (University of New South Wales): Plain Legal English ( YouTube playlist )
• Professor James Lee (King’s College London): #FreeLawRevision Guides (see especially Essay Technique Parts 1, 2 and 3) ( YouTube playlist )
• Strategies for Essay Writing - Harvard College Writing Center See particularly, the section on Counterargument.

Examples and language

• University of Western Australia Law School: Examples of legal writing
• Columbia Law School: Writing in plain English
• Dr Patrick Goold (City, University of London): ‘It’s a subject where words matter’: how to write the perfect law essay ( The Guardian )
• 'Don't just vomit on the page': how to write a legal essay Law lecturer Steven Vaughan (University College, London) explains why the best essays take discipline, editing, and teamwork.

Effective Legal Writing: A Practical Approach

Corbett-Jarvis and Grigg

How to write better law essays : tools and techniques for success in exams and assignments

Steve Foster

How to write law essays and exams

Stacie Strong

Legal Writing

Lisa Webley

Level Up Your Essays: How to get better grades at university

Inger Mewburn, Shaun Lehmann, and Katherine Firth

Your feedback matters

We want to hear from you! Let us know what you found most useful or share your suggestions for improving this resource.

• Student Writing Tips & Awards

School Awards

School winner, grade winner.

By writing an essay, you not only learn about yourself, but about the world around you. The contest gives you the chance to win cash prizes, while expressing your beliefs and values.

One $100 school winner per school. Three $50 grade level winners, for each school that meets the minimum participation requirements. To participate in the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest, a student must attend a high school that is registered with the contest for the current school year. If your school is not registered, you may encourage it to do so by sharing this website with your English teacher. All essays must be submitted through schools. Individual submissions cannot be accepted.

State Awards

Contest winner, first runner-up, second runner-up, third runner-up, fourth runner-up, fifth runner-up, named honorary awards, george a. stewart character in action.

The Character in Action Award is presented by the Dunwoody Rotary Club in honor of club member George Stewart for his dedication to character education and the Georgia Rotary Clubs Laws of Life Essay Contest. It is awarded to a student essayist who demonstrates good character through words and deeds.

Susan G. Mason Founder’s Award

The Founder’s Award is presented by the Buckhead Rotary Club in honor of Rotarian Susan Mason, for her commitment as the founding Executive Director of Georgia Rotary Districts Character Education Program, Inc. It is awarded to a student essayist whose writing shows the power of the written word to illuminate a core character value.

The criteria for selecting the First Place State Contest Winner and the Named Honorary Awards are identical. Different judges select the winners.

“Before this essay contest, I had never thought of myself as a writer.”

“I’m really grateful that I was part of this contest.”

“The Laws of Life contest showed me that sharing my story was a powerful thing.”

Writing Tips

Clearly state the law of life in your essay.

A Law of Life is a wise saying that contains words of truth, lasting meaning, or inspiration. It can be a quotation from a famous person, a familiar saying, a proverb, or any phrase that has a special meaning to you. Some people think of their Law of Life as their motto. Examples of Laws of Life include:

• “An attitude of gratitude creates blessings.”
• “You are only as good as your word.”
• “To have a friend, be one.”
• “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”

Illustrate the Law of Life with your personal experience

Your essay should show how your own experience illuminates or illustrates the Law of Life you have selected. The experience may have been a major event in your life, or it may have been a small, quiet moment when you came to understand something valuable about life. The essay should reflect the your thoughts, experiences, and writing abilities without the assistance of AI tools like ChatGPT.

Be Original

Rely on your own experiences and thoughts. You may want to read winning essays from prior years to learn about other students’ Laws of Life, but don’t let those essays limit your imagination. Click on the download brochure button to see the previous years’ winners.

Include Detail

Good essays usually include details that make the reader feel as though he or she was right there with you when an event occurred. Let the reader know exactly how you felt, and why.

500-700 word limit

Your essay should be between 500 and 700 words. Essays that are shorter or longer than this will be disqualified.

Save a copy for yourself

Make a copy of your essay to keep; the copy that is sent to the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest will not be returned to you.