Round Two Closes in:
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Over and over, we hear “Round Two is the hardest round.” Whether that’s because it’s actually harder, or whether it’s because you know you’re up against the Round One survivors, we won’t guess. But here you are, ready to write, and here we are, ready to give you a prompt.
This round is all about persuasive essays. A persuasive essay utilizes logic and reason to show that one idea or position is more legitimate than another. It attempts to persuade a reader to adopt the writer’s point of view on the topic. The argument must always use sound reasoning and solid evidence. It can do this by stating facts, giving logical reasons, using examples, and quoting experts. It can also utilize emotion effectively, but it should not depend on emotional appeal or require the reader to find the writer sympathetic in order to make its point.
Our round two prompts are open-ended questions. We’ll be judging these essays on how thoroughly and convincingly the author answers the question. The judges don’t have to agree with the answer, but the answer will need to be supported by more than my mom’s old standby of “because I said so.”
Look. Persuasive essays can take your mind back to high school, but they shouldn’t take your writing back. There are a lot of ways to respond to an open-ended question that aren’t “restate the question, give your answer, support your answer.” If you’re feeling adrift, take a minute to stop by our writing help section for some tips and tricks about writing persuasive essays.
Now that that’s cleared up, let’s get to the topic assignments:
Group 1
Should TV series or movies be remade, or is the original always better?
We know this is a broad question, and you’re going to have a broad answer. Feel free to answer a general “yes” or “no” but also feel free to come up with a rule for when a show should be remade or not. Give examples!
Your judges aren’t going to sit through a video, so even if you support your work by linking out, remember to give enough information in the text that readers don’t need to follow a link to understand you.
Group 2
Is the book always better than the movie?
Like Group 1’s question, you have a wide range of answers to choose from. You can say yes, or no, or list advantages of either medium and the types of stories that are better told in one or the other. Come up with a rule; answer the question.
Feel free to link out to examples, but your work should stand alone without the judge needing to be familiar with the difference between, say, Frank Herbert’s Dune series, the 1984 David Lynch film, and the 2000 Sci Fi (now Syfy) Channel miniseries. Or the forthcoming two movies for that matter.
Wait, wait, there’s more!
Don’t post your story anywhere on the Internet until after our judges are done and you get your feedback! But if you want to talk up the competition or live-tweet your writing process, use the hashtag #YWsuper. Just remember not to include identifying details about which story is yours!
Your essays are due Sunday at 10pm US Eastern Time. Remember to check the rules for formatting, including all those fiddly details like title page, font, and filename.
Don’t get disqualified on a technicality! We know it seems really useless at times, but all those rules have a purpose, from helping get your file where it needs to be to making sure you’re read anonymously and fairly.
WE ARE NOT ACTUALLY JOKING ABOUT THIS. We hate disqualifying people, but we will if we have to. Don’t put extraneous stuff like summaries on your title page. Don’t change the font (check it again, is it the right size?) and don’t worry if it’s pretty. Your work is read the most fairly and anonymously if everyone’s looks the same, so help us help you, ok? Kthx, rant over.
Email your questions to superchallenge@yeahwrite.me—we will not be reviewing other email addresses or social media for your questions over the weekend and we want to make sure you get the answers you need!
You’ll receive your feedback on August 8, and we’ll announce who’s moving on to the next round that day at noon US Eastern Time.
We hope you have as much fun with the prompts as we had picking them out. Good luck, and good writing!
About the author:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. She was a BlogHer Voice of the Year in 2017 for her work on intersectional feminism, but she suggests you find and follow WOC instead. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She tells lies at textwall and uncomfortable truths at CrossKnit.
