Write On! Ukraine

What is Write On!?

Write On is a yearly competition designed to encourage students to develop their critical thinking, expressive writing, and English language skills. Participants in the contest are students from 6th grade through university as well as non-native speaking English instructors.  During the contest, participants have one hour to sit and respond to a thought-provoking and age-appropriate creative prompt.  In Ukraine, participants’ essays are then scored at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

The Beginning…

In 2003, a group of Peace Corps volunteers in Georgia established the Writing Olympics as an innovative way to promote creativity and critical thinking among students in developing countries. Three years later, Armenia and Azerbaijan competed in the first Trans-Caucasus Writing Olympics. The contest went international in 2009 with the inclusion of Moldova. Thanks to outreach efforts by Peace Corps volunteers and staff, the number of participating countries has doubled in recent years with the addition of Albania, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Ukraine. The project, now known as the Write On! Competition, is over ten year old and looking to expand to even more countries.

Click here to visit the Write On! Competition’s International website. 

Contest Objectives

For teachers, the competition is an opportunity to develop the English language skills of their students through thought-provoking ways not often included in the curriculum.
For students, the contest provides an outlet for freedom of expression and an incentive for further language development.
For PCVs, this is a chance to get involved, be inspired, and have a lot of fun on a secondary project.
For donors, this is an opportunity to encourage creativity in students living in the regions of developing countries.

How it Works:

The Write On! Competition is judged on a national and international basis. Peace Corps volunteers and local teachers begin preparing students in their communities in December. The regional competitions are held in February. National organizers will distribute writing prompts to each community holding a competition. Students from 6th grade to university senior and professionals are encouraged to participate. At the competition, students choose from a list of writing prompts. They are given one hour to respond, in English, without assistance. Entries are judged based on the merit of their creativity and inspiration, rather than on grammar or spelling. After the competition, each community organizer judges their essays and submits to their regional coordinator.  The regional coordinator judges and sends then submits the entries for national judging. A panel of Peace Corps volunteers and host country nationals holds national judging and then submits the essays for international judging by a panel in Tbilisi, Georgia.