Read the winning essays from previous years

With an unbeatable lineup of over 300 of the greatest literary works the world has ever known, Signet Classics is the publisher that students, education professionals, and the public turn to more than any other. Now, Signet Classics is proud to host its twelfth annual Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest, in which five high school juniors or seniors can each win a $1,000 scholarship award to be used toward their higher education plus a Signet Classics library for their school! Students enter by writing an essay on one of four topics posed for this year’s competition book, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Essay Subject

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Topics

Select one of the following four topics:

1. In the "Afterword" of the Signet Classics edition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dan Chaon writes about the book:

   It is a fragmented, quietly feverish little book—a sneaky book. It proceeds through indirection, doling out sly hints but leaving, for the most part, the sordid facts to the imagination...Perhaps one of the most compelling aspects of this novel is that, in fact, there's so much left here for us to fill in, so many scenes we can only imagine.
   (pp. 127-129)
   Cite three examples from the story to explain this statement.

2. Compare and contrast the ways in which Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Lanyon represent different attitudes toward scientific ethics and, perhaps, toward the nature of evil itself.
   

3. Although we hear directly from several characters —Enfield, Lanyon, and Dr. Jekyll himself—Mr. Utterson might be considered the central figure of the novel. Why? What characteristics of his personality and circumstances give precedence to his point of view?
   

4. What is the purpose of Robert Louis Stevenson's detailed descriptions of the places—indoor and outdoor—where the action unfolds? Choose several scenes and discuss the ways in which their settings symbolize, highlight, or underscore what occurs in the novel.
   

Official Rules for 12th Annual Signet Student Scholarship Essay Contest

Open to 11th and 12th grade full-time matriculated students who are attending high schools located in the fifty United States, or home-schooled students between the ages of 16-18 who are residents of the United States.

How to Enter

1. Matriculated students: Essays must be mailed by an English teacher (each English teacher may submit only one junior and one senior essay) on behalf of the student, along with a cover letter on school letterhead that includes the following details:
   • Date
   • Student's full name, grade, address, e-mail and home telephone number
   • Name of high school
   • Name, e-mail and daytime telephone number of English teacher submitting essay (please include summer contact information if different from school year contact information)
   • Name, e-mail and daytime telephone number of the school's administration officer
   • Topic selected (#1, #2, #3 or #4)
   • Three copies of each essay with cover letter on school letterhead
   • Certification by teacher that the essay is the student's original work

   Essays submitted without a cover letter on school letterhead or cover letters that do not include the above details will be disqualified.

2. Home-schooled students: Essays must be mailed by a parent or legal guardian on behalf of the student, along with a cover letter on the parent/legal guardian's letterhead that certifies that the student is home-schooled and that includes the following details:
   • Date
   • Student's full name, grade, address, e-mail and home telephone number
   • Student's equivalent grade
   • Topic selected (#1, #2, #3 or #4)
   • Certification by sponsoring parent for home-schooled student that the essay is the student's original work

   Essays submitted without a cover letter on parent/legal guardian's letterhead or cover letters that do not include the above details will be disqualified.

3. Essays must be at least two and no more than three double-spaced pages, computer or typewritten. Please include three (3) copies of each essay submitted. Entries must be mailed to Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Academic Marketing Department, Signet Classics Essay Student Scholarship Contest, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. To be eligible, all entries must be postmarked by April 15, 2008 and received on or by April 22, 2008. Submissions by fax, e-mail, disc or any other electronic means will not be considered.

4. Entries will not be returned. By entering the Contest, contestants agree to abide by these rules, and represent and warrant that the entries are their own and original creations, and do not violate or infringe the rights, including, without limitation, copyrights, trademark rights or rights of publicity/privacy, of any third party.

5. Entries are void if they are in whole or in part illegible, incomplete, damaged or handwritten. No responsibility is assumed for late, lost, damaged, incomplete, illegible, postage due or misdirected mail entries.

Judging

Submissions will be judged on style, content, grammar, and originality. Judges will look for clear, concise writing that is original, articulate, logically organized, and well-supported. Winning essays must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the themes and issues presented in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Winners will be notified by June 15, 2008 via telephone or e-mail.

Prizes

Five (5) winners will be awarded a $1,000.00 scholarship. Each winner will also receive a Signet Classics Library for their school library, or public library in the case of a home-schooled winner (Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") $700.00). Total ARV per prize: $1,700.00.

In the event that there is an insufficient number of qualified entries or if the judges determine in their absolute discretion that no or too few entries meet the quality standards established to award the prizes, Sponsor reserves the right not to award the prizes.

Eligibility

1. Open to 11th and 12th grade full-time matriculated students who are attending high schools located in the fifty United States, or home-schooled students between the ages of 16-18 who are residents of the United States. Void where prohibited by law. All state and local restrictions apply.
2. Employees of Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries and affiliated companies or the agencies of any of these and their immediate family members living in the same household are not eligible for this Contest.

General

1. No cash substitution, transfer or assignment of prizes allowed. In the event of the unavailability of a prize or prizes, Sponsor may substitute a prize or prizes of equal or greater value.
2. All expenses, including taxes (if any), on receipt and use of prizes are the sole responsibility of the winner.
3. Winner may be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release. The affidavit must be returned within fourteen (14) days of notification or another winner will be selected. If winner is under 18 years of age, parent/legal guardian will also be required to sign the Affidavit. Because the ARV exceeds $600.00, Winners shall be required to provide a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to Sponsor for issuance of a 1099 Form.
4. By accepting a prize the winner grants to Sponsor the right to edit, publish, copy, display and otherwise use their entries in connection with this Contest, and to further use their names, likenesses, and biographical information in advertising and promotional materials, without further compensation or permission, except where prohibited by law.
5. By participating in the Contest and/or accepting a prize, contestants release Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, authors whose books are promoted hereby or the agencies of any of them, from any liability, injury, damages, cost or expense, including reasonable attorney's fees, arising out of or connected to participation in this Contest or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prizes.
6. Any dispute arising from this Contest will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and the entrants' consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in New York County and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.

Winners' List

For a copy of the winners' list, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope by December 15, 2008 to Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Academic Marketing Department, Signet Classics Essay Student Scholarship Contest, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, or check online after July 1, 2008.

Sponsor

Penguin Group (USA)
Academic Marketing Department
Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014