For the 2022 Excellent Minds Essay Competition, applications are being accepted. The Excellent Minds Social and Youth Empowerment Initiative is the driving force behind the Excellent Minds Essay Competition. It is an annual essay competition for tertiary undergraduate students. The competition aims to foster critical thinking, cultivate ideas, and enhance the natural talents, skills, abilities, and gifts of African children. The Excellent Minds Essay Competition has been held in Nigerian universities over the years. Since its formal debut, it has stimulated creative and very effective student projects and suggestions aimed at addressing Nigeria’s most urgent issues.

From this year on, the competition will include academic institutions throughout West Africa and will From this year on, the competition will include academic institutions throughout West Africa and will concentrate on regional developmental challenges. This year’s competition has a Partnership for Sustainable Development in West Africa theme.

When? The competition will run for five months, from 5 March 2022 to 29 July 2022.

Where? Except for the grand finale, every stage will be conducted digitally. The grand finale will actually take place in Lagos, Nigeria.

With whom? Students from all educational institutions in West Africa and in all fields are eligible to enter the tournament.

Description of the Excellent Minds Social and Youth Empowerment Initiative

A youth-led, non-profit organization in Nigeria called Excellent Minds Social and Youth Empowerment Initiative addresses the obstacles to developmental justice and equips young people to act as catalysts for long-term growth. In order to advance social change and spark creative responses to global concerns, we are committed to engaging with thousands of young people.

Essay subject

For the region of West Africa to develop and prosper, cooperation has become an essential tool. The region is poised to undergo major progress in the trade sector with the formation of ECOWAS, the African Union, the African Development Bank, the Africa Export-Import Bank, and more critically, the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.

Even if these organizations and their programs promise and promote development, it is sad that the majority of it is still mostly theoretical. Additionally, West African countries have a responsibility to their region, which shouldn’t compromise their dedication to other African regions. Please advise practical and workable cooperative measures that West African nations might implement to promote regional growth and economic development.

Instructions

• Identify and discuss some of the most pressing issues affecting West Africa in no more than 1000 words, and then suggest joint solutions for the various West African nations. Their obligations to other African countries shouldn’t be harmed by these solutions.
• The word count excludes your cover page and references; use 12-point Times New Roman or Arial type, 1.5-line spacing, and include page numbers.
• English must be used in all entries.

Students from all fields at higher institutions in West Africa are eligible to compete.

Deadline for submissions is May 5, 2022, at 11:59 p.m., West African Time (WAT)

Please be aware that our judges treat plagiarism seriously. If plagiarism is discovered, you will be eliminated from the competition.

PRIZES
FIRST PRIZE: Apple ipad and a Plaque
SECOND PRIZE: Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite and a Plaque
THIRD PRIZE: Kindle 6″ Wifi eBook Reader [10th gen] and a Plaque

The best 5 essays will also be made available to the public for free viewing on our website.

KEY DATES
5 May 2022: Submission deadline
30 May 2022: Shortlisted semi-finalists notified
6 June 2022 – 17 June 2022: Phone interviews
30 June 2022: Shortlisted finalists notified
29 July 2022: 3-minute essay finals (3MEF) and Award Ceremony

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THE MEANING OF WRITING ESSAYS

Did you know that the Latin term “exagium,” which roughly translates to “stating one’s case,” is the origin of the English word “essay”? Essays are therefore little pieces of writing that express a person’s perspective on an issue or their own experiences, events, etc. Essays are highly individualized. So let’s study about essay types, formats, and writing advice.

An essay is typically a condensed piece of writing that presents the author’s point of view or narrative. It is frequently used interchangeably with the words “story,” “paper,” or “article.” Both formal and informal essays are acceptable. Formal essays typically address serious subjects and have an intellectual tone. We’ll concentrate on informal writings, which are more introspective and frequently contain amusing elements.

Types of Essays

What the author wishes to express to the reader will determine the sort of essay. Essays often come in four different types. Check it out.

1. Narrative Essays: This occurs when the essay serves as the author’s narrator for a certain event or tale. The first person is used in these. The goal of narrative essays is to immerse the reader in the story as if they were present at the time it happened. Make them as real and vivid as you can. Adhering to the show, don’t tell’ rule is one approach to do this. The reader must be involved in the story, therefore.
2. Descriptive Essays: In this type of essay, the author will describe a setting, an item, an occasion, or even a memory. But it goes beyond simple description. Through his or her words, the writer must create a picture. A clever strategy for doing that is to engage the reader’s senses. Don’t just rely on sight; use your other senses as well, such as smell, touch and sound, among others. When written correctly, a descriptive essay will allow the reader to experience the same feelings that the author was.
3. Expository Essays: In this type of essay, the author offers a fair analysis of the subject. Such essays need the author to have substantial understanding of the topic matter. An expository essay does not allow room for the author’s feelings or emotions. It is entirely supported by facts, figures, real-world examples, etc. There are other subtypes of this, including contrast essays and cause and effect essays.
4. Persuasive Essays: In these essays, your goal is to persuade the reader to agree with you. A persuasive essay tries to persuade the reader of the writer’s viewpoint rather than just presenting information. In these writings, both arguments must be provided. The readership must ultimately be convinced that the writer’s position is stronger.

Format of an Essay

There is no longer a set structure for essays. It should not be restricted because it is a creative process. However, there is a fundamental format that is typically used while writing essays. So let’s look at the fundamental format of an essay.

Introduction

This is the introduction to your essay. The writer makes his initial introduction to his subject here. The beginning paragraph of your essay can include a very quick description of your paper. Here, having some paragraph writing skills can be beneficial. It usually just has 4-6 lines, which is not very long.

There are many opportunities to use creativity in essay introductions. This will guarantee that you catch the reader’s attention and maintain it. You can achieve this by beginning with a quote or a proverb.. On occasion, you could even begin with a definition. Start your sentence with a question for another engaging writing technique.

Body
The heart of your essays is in this. The core of your essay, located in between the introduction and the conclusion, is called the body. The essay’s most crucial and significant information will therefore be found here. This is not limited to a single paragraph. Depending on the content, it could extend to two or more paragraphs.

Usually, the body of the essay requires a lot of information. And the common error writers make is to approach it haphazardly, which confuses the reader. Thus, structuring your ideas and material is crucial.

To make the information easy to understand for the reader, write it in a logical order. You might have been recounting an occurrence, for instance. Going chronologically would be the best way to accomplish this.

Conclusion

The essay’s final paragraph is this one. Even though a conclusion may occasionally be a simple repetition of the introduction, it should still use unique words and sentences. Another excellent location to summarize a tale or an argument is towards the conclusion. A moral or a conclusion to a narrative can help you finish up your essay. Make sure to finish your essays with a conclusion so there are no loose ends.

Tips for Essay Writing

• Give your essays a catchy and pertinent title. It will aid in grabbing the reader’s attention and arousing their curiosity.
• Limit it to 300–500 words. This is the recommended length; however, you may raise it or decrease it as you see fit.
• Be sure to use clear, basic language. The text loses its flow when overly tough or complicated terms are used.

• Avoid grammatical errors and utilize proper spelling and punctuation. If this is not done, the reader will be drawn away from the essay’s topic.

• Before starting the essay, arrange your ideas and sketch up a preliminary copy. By doing so, you can guarantee that the narrative will flow and won’t be a disorganized jumble.

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