Essays are due in the State 4-H Office: February 11, 2009
This essay contest is open to 4-H Club Member Only!
Send all essays to: Juanita Johnson, P.O. Box 25100, Baton Rouge, LA 70894.
Awards Sponsors:
State: Louisiana Beekeepers Association
National: Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, Inc.
Awards: Plaques to top three and certificates to participants
National: Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees, Inc.
Awards: Cash Prizes to 3 Top Winners: 1st Place National Winner-- $750, 2nd Place National Winner--$500.00, 3rd Place National Winner--$250.00. National winners receive an appropriate book about honey bees, beekeeping, or honey.
Topic: For the 2009 Essay Contest, the Essay topic is:
"The Dance Language of Bees"
Essayists are invited to learn about the honey bee’s dance language, how it was discovered, how it works and how it provides colonies the ability to find and exploit floral resources. The results of scout bees leading nest-mates back to a new food source can be demonstrated easily by a beekeeper.
Sources: Karl Von Frisch was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his work with insect communication. His classic text is The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees, (1967), Harvard University Press. There are dissenters to Von Frisch’s findings. See “Anatomy of a Controversy: The Question of a Language Among Bees, (1990), Columbia University Press.
The scope of the research is an essential judging criterion, accounting for 40% of your score. The number of sources consulted, the authority of the sources, and the variety of the sources are all evaluated.
Personal interviews with beekeepers and others familiar with the subject are valued sources of information and should be documented. Sources, which are not cited in the endnotes, should be listed in a "Resources" or "Bibliography" list.
Note that "honey bee" is properly spelled as two words, even though many otherwise authoritative references spell it as one word.
The ABF website: www.ABFnet.org has links to other beekeeping sites.
TIPS: All factual statements must be referenced with bibliographical-style endnotes/footnotes. A brief biographical sketch of the essayist, including date of birth, gender, complete mailing address, and telephone number, must accompany the essay. Note that “honey bee” is properly spelled as two words, even tough many otherwise authoritative references spell it as one word.
RULES: 1. The Contest is open to 4-H’ers who have not placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd at the national level, or 1st place in Louisiana’s Honey Bee Essay Contest.
2. Typed or computer-generated, double-spaced, 12pt. (Times or similar type style), on one side of white paper following standard manuscript format.
3. Write on the designated subject only: "The Dance Language of Bees"
4. All factual statements must be referenced with bibliographical-style endnotes.
5. A HONEY BEE ESSAY COVER SHEET and a brief biographical sketch of the essayist, including date of birth, gender, complete mailing address, and telephone number, must accompany the essay.
6. Length – The essay should be 750 to 1000 words. The word count does not include the endnotes, the bibliography or references, or the essayist’s biographical sketch.
7. Essays will be judged on: (A) scope of research, 40%; (B) accuracy, 30%; (C) creativity, 10%; (D) conciseness, 10%, and (E) logical development of the topic, 10%.