Classical Essay Contest

The Classical Association of Virginia is excited to sponsor the annual Classical Essay Contest to provide students with the opportunity to write, in English, on a specified topic of classical interest and to be recognized for their outstanding performance.

Topics and Descriptions for 2025

Level I: “Let’s Stroll through the Roman Forum”

Level II: “From the Lararium to Olympus: What Religion Meant to the Average Roman”

Level III: “Cicero: Odd Man Out in the Power Politics of the Late Republic”

Levels III & Advanced: 

  • Vergil: “The Death of Turnus: Evaluate the Ending of the Aeneid”
  • Poetry: “Cupid in Ovid’s Amores”
  • History: “Oro ut Faciatis: Campaigning and Voting in Ancient Rome”

N.B.  What is Advanced Latin?

Students in Latin III and above may choose between the categories of Vergil, Poetry, and History. Students in Latin III and above may submit essays in more than one category. Only students in Latin III may submit an essay for Level III.

Participation & Cost

  • The CAV Classical Essay Contest is open to students in public and private middle and high schools of Virginia, and home-schooled students, whose teachers are members of the Classical Association of Virginia.
  • There is a $2.00 fee per student.
  • Teachers who are not yet members of CAV should send their dues of $20.00 along with the entrance fee. Please make checks payable to the Classical Association of Virginia.
  • Please see the section on Formatting & Rules below for more information.

Formatting & Rules

  • Essays should be roughly 1000 words in length, typed and double-spaced.
  • The first page the essay may include a title. The student’s name and school must not appear on any page of the essay, and the pages of the essay should be numbered.
  • Each entry must come with a cover page that includes: name of the student, name and address of school, name of teacher, year of Latin studied in the current school year, student grade level, level of contest, and essay topic.
  • No help may be received from any person in the research, preparation, and/or writing of the essay. Books and electronic resources may (indeed, generally should) be consulted, provided that all research is completed by the student and proper acknowledgement of intellectual property is given. A list of sources and works cited should be provided at the end of the essay on a separate page. A good on-line spource for help in the formal preparation of an essay is Purdue University’s Online writing Lab (OWL):   http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html 
  • Teachers, of course, are allowed to guide students toward the types of reference material to consult and provide general instruction in the writing of a good essay. However, teachers must not provide any editorial feedback to the students. That is, they should not be reading and commenting on their students’ essays before the final form in which they will be submitted.
  • Essays should present a clear, coherent synthesis of material researched. A lively and well-organized essay is better than a laundry list of facts. Judges look for verve and imagination in the writing and not merely quantity of research. To this end, it has been the policy to accept essays that are closer to creative writing exercises than to the traditional expository essay. It is to be understood, however, that the same amount of factual content and critical thought must be in evidence in whatever form the essay takes. It should be noted as well that what appears to be a creative approach to writing an essay begins to look less and less creative when essay after essay is written in the same pattern. Ineligible entries will be discarded.
  • By entering this contest, you are giving the Classical Association of Virginia consent to publish your name in its official publications. Winners’ names will be published in the CAV newsletter and CAV website. Also, the winning essays will be posted on the CAV website in pdf form. If students do not want their names and/or essays posted, they should add a note to that effect on their cover page.

How to Submit

All physical entries and fees should be mailed to:

Patrick Bradley
Director, CAV Classical Essay Contest
Rockbridge County Hight School
143 Greenhouse Road
Lexington, VA 24450 

For all questions:

patrick_bradley@rockbridge.k12.va.us

All submissions are due by TBA