The primary goal of NSF contests is to foster the spirit of competition and learning among the youth. Parents and children should focus on the joy of learning and interacting with other writing participants rather than on the possible outcome of the contest. Specifically, the NSF Essay contest is intended to encourage writing skills, which demand quick thinking, good organization of ideas and cohesive writing style.

In addition to all the general contest rules stated by North South Foundation, the following rules are applicable for the 2007 Essay Writing Bee (Leadership In Writing) Competition.

1. There are 3 levels of competition for Essay Bee:
   
   
   • Essay Writing Level 1 (EW1): Grades 3, 4 and 5
   • Essay Writing Level 2 (EW2): Grades 6, 7 and 8
   • Essay Writing Level 3 (EW3): Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12
   
   
2. A 1st rank winner at the National Finals of the North South Foundation Essay Writing Level 3 (EW3) contest is not eligible for competing in this and future essay contests conducted by the Foundation (National winners of EW1 and EW2 can participate ONLY in EW2 and EW3 bees, respectively.) A contestant who participated in a higher level bee cannot participate in a lower level bee in subsequent years.
   
   
3. Essay bees (EW1, EW2 and EW3) are only held in one phase: Phase I (written). Parents are not allowed in Phase I.

Phase I (written):

4. Phase I is a written test. The essay topic will only be announced 10 minutes before the contest begins. Thus the contestants will not know the essay topic ahead of time. The contestants will have 60 minutes to complete an essay on the “given topic.”
   
   
5. The essay must be an original composition written by the contestant, onsite (i.e., in the Contest Room), and must be written in English.
   
   
6. An essay submitted will not be returned under any circumstances. NSF shall reserve the right to publish the essay, name, school and photo of any participant in any manner it deems fit.

Judging:

7. Guidelines for judging criteria - Junior  Intermediate  Senior 

Winners and Ranks:

8. Each essay will be reviewed and scored by three independent judges. Based on the average scores of the three judges, winners will be determined. The 1st place winner shall be ahead by at least (.01) to be declared as the champion. In announcing the ranks 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, the following rules apply:
   
   
   • Announce Ranks 1, 2 and 3, if and only if there are at least 10 contestants;
   • Announce Ranks 1 and 2 ONLY, if there are 8 or 9 contestants;
   • Announce Rank 1 ONLY, if there are 5-7 contestants;
   • DO NOT announce any ranks if there are less than 5 contestants.

Tiebreaker Rules:

9. The tie-breaker rules for ranks apply ONLY if there are at least 5 or more contestants participating in a given center.
   
   
10. In case of a tie, the participant of lower (or lowest) grade will be the winner.
    
    
11. If there is still a tie among the contestants who are in the same grade, multiple winners will be declared sharing the same rank. When announcing joint winners, the following rules are used:
    
    
    • If two are tied for the 1st place, skip rank 2 and announce rank 3 for the third contestant.
    • If two or more are tied for the 2nd place, skip rank 3.
    • If three or more are tied for the 1st place, skip ranks 2 and 3.

Invitation to National Finals:

12. Invitation to National Finals is ONLY for EW3. All contestants at the regional level will be invited to the National Finals subject to an upper limit of 30. First come first serve rule will apply for registration at the National Finals.