Between November 1, 2023, and December 6, 2023, several SHP juniors submitted essays to the New York Times’ Ninth Annual Student Review Contest. This February, Andrew Stamos ‘25 and Paola Reinosa ‘25 were notified that they had been selected as Honorable Mentions. Of over 3,200 submissions to the contest, 9 Finalists, 17 Runners Up, and 33 Honorable Mentions were awarded, meaning that less than 2% of students who submitted received recognition. Middle or high schoolers, aged 13 to 19, in were invited to participate by “Review[ing] something that debuted in 2023 and fits into one of the following categories of creative expression that The New York Times reviews: architecture, art, books, cars, comedy, dance, fashion, hotels, movies, music, podcasts, restaurants, technology, theater, TV shows, or video games.” Ultimately, all juniors completed this review assignment for their AP English Language and Composition class, writing a piece no more than 450 words long—and fulfilling all other NYT requirements—but only a select group who finished editing before the deadline, Stamos and Reiosa included, submitted to the contest.
English teacher Ms. Colleen O’Donnell commented that the purpose of students creating their own NYT Reviews was to “practice the art of argumentation.” Since the AP English Language & Composition course is a “skilled-based course, and not a content-based course,” students are taught to “develop a critical consciousness about issues surrounding them, and effectively practice the art of rhetoric.” Earlier in the year, Juniors spent time crafting a review modeled after John Green’s, The Anthropocene Reviewed, so participating in the NYT Review Contest, according to O’Donnell, was a great opportunity for students to practice skills that they had developed earlier in the year by writing for “a particular audience, about a particular topic.”
Furthermore, O’Donnell explained that the NYT’s The Learning Network, which runs the contest students submitted to, provides a unique opportunity for students through its free resources, articles, and contests, which the English department sought to expose students to. She further emphasized that one of the goals of the Junior English department is to help students engage the reader through the use of sensory details and “think about why they write what they write.” She explained that the objective of the assignment was to help students develop a “personal writing voice” and advocate either in support of or against something through the use of descriptive language and vivid imagery.