Today we are announcing the first open SteemSTEM writing competition!
One of the goals of the SteemSTEM project is to promote learning. The best way to learn about a topic is often to teach it to others! Steem and Steemit provide us with the unique opportunity to get rewarded for such efforts, and the SteemSTEM initiative affords us the opportunity to further reward the best contributions!
What Am I Supposed To Write About?
The writing prompt for this round is open, so you can write about any topic you are interested in, as long as it is connected to the STEM fields. The only requirement is that YOU find the topic interesting, and think others could learn something by reading about it!
The Potential Prizes
- 1st Place - 100 Steem Power + 33% of Steem/SBD earned from this post (4.224 STEEM)
- 2nd Place - 50 Steem Power + 33% of Steem/SBD earned from this post (4.224 STEEM)
- 3rd Place - 25 Steem Power + 33% of Steem/SBD earned from this post (4.224 STEEM)
If you rank in the top three your post will be re-steemed in addition to the bonus monetary prize.
Three Simple Rules
- Be Nice
- Have Fun
- Cite ALL your sources
Entry
Entry is simple, just tag your post with the dedicated #steemstem-competition1 tag. To make sure your entry is noticed you can join the #SteemSTEM chat and let us know that you submitted a post.
Judging and Ranking
The jury assessing the quality of the posts will be comprised of three members of the SteemSTEM team, 
As with all aspects of the SteemSTEM project, the team is prohibited from participating. All the inputs come from the community and all of the rewards go back to the community!
We will each assign your post a score based on 4 guidelines.
- Accuracy - 15 pts
- Comprehensibility - 15 pts
- Formatting - 5 pts
- Appropriate citations and references - 5 pts
Accuracy
We will check for the scientific accuracy of your post. Remember that spreading inaccurate and/or false information leads to confusion for your readers!
Comprehensibility
We will rate on how easy it is to read and understand the text. Garbled text or text that is too technical can be hard to understand. Good scientific writing makes even complex topics seem simple.
Formatting
We will rate the post on how good it looks. People notice the formatting before the text. Large solid blocks of text are difficult to read and concentrate on, no matter the comprehensibility of the text. We are not looking for advanced formatting techniques, just basic, solid formatting.
Citations
Just citing your sources isn’t always enough. Listing the sources below the block of text you used them in can make it easier to follow what you got from where. The goal of citing information is not just to give credits, it also serves as a way for your readers to learn more if they are interested.
Remember science is a discipline focused on learning and discovery, we should all work to help others achieve that when they read what we write.
After evaluating each post, we (
Entry starts Monday January 30th and ends Sunday February 5th, exactly one week. The results will be announced within the following week, unless there happens to be a major turnout.