MAAC
STUDENT AND RECENT GRADUATE
PAPER
COMPETITION GUIDELINES
Students and recent graduates are invited to submit
abstracts for twenty-minute, single-authored papers on any topic related to
archaeology in the mid-Atlantic United States. Papers will be judged by a panel
of MAAC member judges with diverse backgrounds in the field of archaeology.
The papers will be judged on content and presentation. Each
participant will be paired with a mentor of a similar focus in archaeology.
The mentor will be of the participant’s choosing or will be paired with
him or her after the abstract is submitted.
The mentor will serve as an advisor and editor on the paper before it is
presented at the conference.
WHO
CAN ENTER?
Students currently
enrolled in an academic program (undergraduates and Master’s candidates) and
recent graduates (those within 3 years of receiving a Bachelor’s degree) are
eligible. Only papers with one
author will be considered.
GUIDELINES
Judges are asked to base their decisions on the following criteria:
Content - Is the work well organized? Is
a problem or research question presented and answered by the student?
Does the student use archaeological data and/or relevant theory to
support the argument? Is the
research question placed within a larger social, cultural, or economic context?
Are appropriate sources used to support the argument?
Presentation - Judges will consider the oral presentation (the
presenter’s ability to communicate to an audience) as well as the student's
overall presentation of his or her research.
They should also evaluate the use of audio-visual aids.
Contribution to the field - Judges will consider the originality of the
research, as well as overall the contribution or usefulness to the field of
archaeology.
AWARD
The judges will announce their decision at the Saturday night reception.
The winner will receive $100 and a one-year membership in MAAC.
Three other deserving participants will receive a year’s membership in
MAAC. The winner will also have his
or her paper published in the Journal of Mid-Atlantic Archaeology (cash
award will be held until the work is submitted, in final format, to the journal
editor). All participants will be
strongly encouraged to submit their papers for publication in the journal.
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