2 Apple Valley, Eastview High Students Win National Writing Awards

senior Paige Coulter and senior Michael Ross are two of 520 recipients nationwide of a certificate for superior writing in the 2011 National Achievement Awards in Writing.

The awards are sponsored by the National Council of English Teachers, according to a District 196 news release. English teachers nominate students to participate, and each submits two writing samples for a panel of English teachers to judge.

One of the pieces could be of any type, and the other was an essay written within 75 minutes on a theme provided by the advisory committee for the awards.

They're judged on how they present their ideas and whether they make the ideas their own; understanding of the subject and audience for the writing; and good use of language, according to the release.

Eagan High School senior Lauren Ross and senior Alexandra McLaughlin also are recipients.