<p>Like the title says, how competitive is the NHD contest? Are there more than one each year? Also, are there other national contest/events related to subjects such as history or social science? Any comment will be greatly appreciated =D</p>
<p>No. There is only one, but there are district, regional and state competitions before one can get to the national level. A topic is issued every year. It should be available by now. The NHD site has all the information. It is quite an achievement to make it to state or national level. Even if one does not, the competition provides great opportunities to learn how to do research and write essays or put together projects (videos, performances, display boards, etc...) Talk to your Social Studies teacher if you are interested in participating.</p>
<p>Marite has nicely summed up NHD. Another opportunity for those interested in history is the Concord Review, a journal which publishes the best high school history essays. It is also quite competitive, however, but could be a nice feather in your cap if you make it. website: <a href="http://www.tcr.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tcr.org/</a></p>
<p>I've never heard about NHD. Do all states hold a competition??</p>
<p>I am not so sure......check out their website!</p>
<p>Last year, I lived with a girl who'd competed at high levels of NHD from middle school until she graduated--she had wonderful things to say about it, and certainly retained a lot of what she'd learned (and liked to share it!). Plus, since she participated in the group events, she got quite close to her teammates. She's still involved while at college, having coached a younger team and judged high school divisions. It sounds like a great program and I definitely would have done it if I'd known about it while in high school. I think it really boosted her chances at various schools.</p>
<p>NHD is an incredible experience!</p>
<p>There are school, regional, and state competitions leading up to the national competition each June. At nationals, the first and second place winners from each state compete against each other for money, scholarships, and other prizes. </p>
<p>At the regional and state level, how competitive it is depends a good deal on where you live. The most competitive states are probably California, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Washington, and New York, Florida, Colorado, South Carolina, Kansas, and Missouri are very tough as well. In California, for instance, over 2/3 of the projects that win at the state level qualify for national finals, so they have an extremely high caliber of competition. In some states certain categories (often exhibits and/or papers) are really difficult, while others aren't. </p>
<p>Definitely if you do well at the national competition, that is an impressive thing. It's very tough to do. I've heard that somewhere around 700,000 students compete each year at various levels, so to be among those who make finals (top 14) at nationals is very prestigious.</p>
<p>If you need ANY info on history day, please feel free to ask me. I love the competition, the experience, the research...all of it! I've competed the past four years, and placed top three at nationals twice in the individual documentary category. Also, there's an nhd forum at <a href="http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/forum%5B/url%5D">www.nationalhistoryday.org/forum</a> where you can ask students and teachers questions. </p>
<p>Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>Oi you competed at national level? If you have written any paper for NHD, please tell me how to go about research, topic decision, and etc. If you have any other experience or any great advice about NHD (going about competing, how competitive you have to be, what quality of work, other stuff, etc.), please tell me~ I need all the help I can get to do good on this year's NHD =D thanks so much!</p>
<p>I've never written a paper (I'm a documentary girl myself:)), but there's a lot of advice I can offer you that's not category specific.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Pick a topic that will keep you interested. You might start looking for something by researching a little into a broad area you're interested in, like the reformation, the civil war, the women's rights movement, etc. From there you can narrow it down to something more narrow that interests you. It's important to make sure your topic isn't too broad, so that you can cover it in detail and present sophisticated analysis within the word limit. Also, steer clear of really common/well known historical events and figures, because the judges already know about these things and are liable to be less interested in your project if it focuses on something like this. Also, they're more likely to grill you in questioning, find mistakes in your project, and have preconcieved ideas about what they think you should have covered, since they're familiar with the topic. You can use the sample topic list (not yet published, but it should appear on the NHD website soon) to come up with ideas as well.</p></li>
<li><p>When it comes to research, start with the secondary sources. I can't tell you how many projects I've seen fall on their faces because the students aren't willing to do the background research- reading books, watching documentaries, talking to historians, etc. necessary to get their project off the ground. While primary sources are the most interesting, undoubtedly, secondary sources are the "backbone" of your project, so to speak. You need to understand how other historians have analyzed your topic in order to do it well on your own.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't underestimate the importance of the annotated bibliography. Start it early, keep it updated. don't get carried away with annotation length. Keep researching even as you start your paper, and adding to your bibliography as you go. At the national level, most high caliber projects have compiled bibliographies of 10 or more pages, with 70 or more sources, often much higher than this. However, don't feel the need to add sources to the bib just to have them there- stay true to your research. If you didn't use the source, it doesn't belong in your bib (another reason for wide research).</p></li>
<li><p>Perspective is key. You must be balanced in the story you tell. Even if you're looking at something seemingly one sided- a topic in the holocaust for instance, it's important to explain the opposing side. What was the rationale for Hitler's final solution? How did America react or not react to the plight of European Jews, and why? These kinds of questions are very important in developing the broader picture and telling the complete story. </p></li>
<li><p>Theme relation is very important. Even if you think your topic's relation to the theme is obvious, say it in your thesis. Say it in your topic sentences. Say it as much as you can (in the year where the theme was exploration, encounter, and exchange in history, I used those three words a combination of over 25 times in a ten minute film).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Whew, it's late, so I'll stop now, but I'm willing to answer any more questions you might have. If you can tell me what state you're from (I understand if you don't want to give away that kind of info though), I can give you a more detailed idea of how competitive your state is for NHD. </p>
<p>Oh, and I almost forgot. I have a long list of winning papers compiled. The first place papers at nationals in both the junior (middle school) and senior (high school) divisions, along with their annotated bibliographies, are published in a history journal each year, and I've saved the links. They make a great resource. One boy from Iowa has one first place three years running (two years in the high school division, one in middle school), and his papers are great examples, as are the others here. </p>
<p>Jr. Papers:
Aldo Leopold: An American Prophet
Jr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2003
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/37.1/frese.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/37.1/frese.html</a></p>
<p>Fifty Years After Brown: Tarnished Gold, Broken Promises
Jr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2004
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/38.1/gantz.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/38.1/gantz.html</a></p>
<p>Rosalind Franklin: Unsung Hero of the DNA Revolution
Jr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2002
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/36.1/rapoport.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/36.1/rapoport.html</a></p>
<p>A Lasting Impression:
French Painters Revolutionize the Art World
Jr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2001
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/35.1/snider.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/35.1/snider.html</a></p>
<p>The Haitian Revolution and the Forging of America
Jr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2000
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/thomson.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/thomson.html</a></p>
<p>Sr. Papers:
Comrade Khrushchev and Farmer Garst:
East-West Encounters Foster Agricultural Exchange
Sr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2004
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/38.1/frese.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/38.1/frese.html</a></p>
<p>Presidents, Congress, and the Use of Force: A Critique of Presidential Powers
Sr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2003
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/37.1/kittredge.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/37.1/kittredge.html</a></p>
<p>General Christopher C. Andrews: Leading the Minnesota Forestry Revolution
Sr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2002
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/36.1/rice.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/36.1/rice.html</a></p>
<p>Incubator Baby Shows: A Medical and Social Frontier
Sr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2001
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/35.1/lieberman.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/35.1/lieberman.html</a></p>
<p>The Battle of Okinawa, 1945: Final Turning Point in the Pacific
Sr. Paper
1st Place, National History Day 2000
<a href="http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/tzeng.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/tzeng.html</a></p>
<p>I have info on some winning projects in other categories as well, if that interests you. Good luck!</p>
1 Like
<p>Oh, and I saw you mentioned that you wanted to hear about other competitions in the social sciences. Check out the JFK profiles in courage essay contest (google it for the website).</p>
<p>Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much vegan girl! I wish you luck on NHD too =D</p>
<p>Another NHD experience to share...</p>
<p>Topic/Medium selection is very, very important. You need to choose a topic that has plenty of primary resources and bring it to light in a way that is CLEARLY in line with the theme. There's not as much leeway as you might think. </p>
<p>If you have problems cleanly gluing stuff or don't have advanced video editing software, don't do an exhibit or documentary. The one thing I underestimated my first time was the extent to which presentation counts, which is just as much as, (if not more than) substance. All the best research in the world won't win even locally at NHD if you don't present it well. Thus I would highly, highly recommend choosing the medium you can express yourself best.</p>
<p>Be prepared too to spend money on travel and large entry fees if you get to the higher levels of competition. If you want to find good primary sources (crucial to the best projects) you might have to travel some distance to find them or pay to have them shipped in. It's not cheap.</p>
<p>Is it that hard to get to state/national level? I live in CA.........I really hope I can do something remarkable because I will be a junior next year.</p>
<p>I'm not going to lie, California is the single most competitive state when it comes to history day. Making it to nationals will be way tough, but you can count yourself extremely proud if you're among the state finalists. That's a big deal in CA! Plus, the state competition has a ton of special awards with money attached to them, which is nice. How difficult it is to get to state will depend on what county you live on. I know the way California does it, only two entries in each category advance from regionals to state. But anyway, the most competitive counties are Fresno and Kern County (bakersfield etc). These counties tend to have winners at nationals every year, and both have a couple of schools that are very committed to NHD. I don't know too much about the other counties, though. Good luck!</p>
<p>Contra Costa County =)
So the regionals pit me against other people from my county, than if I win I get to participate in the state? I hope to write a good paper and at least make it to the state to win an award.........kinda hard to win something in the nationals on my first time =D</p>
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