Nacogdoches High School is celebrating another state champion.
Justin Phillips is bringing home a state title in Academic UIL Current Issues and Events. The NHS junior topped the field in Austin during the Class 5A competition held Wednesday.
Phillips was joined at the state academic contest by NHS senior Samantha McQuage, who finished fourth overall in the state in the Ready Writing event.
According to University Interscholastic League, the Current Issues and Events Contest competition focuses on a basic knowledge of current state, national and world events and issues and consists of 40 multiple-choice questions and one essay. The essay is intended to assess the student’s ability to process and evaluate information and present it in an informed manner.
In Ready Writing, the UIL says, students have two hours to write expository compositions. They have a choice between two prompts, each an excerpt from literature, publications (past and present) or speeches. Expository writing explains, proves, or explores a topic in a balanced way, allowing the argument and the evidence given to be the deciding factor in the paper.
The composition is then judged on interest (60 percent), organization (30 percent) and correctness of style (10 percent).