Chapter Competitions

Entrants || Judges || STACIEs || Winners || Dates/Locations || Contacts || Competition Help

Entrants' Overview

All technical communicators—students, workers, STC members and non-members—are eligible to enter the annual Online Communication, Technical Art, and Technical Publications competitions. This is an opportunity to be recognized for the excellence of your work. The competition judges provide valuable peer reviews. Winning an award is not only personally satisfying but provides the thrill of being able to tell your manager or client that the piece you produced was recognized by the Society for Technical Communication.

Who is Eligible

You may submit entries if you are a technical communicator or a student of technical communication. You do not have to be a member of the STC. You may enter as an individual or on behalf of a group or subordinate. When you fill out the online entry form, you must confirm that the owner of the work provides permission for entry and public display of the work.

Entry Rules

The following rules apply to all competitions:

• Entries must be in English and must contain sufficient technical, scientific, medical, or similar content to qualify as "technical" communication.

• Entries must have been produced after September 1, 2007.

• Although student entries are welcome at the chapter level competition, and will be judged alongside all other entries, they are not eligible to move on to the international competition. All entries in the international competition must meet the publication acceptance criteria.

• Within a single category, only one entry from the same contributors and from the same parent organization may be submitted, except when the entries are on significantly different topics. Entries that substantially duplicate other entries are not eligible.

• Entries must have been originally prepared for a client, employer, or publisher (except student entries) and must have been accepted for publication (print or electronic).

• Entries may not have been entered in any previous STC competition unless substantial changes have been made since the prior entry.

• Entries must be suitable for public display. Entries that contain classified or proprietary information or that violate copyright laws are not acceptable. It is the responsibility of the submitter, and not of STC, to determine that entries do not contain classified or proprietary information and that the holder of all copyrights has granted permission for the entry's submission. Neither the STC nor anyone associated with the competitions can be held responsible for loss of or damage to an entry.

Registering Entries

See Entrants' Registration for details about how to enter the competitions.

Sample Entries

Many prospective entrants have asked to see samples of award-winning entries. We thank the companies that were willing to allow us to share their entries with you. Please remember, though, that each entry is judged on its own merit. Do not try to assess from looking at these samples how your entry might fare. Also, remember that whether or not your entry receives an award, you will get valuable written feedback from the judges.

Award Winners from the Technical Publications Competition

Click the following links to view the sample described:

• Polycom; 2004 winner of an award of Distinction: Viewstation Quick Tips
  (Category: Quick Reference Guides)
• Cisco; 2004 winner of an award of Excellence: MPLS Quality of Service Multi-VC Mode on the Cisco 10000 Series Router
  (Category: Software Guides)
• Cisco; 2004 winner of an award of Merit: Release Notes for the Cisco 10000 Series Router for Cisco IOS Release 12.2(16)BX3
  (Category: Software Guides)

What About PDFs?

Many of you deliver your work in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). You can enter PDFs in the Technical Publications Competition. Submit your entry to the Online or the Technical Publications competitions, depending on how the entry will be used.

If your entry is designed to be used primarily as an online application, submit three CDs as described for other entries to the Online Communication competition. Enter it in the Reference category. If the file is designed to be printed, deliver three printed copies to the Technical Publications competition. Your entry will be judged according to the criteria of the competition you entered it in; no special considerations are given to PDF files.

PDFs in the Technical Publications Competition

If you enter a PDF in the Technical Publications Competition, how you print or copy the PDF document can make a difference in how your entry is judged. To present your PDF entry in the best light, follow these tips for submitting the entry:

• Print the PDF on the same size paper as designed in the file.

• Print the PDF double-sided.

• If the page size is not 8.5 x 11, avoid scaling the page to fit on letter size paper. Print it on the exact size paper, or trim after printing (scaling usually adversely affects the quality of the output).

• If you use color, print the PDF on a color printer, or make sure that any color elements look presentable and professional when printed in grayscale.

• Make sure the printed pages or copies do not have streaks, spots, smudges, or other artifacts from the printer or copier.

• Bind the document neatly and professionally.

What can you enter in the Online Technical Publications Competition?

Anything that conveys technical information via electronic media within certain guidelines and exceptions. Here's a rundown:

- PDFs

PDFs that are primarily inteded to be viewed online of have interactive features, such as linked tutorials, supporting Web sites, interactive forms, etc., may be appropriate to enter in the Reference category. Review the descripton for the Reference category to determine whether the entry fits in it.

- Online Help

This is the classic Online Competition entry. MS Windows users can click on Help from the Start menu to see an example.

- Other Media

Interactive media, videos, and HTML-based content can all qualify for entry into the Online competition as long as the entry presents technical information. This does not preclude entries whose primary purpose is to persuade or sell; however, we will judge the entry only on how well the technical information is presented and conveyed.

We understand that the lines between persuasive and informative content can often be quite blurry, and that advances in presentation technology can make finding the distinction even more challenging. We are striving to keep up with these changes, and to move and grow our competition with the times.