Documentary Requirements

The White Rose Student Research Contest accepts essays and documentaries from students in grades 8-12.

The following criteria apply to those students’ submitting documentaries to the contest.

DOCUMENTARY

  • A documentary is an audio/visual presentation that uses multiple source types such as images, video, and sound to communicate your historical argument, research, and interpretation of your response to this year’s topic. The reflection portion of your documentary should not exceed 90 seconds.
  • Your documentary must be an original production.
  • Documentaries should be at least seven minutes and not exceed ten minutes in length.
  • The last portion of your documentary must be a list of acknowledgments and credits for sources of moving footage, interviews, music, and images that appear in the documentary. These source credits must be brief—not full bibliographic citations and not annotated.
  • MP4 format submitted as a YouTube link.
  • If selected as a finalist students must submit the mp4 file to the Virginia Holocaust Museum

PROCESS PAPER

  • Your entry must include a process paper. A process paper is a description of how you conducted your research and created your entry.
  • The process paper must be 500 words and must not include quotes, images, or captions. Your process paper must answer the following questions:
  1. How did you choose your topic and how does it relate to this year’s theme?
  2. How did you conduct your research?
  3. How did you create your project?
  4. What is your historical argument?

WORKS CITED

Your works cited must meet the following requirements:

  • List all sources that you utilized in developing your entry
  • Separate your Works Cited into two sections: one for sources from the required set of documents and one for sources you found to supplement your research.
  • Do not attach materials to your Works Cited.

GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATORS

  • VHM encourages teachers to utilize this writing contest as a classroom exercise.
  • There is no limit to the number of entries each teacher can submit.
  • Each essay should reflect the student’s own work, guided, and reviewed, but not edited in detail by the sponsoring teacher.
  • Entries must be submitted by the published deadline.
  • Finalists and their sponsoring teacher will be recognized at a reception in the Virginia Holocaust Museum’s Yom HaShoah program on April 23, 2023, in Richmond.
  • All entries become the property of the Virginia Holocaust Museum and will not be returned.
  • Applicants give the Virginia Holocaust Museum permission to reprint entries.
  • The decisions of the judges are final.

How to Submitt

  • Entries must be in mp4 format and can be submitted via a YouTube link. Finalists will need to supply the original file.
  • Submitted by email to Megan Ferenczy, Director of Education mferenczy@vaholocaust.org.

 

Deadlines

Contest Entry Deadline: March 31, 2023

All entries become property of the Virginia Holocaust Museum and will not be returned. Applicants give the Virginia Holocaust Museum permission to reprint entries. Decisions of the judges are final.