HOWELL — Raeann Giannattasio, a sixth-grade pupil at Howell Middle School South, has been named a finalist in the Heroes writing talent search sponsored by Rutgers University.
The competition, held from Feb. 18 through March 6, was open to students age 15 and under. Students were asked to write a 1,200- to 1,500-word expository essay in response to the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains” by Nicholas G. Carr.
The essays were graded by Rutgers professors using the same rubric used for the freshman expository writing course at Rutgers University.
Based on their grades, 16 finalists, of which Raeann was one, were chosen. The final round will be held at Rutgers Day on April 30.
As a finalist, Raeann will attend a one-hour class taught by Michael Goeller, associate director of the Rutgers Writing Program, participate in a tutoring session, and take the Rutgers writing placement test that will be used to determine the winners of four scholarships.
All finalists and semifinalists will receive awards at a special recognition program that will be held on May 7 at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Recipients for the four scholarships will be announced during the awards program.