Application Dates:
December 8, 2025 – January 12, 2026
Description:
ELA student members are tasked with creating an eye-catching T-shirt design that will be produced and offered to the public via the Shop ELA store.
Student members should choose one of the following two prompts for their design:
- Student members design a T-shirt that provides an artistic representation of the 2025-2026 ELA Big Read, Samira Ahmed’s Internment. The T-shirt design must include the text “ELA Big Read 2025-2026.”
- Student members design a T-shirt that includes an ELA Honor Society mascot for 2025-2026. The T-shirt must include literary references.
Student members must think carefully about their design and ensure that, whichever prompt they choose, there are clear literary references included.
All designs must be suitable for printing on a white T-shirt.
Awards:
The student members who create the three winning designs will each receive an ELA winner pin and will see their design used on ELA social media.
The first-place winner will receive a copy of their T-shirt (in the size of their choice). The Chapter Advisor of the first-place winner will receive fifteen vinyl stickers depicting the student’s winning design. The first-place winning design will be produced for the Shop ELA store.
Eligibility:
Applicants must be registered student members of the ELA Honor Society and enrolled at a school with an active ELA Honor Society chapter.
Submission Requirements:
- Each student member must upload a high-quality/high-resolution color JPG or PNG photo file of their design, taking into consideration the evaluation criteria outlined below.
- Each student must also submit a written explanation/justification for their design. This text must be no more than 200 words and must be uploaded in Microsoft Word format. When writing, we highly recommend students consider the evaluation criteria below.
Submission Process:
- Each student must submit their own work (approved by an ELA Honor Society Chapter Advisor) through the ELA AwardSpring platform. Learn more about submitting work in our Technology Guide.
- Each student must fill out a brief survey, which will define their eligibility to participate.
- Each applying student must respond to all the application questions and upload all materials in the format specified.
Evaluation Criteria:
T-shirt Design Image:
- Creativity and originality
- Visual appeal and aesthetics
- Relevance to theme
- Technical quality (high resolution; suitable for printing)
Text Explanation/Justification:
- Clarity and depth
- Persuasiveness
