Mount Pleasant High School sophomore, Brissia Alvarez, placed 2nd in Ready Writing at the UIL State Academic Meet on Wednesday, May 15, earning her a UIL State silver medal.

In Ready Writing, competitors are given a choice between two quotes and have two hours to write a 4–7-page essay based on their interpretation of their chosen quote. At the State level, each quote is about a page long and students are tasked to use historical examples, current events, and literature in their essay without the use of the internet or reference materials. Not only do their examples have to be factual, but students are scored on writing stylistically.

Alvarez wrote about the importance of acknowledging the history of our past that can be overridden and read in between the lines to uncover hidden truths. She compared history to a palimpsest and wrote about the novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, the Ottoman Empire, and T. S. Eliot’s poem, “The Waste Land”.

Alvarez will be a junior in the fall and has already begun preparing for 2025. She is coached by Gabrielle Robbins.

Photo:

Brissia Alvarez (left) with MPHS Ready Writing coach, Gabrielle Robbins