Learning Network: The Winners of Our ‘How To’ Contest
What teens are saying about hugging their parents
The Learning Network
May 16, 2025

Dear Reader,

Do you know how to spot a constellation with your naked eye? What about how to turn instant noodles into a gourmet meal? Can you find quiet in a noisy place? Or survive as a fan of a losing team?

If not, the winners of our second annual How To Informational Writing Contest can show you how.

This past winter, we invited teenagers to choose a skill (any skill, whether physical or intellectual, practical or absurd), interview an expert on it, and then write a short, engaging essay explaining to a general audience how to do it.

As you’ll see in the work of our 10 winners, chosen from nearly 3,000 entries, the results were every bit as entertaining as they were informative.

We’ve already published the first six winning essays, and we’ll continue to publish the rest over the next few days.

We hope you enjoy the results as much as we do, and that, like us, you learn something new.

Sincerely,
The Learning Network

RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

An illustration of a green head wearing goggles with two glistening pearls in place of eyes.

Illustration by Radio

Contests

How to Stargaze, People-Watch and Bargain Like a Pro: Our 2025 Contest Winners

For our How To Contest, we invited teenagers to explain any task of their choice. Read the 10 winning essays as they publish here.

By The Learning Network

Two people dressed in fur-lined coats, hats and glasses walk down a busy New York City sidewalk.

Andre D. Wagner for The New York Times

Student ‘How To’ Contest Winner

How to Master the Art of People-Watching

A winning essay by Aziz AbdullaZoda, age 17.

By The Learning Network

A view looking up into bare trees of a planet and other celestial objects in the night sky.

Nicholas J. R. White

Student ‘How To’ Contest Winner

How to Be a Stargazer

A winning essay by Aditya Neil Banerjee, age 16.

By The Learning Network

Soccer fans inside a stadium with a banner that says “MUFC - The Read Army.”

Phil Noble/Reuters

Student ‘How To’ Contest Winner

How to Survive as a Manchester United Fan

A winning essay by Abdur Rahman, age 17.

By The Learning Network

Article Image

Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

Student ‘how To’ Contest Winner

How to Find Silence in a Noisy World

A winning essay by Gayatri Srivastava, age 16.

By The Learning Network

A man sits while a photographer takes his picture.

Heo Ran/Reuters

Student ‘how To’ Contest Winner

How to Prepare for a Funeral Portrait

A winning essay by Hoseok Jeon, age 16.

By The Learning Network

A group of mountain gorillas in a forest

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, via Associated Press

Student ‘how To’ Contest Winner

What to Do When a Mountain Gorilla Blocks Your Path

A winning essay by Tenzing Carvalho, age 17.

By The Learning Network

An illustration showing a boy, a man and two silhouettes.

Diego Mallo

current events conversation

What Teenagers Are Saying About Hugging Their Parents

Students react to an Opinion essay about the importance of physical affection in families.

By The Learning Network

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