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The Ultimate Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition

Humanities and social sciences students often lack the opportunities to compete at the global level and demonstrate their expertise. Competitions like ISEF, Science Talent Search, and MIT Think are generally reserved for students in fields like biology, physics, and chemistry.

At Lumiere, many of our talented non-STEM students, who have a flair for writing are looking for ways to flex their skills. In this piece, we’ll go over one such competition - the John Locke Essay Competition. If you’re interested in learning more about how we guide students to win essay contests like this, check out our main page .

What is the John Locke Essay Competition?

The essay competition is one of the various programs conducted by the John Locke Institute (JLI) every year apart from their summer and gap year courses. To understand the philosophy behind this competition, it’ll help if we take a quick detour to know more about the institute that conducts it.

Founded in 2011, JLI is an educational organization that runs summer and gap year courses in the humanities and social sciences for high school students. These courses are primarily taught by academics from Oxford and Princeton along with some other universities. The organization was founded by Martin Cox. Our Lumiere founder, Stephen, has met Martin and had a very positive experience. Martin clearly cares about academic rigor.

The institute's core belief is that the ability to evaluate the merit of information and develop articulate sound judgments is more important than merely consuming information. The essay competition is an extension of the institute - pushing students to reason through complex questions in seven subject areas namely Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law​.

The organization also seems to have a strong record of admissions of alumni to the top colleges in the US and UK. For instance, between 2011 and 2022, over half of John Locke alumni have gone on to one of eight colleges: Chicago, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

How prestigious is the John Locke Contest?

The John Locke Contest is a rigorous and selective writing competition in the social sciences and humanities. While it is not as selective as the Concord Review and has a much broader range of students who can receive prizes, it is still considered a highly competitive program.

Winning a John Locke essay contest will have clear benefits for you in your application process to universities and would reflect well on your application. On the other hand, a shortlist or a commendation might not have a huge impact given that it is awarded to many students (more on this later).

What is the eligibility for the contest?

Students, of any country, who are 18 years old or younger before the date of submission can submit. They also have a junior category for students who are fourteen years old, or younger, on the date of the submission deadline.

Who SHOULD consider this competition?

We recommend this competition for students who are interested in social sciences and humanities, in particular philosophy, politics, and economics. It is also a good fit for students who enjoy writing, want to dive deep into critical reasoning, and have some flair in their writing approach (more on that below).

While STEM students can of course compete, they will have to approach the topics through a social science lens. For example, in 2021, one of the prompts in the division of philosophy was, ‘Are there subjects about which we should not even ask questions?’ Here, students of biology can comfortably write about topics revolving around cloning, gene alteration, etc, however, they will have to make sure that they are able to ground this in the theoretical background of scientific ethics and ethical philosophy in general.

Additional logistics

Each essay should address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, footnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration).

If you are using an in-text-based referencing format, such as APA, your in-text citations are included in the word limit.

You can submit as many essays as you want in any and all categories. (We recommend aiming for only one given how time-consuming it can be to come up with a single good-quality submission)

Important dates

Prompts for the 2023 competition will be released in January 2023. Your submission will be due around 6 months later in June. Shortlisted candidates will be notified in mid-July which will be followed by the final award ceremony in September.

How much does it cost to take part?

What do you win?

A scholarship that will offset the cost of attending a course at the JLI. The amount will vary between $2000 and $10,000 based on whether you are a grand prize winner (best essay across all categories) or a subject category winner. (JLI programs are steeply-priced and even getting a prize in your category would not cover the entire cost of your program. While the website does not mention the cost of the upcoming summer program, a different website mentions it to be 3,000 GBP or 3600 USD)

If you were shortlisted, most probably, you will also receive a commendation certificate and an invitation to attend an academic ceremony at Oxford. However, even here, you will have to foot the bill for attending the conference, which can be a significant one if you are an international student.

How do you submit your entry?

You submit your entry through the website portal that will show up once the prompts for the next competition are up in January! You have to submit your essay in pdf format where the title of the pdf attachment should read SURNAME, First Name, Category, and Question Number (e.g. POPHAM, Alexander, Psychology, Q2).

What are the essay prompts like?

We have three insights here.

Firstly, true to the spirit of the enlightenment thinker it is named after, most of the prompts have a philosophical bent and cover ethical, social, and political themes. In line with JLI’s general philosophy, they force you to think hard and deeply about the topics they cover. Consider a few examples to understand this better:

“Are you more moral than most people you know? How do you know? Should you strive to be more moral? Why or why not?” - Philosophy, 2021

“What are the most important economic effects - good and bad - of forced redistribution? How should this inform government policy?” - Economics, 2020

“Why did the Jesus of Nazareth reserve his strongest condemnation for the self-righteous?” - Theology, 2021

“Should we judge those from the past by the standards of today? How will historians in the future judge us?” - History, 2021

Secondly, at Lumiere, our analysis is that most of these prompts are ‘deceptively rigorous’ because the complexity of the topic reveals itself gradually. The topics do not give you a lot to work with and it is only when you delve deeper into one that you realize the extent to which you need to research/read more. In some of the topics, you are compelled to define the limits of the prompt yourself and in turn, the scope of your essay. This can be a challenging exercise. Allow me to illustrate this with an example of the 2019 philosophy prompt.

“Aristotelian virtue ethics achieved something of a resurgence in the twentieth century. Was this progress or retrogression?”

Here you are supposed to develop your own method for determining what exactly constitutes progress in ethical thought. This in turn involves familiarizing yourself with existing benchmarks of measurement and developing your own method if required. This is a significant intellectual exercise.

Finally, a lot of the topics are on issues of contemporary relevance and especially on issues that are contentious . For instance, in 2019, one of the prompts for economics was about the benefits and costs of immigration whereas the 2020 essay prompt for theology was about whether Islam is a religion of peace . As we explain later, your ‘opinion’ here can be as ‘outrageous’ as you want it to be as long as you are able to back it up with reasonable arguments. Remember, the JLI website clearly declares itself to be, ‘ not a safe space, but a courteous one ’.

How competitive is the JLI Essay Competition?

In 2021, the competition received 4000 entries from 101 countries. Given that there is only one prize winner from each category, this makes this a very competitive opportunity. However, because categories have a different number of applicants, some categories are more competitive than others. One strategy to win could be to focus on fields with fewer submissions like Theology.

There are also a relatively significant number of students who receive commendations called “high commendation.” In the psychology field, for example, about 80 students received a commendation in 2022. At the same time, keep in mind that the number of students shortlisted and invited to Oxford for an academic conference is fairly high and varies by subject. For instance, Theology had around 50 people shortlisted in 2021 whereas Economics had 238 . We, at Lumiere, estimate that approximately 10% of entries of each category make it to the shortlisting stage.

How will your essay be judged?

The essays will be judged on your understanding of the discipline, quality of argumentation and evidence, and writing style. Let’s look at excerpts from various winning essays to see what this looks like in practice.

Level of knowledge and understanding of the relevant material: Differentiating your essay from casual musing requires you to demonstrate knowledge of your discipline. One way to do that is by establishing familiarity with relevant literature and integrating it well into their essay. The winning essay of the 2020 Psychology Prize is a good example of how to do this: “People not only interpret facts in a self-serving way when it comes to their health and well-being; research also demonstrates that we engage in motivated reasoning if the facts challenge our personal beliefs, and essentially, our moral valuation and present understanding of the world. For example, Ditto and Liu showed a link between people’s assessment of facts and their moral convictions” By talking about motivated reasoning in the broader literature, the author can show they are well-versed in the important developments in the field.

Competent use of evidence: In your essay, there are different ways to use evidence effectively. One such way involves backing your argument with results from previous studies . The 2020 Third Place essay in economics shows us what this looks like in practice: “Moreover, this can even be extended to PTSD, where an investigation carried out by Italian doctor G. P. Fichera, led to the conclusion that 13% of the sampling units were likely to have this condition. Initiating economic analysis here, this illustrates that the cost of embarking on this unlawful activity, given the monumental repercussions if caught, is not equal to the costs to society...” The study by G.P. Fichera is used to strengthen the author’s claim on the social costs of crime and give it more weight.

Structure, writing style, and persuasive force: A good argument that is persuasive rarely involves merely backing your claim with good evidence and reasoning. Delivering it in an impactful way is also very important. Let’s see how the winner of the 2020 Law Prize does this: “Slavery still exists, but now it applies to women and its name in prostitution”, wrote Victor Hugo in Les Misérables. Hugo’s portrayal of Fantine under the archetype of a fallen woman forced into prostitution by the most unfortunate of circumstances cannot be more jarringly different from the empowerment-seeking sex workers seen today, highlighting the wide-ranging nuances associated with commercial sex and its implications on the women in the trade. Yet, would Hugo have supported a law prohibiting the selling of sex for the protection of Fantine’s rights?” The use of Victor Hugo in the first line of the essay gives it a literary flair and enhances the impact of the delivery of the argument. Similarly, the rhetorical question, in the end, adds to the literary dimension of the argument. Weaving literary and argumentative skills in a single essay is commendable and something that the institute also recognizes.

Quality of argumentation: Finally, the quality of your argument depends on capturing the various elements mentioned above seamlessly . The third place in theology (2020) does this elegantly while describing bin-Laden’s faulty and selective use of religious verses to commit violence: “He engages in the decontextualization and truncation of Qur'anic verses to manipulate and convince, which dissociates the fatwas from bonafide Islam. For example, in his 1996 fatwa, he quotes the Sword verse but deliberately omits the aforementioned half of the Ayat that calls for mercy. bin-Laden’s intention is not interpretive veracity, but the indoctrination of his followers.” The author’s claim is that bin-Laden lacks religious integrity and thus should not be taken seriously, especially given the content of his messages. To strengthen his argument, he uses actual incidents to dissect this display of faulty reasoning.

These excerpts are great examples of the kind of work you should keep in mind when writing your own draft.

6 Winning Tips from Lumiere

Focus on your essay structure and flow: If logic and argumentation are your guns in this competition, a smooth flow is your bullet. What does a smooth flow mean? It means that the reader should be able to follow your chain of reasoning with ease. This is especially true for essays that explore abstract themes. Let’s see this in detail with the example of a winning philosophy essay. “However, if society were the moral standard, an individual is subjected to circumstantial moral luck concerning whether the rules of the society are good or evil (e.g., 2019 Geneva vs. 1939 Munich). On the other hand, contracts cannot be the standard because people are ignorant of their being under a moral contractual obligation, when, unlike law, it is impossible to be under a contract without being aware. Thus, given the shortcomings of other alternatives, human virtue is the ideal moral norm.” To establish human virtue as the ideal norm, the author points out limitations in society and contracts, leaving out human virtue as the ideal one. Even if you are not familiar with philosophy, you might still be able to follow the reasoning here. This is a great example of the kind of clarity and logical coherence that you should strive for.

Ground your arguments in a solid theoretical framework : Your essay requires you to have well-developed arguments. However, these arguments need to be grounded in academic theory to give them substance and differentiate them from casual opinions. Let me illustrate this with an example of the essay that won second place in the politics category in 2020. “Normatively, the moral authority of governments can be justified on a purely associative basis: citizens have an inherent obligation to obey the state they were born into. As Dworkin argued, “Political association, like family or friendship and other forms of association more local and intimate, is itself pregnant of obligation” (Dworkin). Similar to a family unit where children owe duties to their parents by virtue of being born into that family regardless of their consent, citizens acquire obligations to obey political authority by virtue of being born into a state.” Here, the author is trying to make a point about the nature of political obligation. However, the core of his argument is not the strength of his own reasoning, but the ability to back his reasoning with prior literature. By quoting Dworkin, he includes important scholars of western political thought to give more weight to his arguments. It also displays thorough research on the part of the author to acquire the necessary intellectual tools to write this paper.

The methodology is more important than the conclusion: The 2020 history winners came to opposite conclusions in their essays on whether a strong state hampers or encourages economic growth. While one of them argued that political strength hinders growth when compared to laissez-faire, the other argues that the state is a prerequisite for economic growth . This reflects JLI’s commitment to your reasoning and substantiation instead of the ultimate opinion. The lesson: Don’t be afraid to be bold! Just make sure you are able to back it up.

Establish your framework well: A paragraph (or two) that is able to succinctly describe your methodology, core arguments, and the reasoning behind them displays academic sophistication. A case in point is the introduction of 2019’s Philosophy winner: “To answer the question, we need to construct a method that measures progress in philosophy. I seek to achieve this by asserting that, in philosophy, a certain degree of falsification is achievable. Utilizing philosophical inquiry and thought experiments, we can rationally assess the logical validity of theories and assign “true” and “false” status to philosophical thoughts. With this in mind, I propose to employ the fourth process of the Popperian model of progress…Utilizing these two conditions, I contend that Aristotelian virtue ethics was progress from Kantian ethics and utilitarianism.” Having a framework like this early on gives you a blueprint for what is in the essay and makes it easier for the reader to follow the reasoning. It also helps you as a writer since distilling down your core argument into a paragraph ensures that the first principles of your essay are well established.

Read essays of previous winners: Do this and you will start seeing some patterns in the winning essays. In economics, this might be the ability to present a multidimensional argument and substantiating it with data-backed research. In theology, this might be your critical analysis of religious texts .

Find a mentor: Philosophical logic and argumentation are rarely taught at the high school level. Guidance from an external mentor can fill this academic void by pointing out logical inconsistencies in your arguments and giving critical feedback on your essay. Another important benefit of having a mentor is that it will help you in understanding the heavy literature that is often a key part of the writing/research process in this competition. As we have already seen above, having a strong theoretical framework is crucial in this competition. A mentor can make this process smoother.

Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you’re looking for a mentor to do an essay contest like John Locke or want to build your own independent research paper, then consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program . Last year over 2100 students applied for about 500 spots in the program. You can find the application form here.

You can see our admission results here for our students.

Manas is a publication strategy associate at Lumiere Education. He studied public policy and interactive media at NYU and has experience in education consulting.

Everything You Should Know about the John Locke Institute (JLI) Essay Competition

Jin Chow with Tree Background

By Jin Chow

Co-founder of Polygence, Forbes 30 Under 30 for Education

2 minute read

woman in brown sweater typing on laptop

We first wrote about the world-famous John Locke Institute (JLI) Essay Competition in our list of 20 writing contests for high school students . This contest is a unique opportunity to refine your argumentation skills on fascinating and challenging topics that aren’t explored in the classroom.

The Oxford philosopher, medical doctor, political scientist, and economist John Locke was a big believer in challenging old habits of the mind. In that spirit, the JLI started this contest to challenge students to be more adventurous in their thinking. 

While not quite as prestigious as getting published in The Concord Review , winning the grand prize or placing in one of the 7 categories of the JLI Essay Competition can get your college application noticed by top schools like Princeton, Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge. Awards include $2,000 scholarships (for category winners) and a $10,000 scholarship for the grand prize. (The scholarships can be applied to the JLI’s Summer Schools at Oxford, Princeton, or Washington D.C., or to its Gap Year programs in Oxford, Guatemala, or Washington, D.C.) 

But winning isn’t necessarily the best thing about it. Simply entering the contest and writing your essay will give you a profound learning experience like no other. Add to that the fact that your entry will be read and possibly commented on by some of the top minds at Oxford and Princeton and it’s free to enter the competition . The real question is: why wouldn’t you enter? Here’s a guide to get you started on your essay contest entry.

Eligibility

The John Locke Institute Essay Competition is open to any student anywhere in the world , ages 15-18. Students 14 or under are eligible for the Junior prize. 

JLI Essay Competition Topics

The essay questions change from year to year. You can choose from 7 different categories (Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law). Within each category, there are 3 intriguing questions you can pick from. When you’re debating which question to write about, here’s a tip. Choose whichever question excites, upsets, or gives you any kind of strong emotional response. If you’re passionate about a topic, it will come through in your research and your writing. If you have any lived experience on the subject, that also helps. 

re are some sample questions the 2023 contest for each of the seven JLI essay subject  categories and the Junior Prize (the questions change each year):

Philosophy : Is tax theft? 

Politics : Do the results of elections express the will of the people?

Economics : What would happen if we banned billionaires?  

History : Which has a bigger effect on history: the plans of the powerful or their mistakes?

Psychology : Can happiness be measured?

Theology : What distinguishes a small religion from a large cult?

Law : Are there too many laws?

Junior Prize : What, if anything, do your parents owe you?

John Locke Writing Contest Requirements

Your essay must not exceed 2,000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration) and must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category. No footnotes are allowed, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. 

Timeline and Deadlines

January - New essay questions are released

April 1st - Registration opens

May 31st   - Registration deadline

June 30th - Essay submission deadline

We highly recommend you check the JLI website as soon as the new questions are released in January and start researching and writing as soon as you can after choosing your topic. You must register for the contest by the end of May. The deadline for the essay submission itself is at the end of June, but we also recommend that you submit it earlier in case any problems arise. If you start right away in January, you can have a few months to work on your essay. 

John Locke Institute Essay Competition Judging Criteria

While the JLI says that their grading system is proprietary, they do also give you this helpful paragraph that describes what they are looking for: “Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material , the competent use of evidence , quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind . Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful. Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible. ” (We’ve bolded important words to keep in mind.) 

You can also join the JLI mailing list (scroll to the bottom of that page) to get contest updates and to learn more about what makes for a winning essay.

Research and Essay Writing Tactics

Give yourself a baseline. First, just write down all your thoughts on the subject without doing any research. What are your gut-level opinions? What about this particular question intrigued you the most? What are some counter-arguments you can think of right away? What you are trying to do here is identify holes in your knowledge or understanding of the subject. What you don’t know or are unsure about can guide your research. Be sure to find evidence to support all the things you think you already know. 

Create a reading/watching list of related books, interviews, articles, podcasts, documentaries, etc. that relate to your topic. Find references that both support and argue against your argument. Choose the most highly reputable sources you can find. You may need to seek out and speak to experts to help you locate the best sources. Read and take notes. Address those questions and holes in the knowledge you identified earlier. Also, continue to read widely and think about your topic as you observe the world from day to day. Sometimes unrelated news stories, literature, film, songs, and visual art can give you an unexpected insight into your essay question. Remember that c is a learning experience and that you are not going to have a rock-solid argument all at once.

Read past winning essays . These will give you a sense of the criteria judges are using to select winning work. These essays are meant to convince the judges of a very specific stance. The argument must be clear and must include evidence to support it. You will note that winning entries tend to get straight to the point, show an impressive depth of knowledge on the subject with citations to reputable sources, flow with excellent reasoning, and use precise language. They don’t include flowery digressions. Save that for a different type of writing.

Proof your work with a teacher or mentor if possible . Even though your argument needs to be wholly your own, it certainly helps to bounce ideas around with someone who cares about the topic. A teacher or mentor can help you explore different options if you get stuck and point you toward new resources. They can offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses. Working with a teacher or mentor is important for another reason. When you submit your entry, you will be required to provide the email address of an “academic referee” who is familiar with your work. This should be a teacher or mentor who is not related to you. 

Research and Prepare for your Competition or Fair

Polygence pairs you with an expert mentor in your area of passion. Together, you work to create a high quality research project that is uniquely your own. Our highly-specialized mentors can help guide you to feel even more prepared for an upcoming fair or competion. We also offer options to explore multiple topics, or to showcase your final product!

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Global Essay Competition 2021- John Locke Institute

  • Deadline June 30, 2021
  • Region Online

Global Essay Competition 2021

Submissions are now open for 2021 Global Essay Competition organised by The John Locke Institute! Apply now!

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. The Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum. Entering an essay in the competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of the essay prizes are judged by senior academics from the University of Oxford. The judges will choose their favourite essay from each subject category and an overall ‘best essay’ across seven subjects: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law.

  • Q1. Are there some subjects about which we should not even ask questions?
  • Q2. What is slavery? Is jury duty? Is conscription? Is income tax?
  • Q3. Are you more moral than most people you know? How do you know? Should you strive to be more moral? Why or why not?
  • Q1. Discrimination on the basis of race is widely condemned, but on the basis of nationality it is widely accepted. Is it not odd that you may not discriminate against me for where my great-great-grandparents were born, but you may discriminate against me for where my parents were born?
  • Q2. Should the John Locke Institute change its name?
  • Q3. Do we need Greta?
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  • Q1. How would the education sector change if governments were no longer involved?
  • Q2. There is considerable excess demand for undergraduate places at Oxford. The admissions process rations supply by favouring cleverer students at the expense of others. Is this fair? Does it exacerbate inequality? What is the University’s optimal response to this scarcity?
  • Q3. Should we abolish the minimum wage?
  • Q1. Should we judge those from the past by the standards of today? How will historians in the future judge us?
  • Q2. Has the ‘construct of gender’ been more beneficial or more harmful to humanity throughout history?
  • Q3. ‘More history has happened in Oxford, per square foot, than any other place in the world.’ Discuss.
  • Q1. Do we do everything we do to maximise own utility?
  • Q2. ‘The function of religions and cults, including the political or ideological ones, is to short-circuit the normal ‘common sense’ process of doubt, investigation, further doubt, further investigation… a belief system only requires a rule book (sacred scripture, Das Kapital, or whatever) and a good memory.’ Is this true? Does it matter?
  • Q3. Who is responsible for my mental health?
  • Q1. Is Christianity a religion of peace?
  • Q2. Why did Jesus of Nazareth reserve his strongest condemnation for the self-righteous?
  • Q3. Did God create coronavirus?
  • Q1. Should ‘innocent until proven guilty’ apply not only to courts of law, but also to public censure?
  • Q2. To what extent does a codified constitution help or hinder liberty?
  • Q3. When should force of law prevent a transaction, entered into freely between two competent, consenting adults?
  • Q1. Should we raise the voting age to 25?
  • Q3. Is Oxford overrated?
  • Q4. Just because you’re a millionaire doesn’t mean you should get better healthcare than the rest of us, does it?
  • Q5. What should we do to improve the lives of poor people?
  • Q6. Have things improved?
  • Q7. Before a certain time almost everybody would have held some belief which we now find repugnant. Does this mean we cannot admire or commemorate the people who helped to shape the modern world?
  • Q8. Should the law ever prevent people from freely making self-harming decisions? If so, what should and shouldn’t be forbidden – and according to which principles?

​Criteria: Essays will be judged on the level of knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, the quality of argumentation, the structure, writing style and persuasive force. Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is-

  • A scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme
  • The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of the summer schools and/or gap year courses
  • The essays will be published on the Institute’s website
  • The prize-giving ceremony will take place in Oxford, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome, subject to capacity constraints

The judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Eligibilities

  • Entry is open to students from any country and any school.
  • Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on the date of the submission deadline, 30 June 2021.
  • Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on the date of the submission deadline.

Application Process

  • Each essay should address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, footnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration).
  • Please upload your essay as a pdf file. The title of the pdf attachment should read SURNAME, First Name (e.g. POPHAM, Alexander). You may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.
  • To start the submission process please click on Apply Now.

Application Deadline: June 30, 2021

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Columbia | Economics

Graders Needed for Essay Competition

The  John Locke Institute  is seeking final-year undergraduate and graduate students who might be interested in becoming graders of our Essay Competition for appropriate remuneration.

The globally renowned John Locke Institute annual essay competition covers topics in the categories of Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Law, Theology, and Psychology. Free to enter, the competition attracts entries from students of 14 to 18 years old from all over the world. Since its launch, it has been growing apace. Last year, we received about 7,400 entries from students with the widest possible range of socioeconomic backgrounds from over 100 countries.

For most participants, the competition provides their first opportunity to research, write and have graded a university-style essay that makes an original argument. The experience motivates many of them to raise their sights to institutions of learning of the highest quality – such as the Ivy League in the USA, and Oxbridge in the UK – that they would otherwise have not considered.

Submitted essays are graded in the first instance by academically talented graduates and final-year undergraduates, before the very best of them are sent to Professors in the relevant disciplines for final marking and the selection of prize-winners.

The three questions in the Economics category for which we are looking for graders are as follows.

Q1 . A government funds its own expenditure by taxing its population. Suppose, instead, it relied solely on money newly created by the central bank? What would be the advantages and/or disadvantages?  

Q2 . In his thought experiment, the Iowa Car Crop, David Friedman tries to show that growing wheat is, in an important sense, just another ‘technology’ we can use for manufacturing cars, and in some circumstances a much more efficient one.

If international trade is thus a way of using less valuable inputs to produce more valuable outputs, why would governments impose trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas, thereby forcing producers to be more wasteful and less efficient?

Q3 . What would happen if we banned billionaires?

The grading work will be intense, interesting and satisfying, and begin on  July 1, to be completed in about two weeks . Graders have flexibility regarding their hours and speed at which they work.

Essays are up to 2000 words long and need only be given a numerical grade. We will pay  $2 per essay  and require a  commitment to grade 500 essays  (or more only if the grader wishes to do more). A grader who has hit his or her stride should be able to make at least $25 an hour.

Further details and examples of previous years’ questions can be viewed on our  website .

Interested final-year undergraduate and graduate students should email  [email protected]  to declare their interest and obtain further details.

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Students short-listed in global essay competition.

Soumia Lamont and Giulia Provenzano (Year 12 students) have been short-listed in the John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition, held by the University of Oxford. 

The competition is highly competitive, with some 4,000 submissions from 101 countries. The categories have set questions and include History, Politics, Philosophy, Economics, Psychology, and Theology. There is also a Junior category for younger students. The John Locke Institute website has the details.

The John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition is highly prestigious. Students who receive a ‘Commendation’ are encouraged to include that award when they submit their university applications, and when applying for a scholarship, a job or an internship. This is only the second year that a Somerset student has entered the competition. Last year, Clare Hong (Class of 2020) wrote a Philosophy essay and was awarded a ‘High Commendation’, placing her in the top five per cent. 

In the 2021 competition, Soumia addressed the Law question on the problem of the presumption of innocence and public censure. Soumia interpreted the problem as one of jurisprudence and an ethical dilemma, which matched her studies in the subject of Philosophy & Reason. Giulia’s essay was an introspection on moral philosophy and delved into whether one ought to ascribe to hedonistic act utilitarianism, as proposed by Jeremy Bentham, or Immanuel Kant’s deontological ethics. Oxford University announced that Soumia’s and Giulia’s essays were among the 400 short-listed submissions. This means their essays are in the top 10% and will be awarded some form of commendation. The short-listing also means the following. The essays will be further assessed and is eligible for either a prize or a high commendation.

The student is eligible for a £500 scholarship for Oxford University’s prestigious Humanities Conference at Radley College, in Oxford, this August.

The short-listed student is invited to Annual Awards Ceremony & Gala Dinner, at which the prize winners will be announced. This will be held in Oxford University in September.

The grand-prize winner receives a $10,000 USD scholarship to attend one or more of the John Locke Institute’s summer schools or gap-year programmes, held at Oxford University.

Soumia’s and Giulia’s essays can be read on Schoolbox at the Dead Philosophers Club’s library of amazing essays.

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Student announced as john locke institute essay competition finalist.

This weekend she has been invited to Oxford to celebrate her achievement and participate in an academic programme with candidates across the world.

Mr Powell, Head of Sixth Form, said: “We are so proud of Nina. Nina embodies academic resilience and excellence, and her achievements to become a finalist in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition are truly remarkable. She has competed against thousands of applicants around the world to get to this point. This is a fantastic achievement for Nina, and she is a credit to herself and the entire Edmundian Community. Best of luck, Nina!”

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Complete Guide to John Locke Essay Competition 2024

  • Last modified 2024-02-20
  • Published on 2021-04-01

john locke essay competition shortlist 2021

1. What is the John Locke Essay Competition?

The John Locke Essay Competition is organized by John Locke Institute, an independent education organization located in Oxford, UK. Professors at the John Locke Institute are from famous universities like Oxford, Princeton, Brown, and Buckingham University.

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate characteristics of great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis, and persuasive style. Students are challenged to explore a wide range of questions beyond their school’s curriculum.

Obtaining prizes in the competition can greatly enhance the competitiveness of undergraduate applications at American, Canadian, and British universities. College admission for past winners include Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Oxford, Cambridge, University of Toronto, and other world-renowned schools.

2. When does the John Locke Essay Competition start?

The John Locke Essay Competition typically releases essay questions in February. Participants are given several months to submit their essay, with the submission deadline typically set for June 30 each year.

However, if for any reason students miss the June 30 deadline, they can make a late entry by paying $20, and submitting their essay before July 10 11:59 pm BST.

For 2024, the submission deadline is June 30, 2024.

  • Registration opens on April 1, 2024.
  • Registration deadline: May 31, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)
  • Submission deadline: June 30, 2024.
  • Late entry deadline: July 10, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by July 1)
  • Notification of short-listed essayists: July 31, 2024.
  • Academic conference & awards dinners: September 21, 2024.

3. Who is eligible for the contest?

Students from any country are eligible to submit essays to the competition. However, only students whose 19th birthday falls after June 30 of the current year (which is the submission deadline). Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date. For example, if the current deadline for the 2024 competition is June 30, 2024, only students who are 18 years old or younger before June 30, 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior Prize category, only students who are 14 years old or younger before June 30, 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation.

4. Who should participate in the competition?

The competition welcomes students who are passionate about philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, theology, or law to participate. Regardless of your academic background or level of expertise, if you’re interested in writing and willing to delve deeper into thought-provoking topics and complex societal issues, the John Locke Essay Competition is an excellent opportunity for you.

5. Is the John Locke Competition free?

Yes, the John Locke Essay Competition is free to enter. Participants are not required to pay any fees, and they can submit as many essays as they please across any or all categories.

6. Is the John Locke Essay Competition prestigious?

The John Locke Essay Competition has always been a prestigious competition, attracting talented writers around the world. All of the competition’s essays are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities, including the University of Oxford (#5 in Best Global Universities) and Princeton University (#1 in National Universities in the U.S).

In addition, the judges will choose their favorite essay from each of the seven subject categories, along with a junior category for under 15s, which is a very rigorous evaluation process.

Moreover, the essay topics chosen for the competition often tackle current issues and challenges facing society today, requiring students to be well-rounded and up to date with the topics that they’re interested in.

7. How competitive is the John Locke Essay Competition?

With approximately 19,000 entries in total, the John Locke Essay Competition attracts a pool of excellent participants from around the world. Each year, a select few—typically 24-25 individuals—are awarded prizes. 

For more context, in 2021, the competition received 4,000 submissions, yet only 24 prizes were awarded, indicating a marked increase in competitiveness over time.  With a win rate of approximately 0.6%, securing a prize in the John Locke Essay Competition is definitely an exceptional achievement.  Notably, each category witnessed a substantial number of submissions, with Philosophy shortlisting 108 candidates, Politics 55, Economics 239, History 190, Junior Essay 93, Law 80, Theology 50, and Psychology 100. In total, these categories shortlisted 915 candidates, which is 23% of all submissions. Within 915 shortlists, there were only 24 students being awarded, representing 3% of all shortlists. This data paints a vivid picture of the competitiveness among participants, and the academic rigor demanded by the competition in order to be shortlisted and finally rewarded. In 2022, there were 6805 participants and 20% were shortlisted.

8. What are the categories in the competition?

Students are required to submit an argumentative essay of fewer than 2,000 words. The overarching themes of the competitions are: philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, theology, and law.

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9. What are the questions in the competition?

For 2024, the questions for John Locke Essay Competition are: 

Philosophy  

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?​

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Economics  

Q1. What is the optimal global population?

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

​Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Psychology  

Q1. According to a study by four British universities, for each 16-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by 35% for a man but decreases by 40% for a woman. Why?

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

​Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

JUNIOR prize (for age 14 and younger)  

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

​Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

​Q3. Is there life after death?

​Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise?

​Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies?

10. How to win the John Locke Essay competition?

With the competitiveness of this competition, it’s crucial for students to have a clear structure for approaching their question of choice. We will take an example from the grand prize-winning essay “Is tax theft?” by Hosai Kishida as an example to provide winning tips from Aralia teachers:

Analyze the question and link them to John Locke’s philosophy

Take the time to understand the essay prompt and what the question is asking for. Approaching the question “Is tax theft?”, some of the outstanding themes are the ethical implications of taxation and theft, the legal definition of theft within the context of taxation, and the redistribution of wealth and socioeconomic inequalities. Students could approach this question in several ways, but it should always link to John Locke’s philosophy. In their essay, Hosai linked the taxation issue with John Locke’s “Two Treatises on Government” idea of social contract.

Clear reasoning with evidence drawn from extensive research :

Once you decide on your stance about the question, it’s important to present your argument with logical reasoning and strong evidence from reputable sources. Students can utilize a variety of reputable sources, including academic journals, books, and scholarly articles, to gather relevant information and develop a well-informed argument. In addition, make sure that your structure and ideas are presented clearly and allow your reader to navigate your essay with ease.

For example, in Hosai’s essay, they laid out foundational principles of state power and the requirement of rational consent for legitimizing state authority. Then, they logically deduce that taxation, as an exercise of state power, necessitates the consent of taxed individuals to avoid being considered theft. The author supports their argument with references to Locke and Kant, renowned philosophers and scholars.

Engage in critical analysis

In addition to providing reasoning and evidence that support students’ arguments, students can also examine alternative perspectives to show that they have the ability to evaluate evidence critically– specifically the strengths and weaknesses of different viewpoints.

For example, Hosai evaluates opposing viewpoints and potential objections to their argument that taxation is theft. They brought up David Friedman’s concept of privatized approaches to order, and Michael Huemer’s critique of the state’s neutrality to provide a well-rounded analysis of the issue. They also reference historical events, such as the Holocaust under Nazi Germany, to illustrate potential abuses of state power.

Refine Your Writing Style

This type of essay falls under the argumentative essay type. This essay type requires a third person perspective throughout the introduction, body, and conclusion. Students should also use headings and transitions to create a smooth flow and overview of ideas without providing an excess of information, like how Hosai provides a heading for each of their arguments such as “Rational consent as a justification of state power” or “Taxation and hypothetical returns.” Don’t forget to use the active voice to make your writing more direct and engaging. Active voice sentences are clearer and more concise than passive voice, allowing you to communicate your ideas more effectively.

Proofreading and Editing

Before submitting your essay and throughout the writing process, always seek feedback from peers and teachers to gain valuable insights and perspectives on your essay to help you make revisions and create the best essay you possibly can.

11. How will your essay be evaluated?

According to the competition, your essay will be evaluated on 7 criteria, with the overarching goal of writing an essay that can change somebody’s mind in a way that’s as precise and direct as possible. Let’s go into detail about what those criteria are:

  • Knowledge and Understanding of the Relevant Material: This criterion assesses students on their ability to understand the question and the relevant concepts and theories related to the topic.
  • Competent Use of Evidence : The judges will evaluate the essay upon participants’ ability to use credible and relevant evidence to support their arguments.
  • Quality of Argumentation : This criterion examines the quality and overall strength of the reasoning provided by the participant.
  • Originality : In this criterion, the judges evaluate the originality of the ideas and arguments. In addition, all essays will be checked for the use of Artificial Intelligence. AI normally reiterates common knowledge and repeats well-established arguments without providing fresh ideas. If your essay is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified.
  • Structure: The judges will evaluate your essay based on how well you structure and organize the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, as well as transitions between paragraphs.
  • Writing Style : This criterion evaluates the participant’s writing style– from grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure to the coherence and clarity of sentences.
  • Persuasive Force : Persuasive force refers to the participant’s capability to persuade the audience of their arguments. Methods of persuasion can range from their use of persuasive techniques to emotional appeals, and more.

12. What abilities of students are examined through the John Locke Essay Competition?

  • The foundational understanding of concepts and structures in philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, theology, or law 
  • The mastery of basic writing format and the skills to write argumentative essays 
  • The independent thinking, logical analysis methods, persuasive writing skills  

Guide to john Locke Essay Competition

13. What’s the general structure of the argumentative essay?

An argumentative essay is different compared to other types, because it requires a straightforward and easy-to-follow structure, with a clear point of view and reasoning. We will use an example of an essay from 2020 achieving the First Prize in the Junior Category from the John Locke Essay Competition. The prompt for that year was “Who should own your data? The companies with which you agree to share your data, everybody, just you, or nobody?” The link to the essay can be viewed here .  

A good argumentative essay should follow this structure: 

Introductory paragraph:

This paragraph should outline the topic of discussion with background information related to your argument.  

Today, we produce unfathomable amounts of data, leading the OECD to call data a “key pillar of 21st-century growth.”[1] Legislators, politicians and the popular press have increasingly called for ownership of data.[2] 

Outline the topic of discussion and background information. Here, the author explains the current state of data ownership.

Ownership is generally defined as “full and complete control with recognised legal rights,” with legal discretion for the rightsholder to exploit, change, destroy, possess, exclude others from and transfer their property.[3] An ownership right for personal data does not currently exist in the legal statutes of any industrialised country.[4] Property laws intentionally exclude personal data from subject matter definitions and newly introduced regulatory frameworks do not specify data ownership.[5] [6]

Define the subject matter at a high level. In this paragraph, the writer discusses the definition of ownership and the problem of data ownership not specified in the ownership regulation. 

The thesis statement

This is where students should state their thesis, along with the evidence they will present. The thesis statement should be a concise summary of your main point and introduce the main arguments that will be discussed in the body paragraphs: 

In 1893, Sir William Blackstone noted the human fascination with ownership, saying we desire “sole and despotic dominion … in total exclusion of rights of other individuals in the universe.”[7] In this case, that fascination detracts from the problems and solutions surrounding personal data today. An ownership right should not be created for data. To illustrate this, I shall explore the implications of assigning a data ownership right to corporations, everybody, individuals and then discuss why data should not be owned at all.

State your perspective on the matter and provide an overview of your evidence for the argument. In responding to who should own the data, the writer stated that data should not be owned by corporations, individuals, and everybody, which he discusses later in the body paragraph.

Body paragraph:

A body paragraph explains the main reasons for your thesis. If you have three main points you want to discuss, each body paragraph should cover each one (and only one) idea. You can support your claims with examples, research, studies, statistics, and any other information to add credibility and gain trust from readers. In the body paragraphs, you can also bring up opposing claims and provide explanations for why you disagree with the claims. The overall idea of the argument is to convey your idea, explain why the reader should agree, and present opposing claims with evidence-based arguments.

In the winner’s essay, he provided four main arguments why data should not be owned by corporations, individuals, and everybody, as well as why data should be owned by nobody. He also discussed the consequences of data ownership by these groups.

The conclusion should summarize your arguments and restate your thesis. A good conclusion also expands the reach of the paper to include themselves and their audience, making it both personal and showing why their audience should care about the implications of their argument. An example of making your conclusion personal is including an anecdote or a personal story related to the topic.

Today, policy makers must strike a balance between individual rights and extracting societal benefits of data. It is the subject of age-old philosophical debate; whether to prioritise a categorical imperative of privacy at the expense of utilitarian societal progress. Assigning data ownership to a single party means choosing a side, one side will inevitably lose out – sacrificing progress or privacy. Thankfully, reality does not reflect this simplistic trade-off. Ergo, legislators must continue to push for a sector-specific rights-based regulatory framework to complement existing efforts and forgo the need to legislate through assigning data ownership. Therefore, I believe, data should remain as is, res nullius – “property of no one.”

This is an example of a great conclusion, as the writer restates what would happen if you provide data ownership to people, and restates his original thesis that data should not be owned by anyone.

14. What are the prizes of the John Locke Essay Competition?

  • The prize for each winner of a subject category will receive a scholarship worth $2000 (US Dollars) towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute program
  • The best essay overall will receive a $10,000 (US Dollar) scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or gap year courses.
  • The essays will be published on the Institute’s website.
  • Networking opportunities with judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute.

The John Locke Essay Competition is prestigious and attracts thousands of students each year. For students who are interested in pursuing a career in writing or gaining more practice and support in writing an essay for this competition, Aralia offers a specialized writing program. Students will have the opportunity to write essays for the competition and receive guidance from award-winning professors at Aralia.

Aralia's Course

Writing Competition Aralia Education

In this John Locke Essay Competition Prep course, students will learn the ins and outs of essay writing, in preparation for entering the competition. We offer prep classes in all categories: philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, theology, and law. Students will choose one topic, compose an original thesis and argument, and write an essay for submission. Students will engage in a guided analysis of primary and secondary sources, develop critical thinking skills, and discover interesting insights. In addition to the group lecture classes, students will receive guidance on their individual projects from the instructor, in one-on-one sessions.

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Psychology Essay shortlisted for National Prize

Are the psychological differences between genders greater or smaller than those between sexes.

This is the question that Sixth Form pupil Keziah (M) debated in an essay which was shortlisted for a prize in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition over the summer. The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good pupils into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Over 2700 essays were submitted by entrants in 80 countries for the prestigious competition and you can read Keziah’s essay here. 

We’ve all heard the old wives’ tales ‘men can’t multitask’ and ‘girls are more emotional than men’ but just how true are these claims? In the modern world we live in, the perception of identity is constantly changing as the world becomes more accepting of different identities that our ancestors would have considered stereotypically incorrect. In today’s world, it is paramount to be on top of the current terms to increase our understanding and acceptance of others’ identities, yet the majority of the population are ignorant of the differences between genders and sexes – and to an extent the importance and relevance of each term individually.

It is perhaps unsuitable to give each term a single definition as it is defined differently in many cultures and individuals, yet for the sake of coming to a comprehensive conclusion in a short space I plan to do so. Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind, a very broad subject that can be broken down into levels of analysis. The biological level of analysis studies the physiological features that relate to psychological processes while the sociocultural level of analysis focuses on the relationship between the psychological processes and culture and the external environment. These are only two levels of analysis, but they are the two most prevalent in this debate so I will focus on them. For the purpose of this essay and this essay only, I will define sex as a characteristic determined at birth by an individual’s sexual organs and chromosomes. It can be split into two single categories – male (XY) and female (XX). There are of course exceptions, primarily disorders of sex development (chromosomes may be for example 45XO or 47 XXX, XXY) where the sex of a new-born is unclear, and the call is often left to the doctor on duty at the time. This can be generally termed intersex. This raises many complications answering this question which I do not dispute, however I will put this aside for this essay. Therefore, sex is a categorical characteristic determined by biology. Gender is perhaps the harder of the two to define. It can be considered a constantly developing spectrum that is not limited to the binary genders of cis-woman and cisman, but includes genders such as genderfluid, non-binary, transgender and genderqueer. Different sources claim there to be different numbers of genders ranging from 40 to 80 and an individual can associate with multiple genders hence why I am suggesting it is a dynamic spectrum. Gender does not appear to be based on biological factors but more so on sociocultural factors, and therefore it can be seen as a social construct. Despite giving these terms definitions, there is little research that recognises the importance of the difference and studies the terms individually, but instead often refers to it as sex/gender. It is important to remember that this doesn’t come from a place of naivety and ignorance for the most part, but from an inability to study the terms individually. It is impossible for a person to have a gender but not a sex or a sex but not a gender and therefore we cannot easily distinguish what characteristics are rooted in sex and which are rooted in gender. It is very rare to be able to establish a causal relationship. This proves a major obstacle in determining if the difference between genders is greater or smaller than that of sex. Gender is a social construct and so I will address the sociocultural aspect as a result of gender and the biological aspect as a result of sex, although not without careful scrutiny.

One of the most obvious differences between sexes is their sexual organs. It is also a well- known fact that men are taller, have more upper body strength and have a deeper voice than women; and women have curvy hips, an earlier onset of puberty and more body fat than men. These characteristics all have a d value over 0.8 and so are considered to have a large difference 1 . The size of a difference is often measured using Cohen’s d– an effect size measure 2 . The values of d can be categorised into small (0.02 < d < 0.50), medium (0.50 < d < 0.80) and large (d > 0.80). These physiological differences are clearly significant differences between males and females, however, they are not psychological differences and so are not directly relevant to this debate. Brain anatomy, however, is relevant as the structure of the brain directly impacts the function. Grey matter, white matter, and total brain volumes give d values between 1.00 and 1.45 3 . Jäncke et al (2015) 4 analysed T-1 weighted brain data from 856 healthy subjects (women: 452; men: 404), split into two categories based on age (young = below 45; old = above 45). The data was obtained over a period of nine years from a database of subjects examined in previously published articles. Table 1 shows their results, focusing on the d value it suggests there is a significant difference between the sexes in the anatomy of the brain. This anatomical difference between the sexes has little impact on its own, and our knowledge of the impacts these differences have is extremely limited so it is difficult to make a judgement on the significance of this difference.

john locke essay competition shortlist 2021

Brain activation differs between sexes and an example of this can be found in the metanalysis by Stevens and Hamann 5 . They found that when presented with a negative emotional stimulus, women exhibited greater activation in the amygdala and other regions than men, while when they were positive emotional stimuli the men exhibited the greater activation in the amygdala. This idea can be applied to a huge range of situations and could be the causal factor for many behavioural characteristics, such as the idea that ‘women gossip’.

Hormones are another key biological factor to review. The Geschwind-Behan-Galaburda theory argues that the two hemispheres develop differently depending on the rate of testosterone (a predominantly male hormone). 6,7,8 Neurological development always begins as female until genes on the Y chromosome initiate masculinising events. 9 Androgen levels increasing during the second trimester of pregnancy, for example, reduce the rate of development in the left-hemisphere and stimulate increased growth in the posterior right-hemispheric regions. Testosterone is believed to be responsible for many other characteristics such as competitiveness and a high sex drive which are considered male traits. That is not to say females cannot posses these traits as females also have testosterone (in lower levels) and these traits cannot be considered dimorphic, however this shows a clear difference between the sexes.

Gender is a social construct. It is not static but a spectrum that can change as an individual matures and it can be influenced greatly by experiences. Infants are not born with predetermined gender-stereotypes and only begin to understand them at the age of three 10 . This is perhaps the easiest time to identify what constitutes as sex or gender, although an infant’s brain is not fully developed so this still has its downfalls. Cultural expectations of each gender, often through the medium of stereotypes, can build schemas forcing the child to conform to gender-stereotypes. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions can play a part in how gender roles are portrayed. A culture with a high power distance index (PDI) may view men as the head of the family. Alternatively, a feminine culture may value maternal instincts and have a higher respect for women. Saudi Arabia has a very high PDI (95) 11 and is considered a masculine country (60) and this is reflected in their treatment of women. Women are viewed as a possession and they have only recently been given the right to drive. Although this could be argued to be due to their sex as opposed to their gender, I am classing it as the latter as it is not true for all females globally.

The sociocultural aspect can influence the biological evidence through neuroplasticity. The brain continues to change and adapt to external experiences and the environment, and anatomical sex difference within the brain can be reversed due to different environments 12 . Equally, the biological has influenced the sociocultural way of analysis. Looking at the Grain of Truth hypothesis for the formation of stereotypes, evidenced by Campbell (1967) 13 the basis for gender-stereotypes originates from a truth, for instance ‘Girls can’t throw’ has evolved from the fact that males have a stronger throwing ability.

Enculturation plays a large part in the development of gender. Fagot (1978) 14 studied 24 families to investigate if parents treated their children differently depending on their sex. She found that parents reacted more favourably when the child was engaged in same-sex preferred behaviour. The impacts of this are pretty astonishing. Take careers for example, only 15% of engineer graduates are women 15 , and only 16% of carers are men 16 . Similarly, the toys children play with, the clothing people wear and even food preference is defined by societies’ gender-stereotypes.

Scandinavia raises an interesting contradiction. Scandinavians are considered, amongst other Nordic countries, to be the most progressive people when it comes to accepting all gender identities and eliminating discrimination, yet they show some of the largest psychological variances of all. When everyone has the same rights regardless of gender, and gender-stereotypes are kept to a minimum, only genetic predispositions dictate behaviour – the characteristics of the sexes. This is referred to as the gender equality paradox. 17 This could of course be argued against with reference to unconscious bias, so gender roles are still determined by society and gatekeepers such as parents influencing their children on gender roles through Social Cognitive Theory.

Hausmann et al (2009) 18 examined subjects in sex-sensitive tasks after completing questionnaires that enforced gender stereotypes. In the mental rotation test males were more successful, however the control group (gender-neutral questionnaire) showed no difference between genders/sexes. The males in the gender stereotyped group had testosterone levels 60% higher than the control group males. If you consider sex hormones to be a trait of sex, and gender- stereotypes to be one of gender, there is clear overlap with the social aspect influencing the biological aspect.

It is hard to distinguish between sex and gender as it is difficult to study either individually and they constantly interact. From the viewpoint of the biological level of analysis the differences between sexes are greater than those of gender. The differences in the sexes are universal and small differences such as testosterone levels have a huge influence on the way members of different sexes think and behave. This case is aided by the evidence from Scandinavia which suggests males and females are innately different from each other, regardless of gender. Alternatively, from the sociocultural viewpoint, the difference between genders is far greater than that of sexes. Gender is dynamic and not dimorphic. Gender-stereotypes learnt at a young age can influence life decisions. It is possible that the extent to which this is true depends on each culture as every culture influences how great the gender divide is and how differently genders are treated, but this can lead to large differences such as those in Saudi Arabia. I have neglected to discuss cognitive level of analysis, however these differences are overestimated as most cognitive tasks score a very low d value 19 and have little impact on the outcome of this debate. We must take great care not to disregard the interaction between gender and sex as this is continuous and impactful and can be seen clearly from studies combining factors such as Hausmann et al (2009) 20 . Nor can it be clear if gender or sex is truly the causal factor for most traits, as it is almost impossible to study one without interference from the other. Therefore, I strongly believe we cannot answer whether between genders are greater or smaller than those between sexes at this time. This will remain a psychological differences continuous debate between different fields in psychology until we have enough evidence to come to a more conclusive answer.

1 Schmitt, D. (2017, November 7). The Truth About Sex Differences. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/articles/201711/the-truth-about-sex-differences

2 Cohen, J. (n.d.). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033- 2909.112.1.155

3 Jäncke, L. (2018). Sex/gender differences in cognition, neurophysiology, and neuroanatomy. F1000Res, 7, 805. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.13917.1

4 Jäncke, L., Mérillat, S., Liem, F., & Hänggi, J. (2015). Brain size, sex, and the aging brain. Hum. Brain Mapp., 36(1), 150–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22619

5 Stevens, J. S., & Hamann, S. (2012). Sex differences in brain activation to emotional stimuli: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Neuropsychologia, 50(7), 1578–1593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.03.011

6 Geschwind, N. (1985a). Cerebral Lateralization. Arch Neurol, 42(5), 428. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1985.04060050026008

7 Geschwind, N. (1985b). Cerebral Lateralization. Arch Neurol, 42(6), 521. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1985.04060060019009

8 Geschwind, N. (1985c). Cerebral Lateralization. Arch Neurol, 42(7), 634. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1985.04060070024012

9 Schmitt, D. (2017, November 7). The Truth About Sex Differences. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/articles/201711/the-truth-about-sex-differences

10 Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. N. (2010). Patterns of Gender Development. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 61(1), 353–381. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100511

11 (n.d.-b). Saudi Arabia* – Hofstede Insights. Hofstede Insights. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/saudi-arabia/

12 Jäncke, L. (2018). Sex/gender differences in cognition, neurophysiology, and neuroanatomy. F1000Res, 7, 805. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.13917.1

13 Campbell, D. T. (n.d.). Stereotypes and the perception of group differences. American Psychologist, 22(10), 817–829. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025079

14 Fagot, B. I. (1978). The Influence of Sex of Child on Parental Reactions to Toddler Children. Child Development, 49(2), 459. https://doi.org/10.2307/1128711

15 (n.d.-c). Women In STEM | STEM Women | Statistics. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://www.stemgraduates.co.uk/women-in-stem

16 Day, L. (2015, January 1). ‘More Male Carers Needed’ For Elderly. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34103302

17 Stoet, G., & Geary, D. C. (2018). The Gender-Equality Paradox in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education. Psychol Sci, 29(4), 581–593. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617741719

18 Hausmann, M., Schoofs, D., Rosenthal, H. E. S., & Jordan, K. (2009). Interactive effects of sex hormones and gender stereotypes on cognitive sex differences—A psychobiosocial approach. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(3), 389–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.09.019

19 Hyde, J. S. (n.d.). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60(6), 581–592. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.60.6.581

20 Hausmann, M., Schoofs, D., Rosenthal, H. E. S., & Jordan, K. (2009). Interactive effects of sex hormones and gender stereotypes on cognitive sex differences—A psychobiosocial approach. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(3), 389–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.09.019

john locke essay competition shortlist 2021

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Grade 10 Student Receives a High Commendation for John Locke Institute’s Global Essay Competition

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With a rise of COVID-19 cases, Ontario school campuses closed to students and staff on April 19, 2021, and remote learning commenced for the remainder of the school year. Under a strict Stay-At-Home Order from the Government of Ontario, Esha D., Grade 10 student, used her time effectively to research opportunities she could participate in from the comfort of her home. Esha’s passion for writing led her to find the John Locke Institute’s Global Essay Competition.

The John Locke Institute is an independent educational organization that works to embolden the best and brightest students to become more academically ambitious and more intellectually adventurous.

Through our various programmes – residential courses, revision seminars, essay competitions, and special events – we inspire students to aim high and we equip them with the skills they need in order to achieve their goals.

Each year, the John Locke Institue hosts a Global Essay Competition inviting students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum. Students ages 18-years-old and younger from any country and any school are invited to submit an essay no longer than 2000 words on the subject of their choice; Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law.

Having taken additional courses in law at HTS, it was a natural choice for Esha to turn her focus to the law category. With three prompts to choose from, she focussed her work on the question of, “Should ‘innocent until proven guilty’ apply not only to courts of law, but also to public censure?” When not in class remotely, Esha spent her time researching and writing to complete her essay over two months.

The John Locke Institute received over 4000 entries from 101 countries, taking their panel of 36 examiners two weeks to review. Entries were judged by senior academics from the University of Oxford on the level of knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, the quality of argumentation, the structure, writing style and persuasive force. Esha’s law essay was recognized by the examiners as she made the shortlist and later was recognized as a finalist receiving a high commendation.

What Esha takes from her experience is her newfound appreciation and understanding of research. Interested in sharing her passion for writing further, Esha founded the Creative Writing Club in the Senior School since the submission of her essay. The club provides students with the opportunity to explore various forms of writing in a welcoming environment where peers exchange ideas with one another. Club members analyze the elements which diversify creative writing from academic writing. Esha hopes to inspire her peers through the club to take advantage of opportunities to participate in creative writing competitions just as she has.

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Discourse, debate, and analysis

Cambridge re:think essay competition 2024.

Competition Opens: 15th January, 2024

Essay Submission Deadline: 10th May, 2024 Result Announcement: 25th June, 2024 Award Ceremony and Dinner at the University of Cambridge: 30th July, 2024

We welcome talented high school students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Entry to the competition is free.

About the Competition

The spirit of the Re:think essay competition is to encourage critical thinking and exploration of a wide range of thought-provoking and often controversial topics. The competition covers a diverse array of subjects, from historical and present issues to speculative future scenarios. Participants are invited to engage deeply with these topics, critically analysing their various facets and implications. It promotes intellectual exploration and encourages participants to challenge established norms and beliefs, presenting opportunities to envision alternative futures, consider the consequences of new technologies, and reevaluate longstanding traditions. 

Ultimately, our aim is to create a platform for students and scholars to share their perspectives on pressing issues of the past and future, with the hope of broadening our collective understanding and generating innovative solutions to contemporary challenges. This year’s competition aims to underscore the importance of discourse, debate, and critical analysis in addressing complex societal issues in nine areas, including:

Religion and Politics

Political science and law, linguistics, environment, sociology and philosophy, business and investment, public health and sustainability, biotechonology.

Artificial Intelligence 

Neuroengineering

2024 essay prompts.

This year, the essay prompts are contributed by distinguished professors from Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT.

Essay Guidelines and Judging Criteria

Review general guidelines, format guidelines, eligibility, judging criteria.

Awards and Award Ceremony

Award winners will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony and Dinner hosted at the King’s College, University of Cambridge. The Dinner is free of charge for select award recipients.

Registration and Submission

Register a participant account today and submit your essay before the deadline.

Advisory Committee and Judging Panel

The Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition is guided by an esteemed Advisory Committee comprising distinguished academics and experts from elite universities worldwide. These committee members, drawn from prestigious institutions, such as Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT, bring diverse expertise in various disciplines.

They play a pivotal role in shaping the competition, contributing their insights to curate the themes and framework. Their collective knowledge and scholarly guidance ensure the competition’s relevance, academic rigour, and intellectual depth, setting the stage for aspiring minds to engage with thought-provoking topics and ideas.

We are honoured to invite the following distinguished professors to contribute to this year’s competition.

The judging panel of the competition comprises leading researchers and professors from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, and Oxford, engaging in a strictly double blind review process.

Essay Competition Professors

Why has religion remained a force in a secular world? 

Professor Commentary:

Arguably, the developed world has become more secular in the last century or so. The influence of Christianity, e.g. has diminished and people’s life worlds are less shaped by faith and allegiance to Churches. Conversely, arguments have persisted that hold that we live in a post-secular world. After all, religion – be it in terms of faith, transcendence, or meaning – may be seen as an alternative to a disenchanted world ruled by entirely profane criteria such as economic rationality, progressivism, or science. Is the revival of religion a pale reminder of a by-gone past or does it provide sources of hope for the future?

‘Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Jürgen Habermas (European Journal of Philosophy, 2006)

In this paper, philosopher Jürgen Habermas discusses the limits of church-state separation, emphasizing the significant contribution of religion to public discourse when translated into publicly accessible reasons.

‘Public Religions in the Modern World’ by José Casanova (University Of Chicago Press, 1994)

Sociologist José Casanova explores the global emergence of public religion, analyzing case studies from Catholicism and Protestantism in Spain, Poland, Brazil, and the USA, challenging traditional theories of secularization.

‘The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Judith Butler, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and Cornel West (Edited by Eduardo Mendieta and Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Columbia University Press, 2011)

This collection features dialogues by prominent intellectuals on the role of religion in the public sphere, examining various approaches and their impacts on cultural, social, and political debates.

‘Rethinking Secularism’ by Craig Calhoun, Mark Juergensmeyer, and Jonathan VanAntwerpen (Oxford University Press, 2011)

An interdisciplinary examination of secularism, this book challenges traditional views, highlighting the complex relationship between religion and secularism in contemporary global politics.

‘God is Back: How the Global Rise of Faith is Changing the World’ by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (Penguin, 2010)

Micklethwait and Wooldridge argue for the coexistence of religion and modernity, suggesting that religious beliefs can contribute to a more open, tolerant, and peaceful modern world.

‘Multiculturalism’ by Tariq Modood (Polity Press, 2013)

Sociologist Tariq Modood emphasizes the importance of multiculturalism in integrating diverse identities, particularly in post-immigration contexts, and its role in shaping democratic citizenship.

‘God’s Agents: Biblical Publicity in Contemporary England’ by Matthew Engelke (University of California Press, 2013)

In this ethnographic study, Matthew Engelke explores how a group in England seeks to expand the role of religion in the public sphere, challenging perceptions of religion in post-secular England.

Ccir Essay Competition Prompt Contributed By Dr Mashail Malik

Gene therapy is a medical approach that treats or prevents disease by correcting the underlying genetic problem. Is gene therapy better than traditional medicines? What are the pros and cons of using gene therapy as a medicine? Is gene therapy justifiable?

Especially after Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, gene therapy is getting more and more interesting approach to cure. That’s why that could be interesting to think about. I believe that students will enjoy and learn a lot while they are investigating this topic.

Ccir Essay Competition Prompt Contributed By Dr Mamiko Yajima

The Hall at King’s College, Cambridge

The Hall was designed by William Wilkins in the 1820s and is considered one of the most magnificent halls of its era. The first High Table dinner in the Hall was held in February 1828, and ever since then, the splendid Hall has been where members of the college eat and where formal dinners have been held for centuries.

The Award Ceremony and Dinner will be held in the Hall in the evening of  30th July, 2024.

2

Stretching out down to the River Cam, the Back Lawn has one of the most iconic backdrop of King’s College Chapel. 

The early evening reception will be hosted on the Back Lawn with the iconic Chapel in the background (weather permitting). 

3

King’s College Chapel

With construction started in 1446 by Henry VI and took over a century to build, King’s College Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and is a splendid example of late Gothic architecture. 

Attendees are also granted complimentary access to the King’s College Chapel before and during the event. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I participate in the Re:think essay competition? 

The Re:think Essay competition is meant to serve as fertile ground for honing writing skills, fostering critical thinking, and refining communication abilities. Winning or participating in reputable contests can lead to recognition, awards, scholarships, or even publication opportunities, elevating your academic profile for college applications and future endeavours. Moreover, these competitions facilitate intellectual growth by encouraging exploration of diverse topics, while also providing networking opportunities and exposure to peers, educators, and professionals. Beyond accolades, they instil confidence, prepare for higher education demands, and often allow you to contribute meaningfully to societal conversations or causes, making an impact with your ideas.

Who is eligible to enter the Re:think essay competition?  

As long as you’re currently attending high school, regardless of your location or background, you’re eligible to participate. We welcome students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Is there any entry fee for the competition? 

There is no entry fee for the competition. Waiving the entry fee for our essay competition demonstrates CCIR’s dedication to equity. CCIR believes everyone should have an equal chance to participate and showcase their talents, regardless of financial circumstances. Removing this barrier ensures a diverse pool of participants and emphasises merit and creativity over economic capacity, fostering a fair and inclusive environment for all contributors.

Subscribe for Competition Updates

If you are interested to receive latest information and updates of this year’s competition, please sign up here.

  • Competitions

John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 for Students of All Ages [Online; Free; Prizes Upto Rs. 1.6L]: Register by May 31

  • Gaurav Chaurasia
  • Feb 19, 2024

Applications are invited for the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024. The last date for submission of entries is May 31, 2024.

About the Competition

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis, and persuasive style. This essay competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of the essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton.

The judges will choose their favorite essay from each of the seven subject categories, and a junior category for those under 15s, and then select an overall ‘best essay’ across the seven subjects: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2023 is open to students from any country.
  • Entry is free.

​There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute program, and the essays will be published on the Institute’s website.

Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in Oxford, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome, subject to capacity constraints.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or gap year courses.

How to Submit?

Interested candidates can submit their entries through this link.

Important Dates

  • Registration Opens: April 1, 2024.
  • Registration Deadline: May 31, 2024.
  • Submission Deadline: June 30, 2024.
  • Late Entry Deadline: July 10, 2024.
  • Notification of Short-listed Essayists: July 31, 2024.
  • Academic Conference & Awards Dinners: September 20-22, 2024.
  • Awards Dinner: September 21, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to global.essay.prize[at]johnlocke.com .

​Click here to view the official notification of the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024.

Join our competitions whatsapp group, get daily updates, join our competitions telegram group.

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  1. 2022年John Locke写作比赛全球论文Shortlist获奖放榜!恭喜翰林45位学员入围-翰林国际教育

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  3. Global Essay Competition 2021- John Locke Institute

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  1. John Locke's Theory of Knowledge

COMMENTS

  1. 2024 Essay Competition

    Essay COMPETITION QUESTIONS ENTRY REQUIREMENTS KEY DATES 2024 Global ESSAY PRIZE The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style.

  2. The Ultimate Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition

    12 min read The Ultimate Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition Humanities and social sciences students often lack the opportunities to compete at the global level and demonstrate their expertise. Competitions like ISEF, Science Talent Search, and MIT Think are generally reserved for students in fields like biology, physics, and chemistry.

  3. Prize Winners

    2020 2019 Announcing the 2023 Essay Prize Winners Special congratulations to those who achieved a Distinction or High Distinction in this year's competition. Those who did so but did not attend the prize-giving ceremony will be contacted by email, providing access to their eCertificates by the end of the month.

  4. Genevieve W Shortlisted for John Locke 2021 Essay Competition!

    Sep 24, 2021 Tags #News and Events #Dulwich International High School Suzhou Genevieve W, a year 12 student at Dulwich International High School Suzhou, has recently been shortlisted for the highly prestigious and internationally recognized John Locke Institute 2021 Global Essay Competition!

  5. John Locke Institute (JLI) Essay Competition Guide

    The John Locke Institute Essay Competition is open to any student anywhere in the world, ages 15-18. Students 14 or under are eligible for the Junior prize. JLI Essay Competition Topics The essay questions change from year to year. You can choose from 7 different categories (Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law).

  6. Global Essay Competition 2021- John Locke Institute

    Q1. Discrimination on the basis of race is widely condemned, but on the basis of nationality it is widely accepted. Is it not odd that you may not discriminate against me for where my great-great-grandparents were born, but you may discriminate against me for where my parents were born? Q2. Should the John Locke Institute change its name? Q3.

  7. Graders Needed for Essay Competition

    The John Locke Institute is seeking final-year undergraduate and graduate students who might be interested in becoming graders of our Essay Competition for appropriate remuneration. The globally renowned John Locke Institute annual essay competition covers topics in the categories of Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Law, Theology, and Psychology. Free to enter, the competition ...

  8. Students Short-Listed in Global Essay Competition

    Print article. | 20 July 2021. Soumia Lamont and Giulia Provenzano (Year 12 students) have been short-listed in the John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition, held by the University of Oxford. The competition is highly competitive, with some 4,000 submissions from 101 countries. The categories have set questions and include History ...

  9. Student announced as John Locke Institute Essay Competition Finalist

    Congratulations to Nina, Rhetoric II (Y13), for being selected as a finalist in the prestigious 2021 John Locke Institute Essay Competition for Law! This weekend she has been invited to Oxford to celebrate her achievement and participate in an academic programme with candidates across the world. Mr Powell, Head of Sixth Form, said: "We are […]

  10. PDF John Locke Institute Essay Prize Awards

    John Locke Institute Essay Prize Awards ... FU, John Yuhan - Milton Academy GALBRAITH, Laura - Charterhouse HU, Megan - Cheltenham Ladies' College HUO, Yanzhi - Beijing No. 101 High School JACOFSKY, Ezequiel - Torcuato Di Tella University ... 10/5/2021 5:58:27 PM ...

  11. Hong Kong teen wins John Locke global essay writing competition

    Hong Kong student Andre Chung Cheuk-hei won a global essay competition organised by the John Locke Institute, beating contestants from all over the world earlier this month. The 14-year-old winner ...

  12. An Aralia Student Is in the John Locke Competition Shortlist

    First posted on 2021-09-03 Last modified 10 months ago Aralia's student is a talented and determined aspiring writer from a middle school in China, and she successfully made it to the John Locke Competition Shortlist, in the History Category. The John Locke Competition Shortlist in 2021 was extremely competitive to get in for participants.

  13. Complete Guide To John Locke Essay Competition 2024

    With approximately 19,000 entries in total, the John Locke Essay Competition attracts a pool of excellent participants from around the world. Each year, a select few—typically 24-25 individuals—are awarded prizes. With a win rate of approximately 0.6%, securing a prize in the John Locke Essay Competition is definitely an exceptional ...

  14. Alex Chen '23 Wins Third Prize in Global Essay Competition

    Congratulations to Archmere junior Alex Chen for winning the Third Prize in Economics from the John Locke Institute's 2021 Global Essay Competition. Alex competed against students from all over the world in this prestigious event, writing an economic essay titled, "Oxford's Role in the Fight Against Inequality: From Serving the Elite to Uplifting the People". First place ...

  15. Psychology Essay shortlisted for National Prize

    This is the question that Sixth Form pupil Keziah (M) debated in an essay which was shortlisted for a prize in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition over the summer. The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good pupils into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear ...

  16. Does anyone know how many people get shortlisted for the John Locke

    Does anyone know how many people get shortlisted for the John Locke Essay Competition? ... it should be pretty good to get shortlist ... When the participants are around 2740 in 2020, the shortlisted rate is 26%; in 2021, it's 23% with 4000 participants; in 2022, 6805 participants and 20% of shortlisted. So the rate of shortlisted this year may ...

  17. Grade 10 Student Receives a High Commendation for John Locke Institute

    With a rise of COVID-19 cases, Ontario school campuses closed to students and staff on April 19, 2021, and remote learning commenced for the remainder of the school year. Under a strict Stay-At-Home Order from the Government of Ontario, Esha D., Grade 10 student, used her time effectively to research opportunities she could participate in

  18. john locke essay competition SHORTLIST

    john locke essay competition SHORTLIST A worldscholarsyay 5 hi has anybody received a notification of getting shortlisted yet i havent so im just assuming that im not shortlisted but wanted to know if theyve been sent our yet. Scroll to see replies 1 2 3 Reply 1 1 year ago A Okayrue Original post by worldscholarsyay

  19. John Locke Essay Competition : r/ApplyingToCollege

    John Locke Essay Competition . Discussion ... Is the shortlist for John Locke Competition released yet? I just want to check wether I made it to shortlist or not lol ... idk. two of my friends also submitted and got shortlisted. quick google search and it was 10% for 2021. do you know if shortlisted students get a certificate? Reply reply

  20. PDF John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2020 Shortlist

    John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2020 Shortlist Philosophy Shortlist ADEJUYIGBE, Tiwajopelo AGARWAL, Tanya AGGARWAL, Rohan AN, Nathan ANASCO, Hannah ARYA, Aman BARTOLOTTA, Sidney BEDFORTH, Thomas BELL, Joe BERGER, Adriaan BHAKDIBHUMI, Nabhiraks BROWN, Nikolas BUNJAMIN, Gregorius George CHAN, Stephanie CHEN, Yijia CHEN, Yizhong

  21. How many people get shortlisted in John Locke Inst. Essay Competition

    ECs and Activities. I have recently participated in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition and got shortlisted for a prize. I know for sure that winning the competition is extremely prestigious, but I am not sure how easy it is to be shortlisted. This time the total number of participants were around 20,000.

  22. Essay Competition

    Essay Submission Deadline: 10th May, 2024. Result Announcement: 25th June, 2024. Award Ceremony and Dinner at the University of Cambridge: 30th July, 2024. We welcome talented high school students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition. Entry to the competition is free.

  23. John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024

    Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2023 is open to students from any country. Entry is free. Prizes There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute ...