john locke institute essay competition winning essays

Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize, the short list for the 2024 global essay prize was released on wednesday, 31 july..

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. Our 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 our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Acting Chairman of Examiners, Mr Robin Koerner.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

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

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) 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?

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?

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?

Q1. According to a study by researchers at four British universities, for each 15-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by around 35% for a man but decreases by around 58% for a woman. Why?

In the original version of this question we misstated a statistic. This was caused by reproducing an error that appeared in several media summaries of the study. We are grateful to one of our contestants, Xinyi Zhang, who helped us to see (with humility and courtesy) why we should take more care to check our sources. We corrected the text on 4 April. Happily, the correction does not in any way alter the thrust of the question.

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?

JUNIOR prize

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? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition.

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

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

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of the deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.  To submit your essay, click here .  

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

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.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

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, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, 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.

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 visiting scholars programmes. 

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

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

Thanks for subscribing!

The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Robin Koerner, M.A. (Cantab)

Acting Chairman of Examiners

Q. I missed the registration deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?

A. No. Only candidates who registered before 31 May will be able to submit an essay. 

Q. Are footnote s, endnotes, a bibliography or references counted towards the word limit?

A. No. Only the body of the essay is counted. 

Q. Are in-text citations counted towards the word limit? ​

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

Q. Is it necessary to include foo tnotes or endnotes in an essay? ​

A. You  may not  include footnotes, but you may include in-text citations or endnotes. You should give your sources of any factual claims you make, and you should ackn owledge any other authors on whom you rely.​

Q. I am interested in a question that seems ambiguous. How should I interpret it?

A. You may interpret a question as you deem appropriate, clarifying your interpretation if necessary. Having done so, you must answer the question as directly as possible.

Q. How strict are  the age eligibility criteria?

A. Only students whose nineteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. In the case of the Junior category, only students whose fifteenth birthday falls after 30 June 2024 will be eligible for a prize or a commendation. 

Q. May I submit more than one essay?

A. Yes, you may submit as many essays as you please in any or all categories.

Q. If I am eligible to compete in the Junior category, may I also (or instead) compete in another category?

A. Yes, you may.

Q. May I team up with someone else to write an essay?  

A. No. Each submitted essay must be entirely the work of a single individual.

Q. May I use AI, such as ChatGPT or the like, in writing my essay?

A. All essays will be checked for the use of AI. If we find that any content is generated by AI, your essay will be disqualified. We will also ask you, upon submission of your essay, whether you used AI for  any  purpose related to the writing of your essay, and if so, you will be required to provide details. In that case, if, in our judgement, you have not provided full and accurate details of your use of AI, your essay will be disqualified. 

Since any use of AI (that does not result in disqualification) can only negatively affect our assessment of your work relative to that of work that is done without using AI, your safest course of action is simply not to use it at all. If, however, you choose to use it for any purpose, we reserve the right to make relevant judgements on a case-by-case basis and we will not enter into any correspondence. 

Q. May I have someone else edit, or otherwise help me with, my essay?

A. You may of course discuss your essay with others, and it is perfectly acceptable for them to offer general advice and point out errors or weaknesses in your writing or content, leaving you to address them.

However, no part of your essay may be written by anyone else. This means that you must edit your own work and that while a proofreader may point out errors, you as the essayist must be the one to correct them. 

Q. Do I have to attend the awards ceremony to win a prize? ​

A. Nobody is required to attend the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London. But if we invite you to London it is because your essay was good enough - in the opinion of the First Round judges - to be at least a contender for First, Second or Third Prize. Normally the Second Round judges will agree that the short-listed essays are worth at least a commendation.

Q. Is there an entry fee?

A. No. There is no charge to enter our global essay competition unless you submit your essay after the normal deadline, in which case there is a fee of 20.00 USD .

Q. Can I receive a certificate for my participation in your essay competition if I wasn't shortlisted? 

A. No. Certificates are awarded only for shortlisted essays. Short-listed contestants who attend the award ceremony in London will receive a paper certificate. If you cannot travel to London, you will be able to download your eCertificate.

Q. Can I receive feedba ck on my essay? 

A. We would love to be able to give individual feedback on essays but, unfortunately, we receive too many entries to be able to comment on particular essays.

Q. The deadline for publishing the names of short-listed essayists has passed but I did not receive an email to tell me whether I was short-listed.

A. Log into your account and check "Shortlist Status" for (each of) your essay(s).

Q. Why isn't the awards ceremony in Oxford this year?

A. Last year, many shortlisted finalists who applied to join our invitation-only academic conference missed the opportunity because of capacity constraints at Oxford's largest venues. This year, the conference will be held in central London and the gala awards dinner will take place in an iconic London ballroom. 

TECHNICAL FAQ s

Q. The system will not accept my essay. I have checked the filename and it has the correct format. What should I do?  

A. You have almost certainly added a space before or after one of your names in your profile. Edit it accordingly and try to submit again.

Q. The profile page shows my birth date to be wrong by a day, even after I edit it. What should I do?

A. Ignore it. The date that you typed has been correctly input to our database. ​ ​

Q. How can I be sure that my registration for the essay competition was successful? Will I receive a confirmation email?

A. You will not receive a confirmation email. Rather, you can at any time log in to the account that you created and see that your registration details are present and correct.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR SUBMISSION

If you are unable to submit your essay to the John Locke Institute’s global essay competition, your problem is almost certainly one of the following.

If so, please proceed as indicated.

1) PROBLEM: I receive the ‘registrations are now closed’ message when I enter my email and verification code. SOLUTION. You did not register for the essay competition and create your account. If you think you did, you probably only provided us with your email to receive updates from us about the competition or otherwise. You may not enter the competition this year.

2) PROBLEM I do not receive a login code after I enter my email to enter my account. SOLUTION. Enter your email address again, checking that you do so correctly. If this fails, restart your browser using an incognito window; clear your cache, and try again. Wait for a few minutes for the code. If this still fails, restart your machine and try one more time. If this still fails, send an email to [email protected] with “No verification code – [your name]” in the subject line.

SUBMITTING AN ESSAY

3) PROBLEM: The filename of my essay is in the correct format but it is rejected. SOLUTION: Use “Edit Profile” to check that you did not add a space before or after either of your names. If you did, delete it. Whether you did or did not, try again to submit your essay. If submission fails again, email [email protected] with “Filename format – [your name]” in the subject line.

4) PROBLEM: When trying to view my submitted essay, a .txt file is downloaded – not the .pdf file that I submitted. SOLUTION: Delete the essay. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “File extension problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

5) PROBLEM: When I try to submit, the submission form just reloads without giving me an error message. SOLUTION. Log out of your account. Open a new browser; clear the cache; log back in, and resubmit. If resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Submission form problem – [your name]” in the subject line.

6) PROBLEM: I receive an “Unexpected Error” when trying to submit. SOLUTION. Logout of your account; log back in, and resubmit. If this resubmission fails, email [email protected] with “Unexpected error – [your name]” in thesubject line. Your email must tell us e xactly where in the submission process you received this error.

7) PROBLEM: I have a problem with submitting and it is not addressed above on this list. SOLUTION: Restart your machine. Clear your browser’s cache. Try to submit again. If this fails, email [email protected] with “Unlisted problem – [your name]” in the subject line. Your email must tell us exactly the nature of your problem with relevant screen caps.

READ THIS BEFORE YOU EMAIL US.

Do not email us before you have tried the specified solutions to your problem.

Do not email us more than once about a single problem. We will respond to your email within 72 hours. Only if you have not heard from us in that time may you contact us again to ask for an update.

If you email us regarding a problem, you must include relevant screen-shots and information on both your operating system and your browser. You must also declare that you have tried the solutions presented above and had a good connection to the internet when you did so.

If you have tried the relevant solution to your problem outlined above, have emailed us, and are still unable to submit before the 30 June deadline on account of any fault of the John Locke Institute or our systems, please do not worry: we will have a way to accept your essay in that case. However, if there is no fault on our side, we will not accept your essay if it is not submitted on time – whatever your reason: we will not make exceptions for IT issues for which we are not responsible.

We reserve the right to disqualify the entries of essayists who do not follow all provided instructions, including those concerning technical matters.

The Winter Cohort II application deadline is December 29, 2024! Click here to apply.

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The Ultimate Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition [Everything you need to know]

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.

If you’d like to supplement your competitive experience with independent research, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs ! 

This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. 

You can find the application link here

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

By Jin Chow

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

3 minute read

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 John Locke Essay Competition can get your college application noticed by top schools like Princeton, Harvard, Oxford, and Cambridge. Awards include $2,000 scholarships (for category prize winners) and a $10,000 scholarship for the grand prize. (The scholarships can be applied to the JLI’s Summer Schools at Oxford University, Princeton University, or Washington DC, or to its Gap Year programs in Oxford University, Guatemala, or Washington DC) 

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 University 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.

Do your own research through Polygence!

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.

Eligibility

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

John Locke 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. 

There 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.

The words will fly off the page!

Interested in Literature and Languages? We'll match you with an expert mentor who will help you explore your next project.

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 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 teachers, mentors, or other faculty members who are not related to you.

Polygence Scholars Are Also Passionate About

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!

Everything You Need to Know About John Locke Essay Competition in 2024

Indigo Research Team

John Locke Essay Competition is one of the most popular and international essay competitions for high school students. Those who were first and honorable mention in this competition went on to attend Princeton, Oxford, and other Ivy League universities.

Not to mention placing in the top three of the competition, even receiving an honorable mention is a fantastic addition to your admissions resume and is viewed by admissions officers from Harvard to Stanford and beyond as one of the most distinguished accomplishments a high school student can accomplish! Keep reading this blog to know more about this essay competition.

What is the John Locke Essay Competition?

The John Locke Writing Competition is hosted by the non-profit John Locke Institute, a university with offices in Oxford, UK. Professors from top colleges like Oxford, Princeton, Brown, and Buckingham University work at the John Locke Institute.

The John Locke Global Essay Competition Institute helps young people to develop the qualities of great writers, such as critical analysis, persuasiveness, independence of thought, and range of knowledge. Students are allowed to investigate a wide range of topics that fall outside the scope of their coursework.

Why should you participate?

Participating in the John Locke Competition 2024 is a great idea if you want to improve your academic performance and stand out on your college application. Securing a prize or simply making the shortlist might attract the attention of elite university admission panels, demonstrating your commitment to and proficiency in the classroom.

Along with offering participants a great opportunity to interact with current global concerns through engaging themes, the competition also helps participants hone their critical thinking skills by having them write insightful, well-researched essays.

Essay topics 

Students must submit an argumentative essay that is at most 2000 words long. The main subjects of the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 include philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, religion, and law.

The following are the topics for the 2024 John Locke Essay Contest.

• Philosophy 

Tips for Students 

• Essays can only deal with one of the topics in the subject category you have selected, and they should be at most 2000 words (not including copyright declarations, examples, tables of data, or footnotes).
• If you follow an in-text referencing style like APA, the word count includes your in-text citations.
• You can submit an unlimited number of essays in all categories. (Considering how difficult it may be to produce a single high-quality submission, we recommend going for just one.)

Pay close attention to the structure and flow of your essay in the John Locke Essay Competition 2024. If justifications and logic are your primary weapons in this contest, then your writing's fluidity is your weapon. What is meant by a smooth flow? It suggests the reader must understand your line of argument easily. This is especially true for articles that explore otherworldly topics.

Important dates

• Registration starts on April 1, 2024.
• The deadline for registration is May 31, 2024.
• Deadline for submissions: June 30, 2024.
• Deadline for late entries: July 10, 2024.
• Essayists on the shortlist will be notified on July 31, 2024.
• Academic conference, September 20, 22nd, 2024.
• Dinner for awards: September 21, 2024.

For students passionate about Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, or Law, our next IRIS summer program offers a unique opportunity. You will have access to a specialized course taught by esteemed Harvard faculty, designed to teach you how to articulate and reason through sophisticated arguments effectively. This program is ideal for anyone looking to excel in competitions like the John Locke Essay Competition and beyond. Join us to sharpen your analytical skills and bring your critical thinking to the next level.

Read the questions and make a connection to John Locke's ideas.

You can present a sophisticated and perceptive analysis that thoroughly comprehends both the essay prompt and Locke's thoughts by linking the philosopher's ideas and the essay prompt. This method demonstrates your understanding of the subject matter and helps you interact critically with it. Along with do consider John Locke's most famous work to increase the chance of success.

Outline Thoroughly

Before diving into writing, create a clear outline outlining your main arguments and supporting evidence. This helps maintain focus and coherence throughout the essay, ensuring each paragraph contributes meaningfully to your overall argument.

Clear arguments 

Once you've determined your position on the matter, it's essential to support it with solid information from reliable sources and logical reasoning. Scholarly articles, books, and academic journals are just a few of the resources available to students to help them gather pertinent data and craft well-reasoned arguments. Furthermore, ensure that your essay has a compelling thesis statement and that the organization and ideas are presented in a way that makes it easy for the reader to follow. Also, reading John Locke's essay competition’s past essays can help you to understand complete assignments.

Revise Strategically

Take breaks between writing and revising to gain a fresh perspective. When revising, pay attention to sentence structure, grammar, and coherence. Ensure each paragraph flows logically into the next, and that your ideas are expressed with clarity and precision.

Seek Feedback

Share your essay with peers, teachers, or writing groups for constructive criticism. Consider their feedback thoughtfully and use it to refine your work. Embrace constructive criticism as an opportunity for growth, allowing you to identify blind spots and strengthen your writing skills over time

Common Questions Related to the John Locke Essay Competition

Which skills of students is the john locke essay competition assessing.

• Fundamental understanding of concepts and theories in economics, politics, history, psychology, theology, or law
• Proficiency at writing argumentative essays and mastery of basic writing frameworks
• Logical analysis methods, independent thought, and written persuasive

What are the awards for the John Locke Essay Competition?

• As part of their award, each topic category winner will receive a scholarship worth $2000 (US dollars) for any program offered by the John Locke Institute.
• A scholarship worth $10,000 (USD) to attend one or more of our summer schools and gap year programs will be awarded to the writer of the overall winning essay.
• The Institute will make the pieces available online.
• Networking opportunities with judges and other academics at the John Locke Institute.

This essay competition is one of the best ways to bring out the essence of youth, freedom of expression, and a student’s critical thinking ability. Thus, we encourage high school students to take part in it and convey their enthusiasm and revolutionary thoughts to shape the world. Participating in the John Locke Essay Competition 2024 demands innovative ideas and clever solutions. To hone these skills, begin with some research. Indigo offers a platform for curious high school students eager to explore more and transform their bright ideas into reality. If you're interested in learning to write about politics, consider joining this summer's IRIS Program . You'll be mentored by Harvard faculty who will help you excel in writing your argumentation.

Introduction to the John Locke Global Essay Competition

Competition Overview

The John Locke Global Essay Competition is an opportunity for young, creative minds with complex ideas, boundless ambitions, and a love of writing. For many, this is a first step into philosophical debate, allowing students to hone their argumentative essay skills with challenging, often open-ended, thought-provoking prompts in several categories.

Categories and Age Groups

There are eight categories with three prompts each (excluding the Junior Prize which has five prompts).

• Philosophy: Here, you can address deep questions about morality, responsibility, and the human condition, challenging what you think you know about right and wrong.
• Politics: Tackle the complexities of governance, democracy, and the nature of political authority, questioning how societies should be organized.
• Economics: Analyze issues around wealth, business, and the optimal conditions for a thriving global population, considering how economic policies impact people's lives.
• History: Look at the driving forces behind major historical changes, the reasons civilizations rise and fall, and how the past informs our present and future.
• Psychology: Examine the mysteries of human behavior, mental health, and the intriguing effects of intelligence on life outcomes, diving into what shapes our minds.
• Theology: Discuss profound questions about belief, the role of religion, and the concept of spirituality, exploring how these influence human lives and cultures.
• Law: Debate modern legal challenges, including rights, justice, and the responsibilities of individuals and corporations in a rapidly changing world.
• Junior Prize (ages 14 and under): Thought-provoking questions that are tailored toward younger students, covering topics like governance, societal issues, and the implications of technological progress.

Each essay must be argumentative and under 2,000 words, excluding bibliography and/or end notes. The word count includes in-text citations, which should be written in APA format.

There are two age groups for consideration: 14-to-18-year-olds and 14-year-olds and younger. The latter applies to the Junior Prize only, with no categories and only five prompts.

Submission Requirements

To ensure that you are equipped and prepared for the competition, here are the specific submission requirements:

File Format

Your essay must be submitted in PDF format, and the filename must follow a particular naming format: First Name-Last Name-Category-Question Number.pdf. So, for example, if John Doe is submitting an essay answering question 2 in the Psychology category, his filename should be: John-Doe-Psychology-2.pdf.

Keeping this format helps the judges easily identify and organize the significant number of submissions that they receive.

Submission Portal

The portal for submitting your essay will be available on the competition's website once the essay prompts are released in January. You will upload your completed PDF file there.

Academic Reference Requirement

As part of the submission process, you’ll need to provide the email address of a reputable academic referee. This person should be a teacher or another responsible adult familiar with your academic work (ideally someone from your school).

The competition organizers will subsequently contact this referee to verify that your essay is original and truly your work.

The Application Process

Application steps.

The application process begins with registration to showcase the intent to enter. Choose a prompt that resonates with your strong opinions and writing abilities, then do your research, writing, revisions, and polishing before submission.

Important Deadline Information and Requirements

Registration typically opens two months before the submission deadline. Applicants must register within the registration timeline to be able to submit an essay. Those who have not registered by the deadline cannot compete. To help you stay on top of things and plan properly, here are the important dates you’ll need to keep in mind:

• Registration Opens: April 1
• Registration Deadline: May 31
• Submission Deadline: June 30
• Late Entry Deadline: July 10
• Shortlist Notification: July 31
• Academic Conference & Awards Dinner: September 20-22

Are There Entry Fees?

The John Locke Global Essay Competition typically has no entry fee, making it more accessible worldwide to many students. However, if students fail to meet the original deadline and need an extension for submission, there is a $20 (USD) late fee. The late fee must be paid via credit card within 24 hours of the original deadline of June 30.

Understanding Essay Prompts and Past Essay Analysis

The John Locke Global Essay Competition is all about tackling some of the most thought-provoking questions around human understanding across a range of subjects.

Past Essay Prompt Examples

Each subject category comes with its own unique set of prompts that demand a different way of thinking to every question being presented. To better familiarize you with what you can expect, let’s take a look at some past prompts from previous competitions:

• Philosophy: “Should I be held responsible for what I believe?” This type of question encourages you to dig deep into ethical theories, challenging your understanding of morality and personal accountability.
• Politics: “Is there such a thing as too much democracy?” This prompt invites you to consider the balance between freedom and control, and how systems can go too far even when rooted in noble ideals.
• Economics: “Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?” Questions like this require you to evaluate economic impacts from different angles, involving both theoretical knowledge and real-world examples.
• History: “Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century, and why did this change?” This prompt asks you to dive into historical forces—political, technological, and cultural—that influenced global development.
• Psychology: “What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?” This question gets to the heart of understanding mental health, requiring you to explore psychological theories and how they intersect with cultural perceptions.
• Theology: “Does God reward those who believe in Him? If so, why?” This prompt encourages you to wrestle with questions of faith, reward, and the purpose of belief within the framework of religious thought.
• Law: “When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?” Here, you’ll need to consider freedom of speech, corporate rights, and societal responsibilities.

Tips for Tackling These Prompts

• Understanding Complexity: Many of these prompts are deceptively simple. To truly engage with them, take the time to explore their multiple dimensions. Break the question down—what assumptions are being made? Are there any hidden complexities or ethical considerations you should address?
• Approaching Abstract Themes: Some prompts require you to deal with abstract themes, like the nature of belief or moral responsibility. To handle these effectively, begin by establishing a clear framework. Define your terms clearly—what does "belief" mean in this context? What counts as "responsibility"? Then, use that framework to structure your essay.
• Incorporate Theoretical Knowledge: No matter if you’re writing on politics or philosophy, including theoretical perspectives in your essay is important. Don’t shy away from mentioning thinkers like Aristotle, Locke, or even contemporary philosophers and scholars, as this will ground your arguments and show that you understand the broader context.
• Develop a Unique Perspective: One of the best ways to make your essay stand out is to bring something fresh to the discussion. Think about what makes your perspective different—do you have a personal experience, an unusual example, or a lesser-known theory that relates to the prompt? In summary, adding an original angle or argument can help your essay catch the judges' attention.

Award Levels

In 2024, The John Locke Global Essay Competition drew over 35,000 registrants across all categories. The majority of those entrants received Merit/Commendation awards, or approximately 16.9%. Approximately 3% of essayists received a High Commendation and only 1% received a Very High Commendation.

The Shortlist

These essays stood out to the judges as being deemed worthy of recognition. Judges will further assess them for specific awards/accolades.  

Commendation / Merit

These essays are deemed noteworthy, demonstrating comprehension and clear, well-supported arguments.

High Commendation / Distinction

These essays are exceptional, demonstrating excellent writing skills and innovative perspectives. Distinction places the essay among the top entries of the John Locke Global Essay Competition.  

High High Commendation / High Distinction

These essays are among the best, notable for superior comprehension of the subject matter and concise points in a debate format.

Sample Certificate

Here is an example of the certificates that are sent to winners.

Grand Prize , First Prize , Second Prize , Third Prize

Category Winners (First Place) receive a scholarship and are recognized as the best in their chosen field, whether it's philosophy, history, economics, or any other. There are also Second and Third Placements awarded for each category, recognizing strong essays that stood out from the rest. The Category Winners receive recognition while also earning $2000 towards any of the John Locke Institute’s programs.

A Grand Prize winner will be selected from among the first prize winners in each category. Grand Prize winners will be awarded an impressive $10,000 scholarship, which can go towards John Locke Institute summer schools or gap year courses.

How to Win the John Locke Essay Competition: Tips for Writing a Winning Essay

Essays should have a strong beginning, through which to hook the reader. To begin, choose a category you feel capable of responding to in a creative and bold manner, with supporting evidence and a flair of persuasion. From there, paragraphs should present a well-formatted argument of your viewpoints about the prompt. Focus on a single main idea for each paragraph, then expand with evidence, quotes, examples, and a flowing perspective related to your debate topic.

Strengthen your paper with a conclusion summarizing your main points and restating your thesis. Consider this your last chance to impress your reader, i.e., the competition judges. Once you’ve completed your first paper, read and re-read it. Ask trusted sources (preferably academicians) to read it and provide feedback. Fix grammar, sentence structure, and word choice, and utilize constructive criticism to polish your paper until it showcases your best possible work. Revise repeatedly.

A mentor, typically a teacher, is required for the John Locke Global Essay Competition . This person must be familiar with your writing in an academic setting, and attest to the originality of your work.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Over-complicating the essay: Your paper should be well-researched and concise. Someone should be able to skim it from beginning to end and get the gist of your viewpoints before reading the whole essay.
• Failure to answer the prompt effectively: Create an outline that answers the prompt before you begin writing your essay. Ensure you have acknowledged and addressed opposing viewpoints and counter-arguments.
• Lack of originality: The John Locke Global Essay Competition receives thousands of entries annually, many of which are similar in terms of content and argument. Make your entry stand out with a unique perspective. Be original in your approach to a question.
• Poor time management: Some essays fail not because of the quality of argument, but because they were not properly polished to completion. Give yourself enough time to brainstorm, create multiple drafts, get feedback, and produce a well-thought-out paper that feels as strong as it can be. Poor time management leads to mistakes that could cost you recognition or a win.

What the Judges Look for at Each Level

The John Locke Global Essay Competition judges care about your ideas and how well you present them through interdisciplinary research and creative prowess. Points should be easy to follow, and you should include counter-arguments to showcase your ability to anticipate and address dissenting viewpoints. Judges look for fresh insights and innovative perspectives, so avoid common or cliche viewpoints.

John Locke Past Sample Essays

The John Locke Institute publishes winning essays/examples of winning essays from each category on their website. We are also including essays from AtomicMind students who have entered the contest and received an award or recognition. Of AtomicMind students who took our 2024 Master Class, 83% received an award or recognition of some kind. Below, you can see some past winning essays across categories:

2023 Economics Category - First Prize : "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?"

2021 History Category - First Prize : "Should we judge those from the past by the standards of today? How will historians in the future judge us?"

2023 Theology Category - Second Prize : "If you cannot persuade your intelligent, sympathetic friends to embrace your religious belief system, do you have enough reason to believe what you believe?"

2021 Law Category- Second Prize : "Should ‘innocent until proven guilty’ apply not only to courts of law, but also to public censure?"

2023 Psychology Category- Third Prize : "Are beliefs voluntary?"

2021 Junior Category - First Prize : "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?"

How much time should I spend preparing for the John Locke Global Essay Competition?

What is your writing process? How fast can you compile an award-winning essay with well-thought-out points on a debate topic? How familiar are you with the content? Preparedness varies depending on an individual’s writing and research capabilities. Think of how long it takes to write a 2,000-word research paper with citations and resources. Then, double the time for brainstorming, drafting, and revising. Your aim should be crafting a well-researched essay worthy of a competitive edge.

Your thoughts should be clear and focused with a flow from beginning to end that engages a reader. You should feel confident about your writing when everything is submitted, so take the time to make it shine. At AtomicMind, we find that students who are shortlisted and win prizes have typically spent between 15 and 40 hours working on their submission.

Can I use quotes from philosophers or scholars?

Yes—you are encouraged to incorporate philosophical and scholarly quotes into your competition essay. Give credit with proper citations, ensure the quotes are relevant to your topic, and only use quotes as supporters for your ideas. How you interpret and analyze the topic with originality and creativity is more critical than the quotes of past philosophers or scholars.

What happens after submitting the essay?

After submission, your essay is reviewed by a panel of readers most of whom have accolades or publications. The best papers are reviewed again, then discarded or forwarded to judges for accolades. Overall, the process takes three months from submission to final evaluation. Shortlisted candidates are notified on or around August 1 and accolades are announced at the awards ceremony that is held at the end of September. Shortlisted candidates who cannot attend the awards ceremony will receive their awards and e-certificates via email.

Can I submit in more than one category?

Yes, you can submit in as many categories as you would like. You only need to register once regardless of how many entries you submit.

Will I receive feedback on my essay?

You will not receive feedback from judges for the John Locke Global Essay Competition . The competition receives thousands of submissions annually, making individual feedback impossible.

How can AtomicMind help you write a Prize or Award-winning essay for the John Locke Global Essay Competition?

You’ve taken the first step with your desire to participate in the John Locke Global Essay Competition! If you are interested in learning more about our John Locke Global Essay Competition Master Class, contact us to be added to our waitlist. You'll be alerted when we schedule our 2025 Master Class, Everything You Need to Know about The John Locke Global Essay Competition.

Through this Master Class, students will benefit from a presentation that analyzes winning essays across various levels of distinction and offers customized guidance to students on creating a winning essay. Our knowledgeable specialists can help you outline, research and craft a well-thought-out, informative, paper with a strong perspective that captures judges’ attention. Bounce ideas off of us, utilize our specialists for feedback and constructive criticism, and let us support your process from participation to success!

Your Guide to the John Locke Essay Competition

An article explaining what the competition is and how to maximise your chances of success, written by one of last year’s markers.  .

What is the John Locke Essay Competition?  

The John Locke Essay competition is acknowledged as the most prestigious essay competition in the world. Free to enter, it is hosted by the John Locke Institute , named after the Oxford philosopher John Locke (b. 1634 – d. 1704), who is often called the ‘father of liberalism’ and is one of the most important thinkers from the Enlightenment period. 

Candidates must register for competition entry by 31st May and submit an essay of no more than 2,000 words by 30th June , addressing one of the essay questions listed on the Institute’s website. The essays are judged for prizes by ‘a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, meaning that entering the competition offers you the rare chance to have your work assessed by top scholars in your field of interest. 

Who is the competition for?  

The main competition is open to anyone aged eighteen or under and is comprised of seven separate subject-categories: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Law, Psychology, and Theology . If you are currently studying for your A-levels, then you are a perfect candidate to enter. There is also a Junior Prize open to anyone aged fifteen or under. If you meet the criteria for one of these competitions and wish to develop your research and writing skills, then you are highly advised to enter. Moreover, receiving a commendation or prize would make for an outstanding embellishment to your UCAS personal statement. 

What are the prizes?  

One essay across all subject-categories will be selected for the Grand Prize: a massive $10,000 scholarship to attend any of the John Locke Institute’s prestigious educational programmes, which include summer schools at Oxford and Princeton. The opportunity to study at the John Locke Institute is invaluable: your tutors will be world-leading academics, and previous students have subsequently gained admission to the most competitive international universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, Harvard, and Yale. Additionally, three essays under each subject-category will be selected for a prize scholarship of $2,000 to attend any of the John Locke Institute’s programmes. All prize winners will also be invited to a prize-giving ceremony in London. 

Besides the prizes to be won, the process of entering the competition is of value in itself. Independently researching a foundational subject and answering a demanding, important question develops intellectual qualities which will be of use to you in university and beyond.  

Three tips for writing a superb essay  

Drawing on my experience as a marker for the John Locke Essay Competition in 2023, I have put together three tips for writing a successful essay. 

1. Understand the objectives:  

If you want to write a superb essay for the John Locke Essay Competition, you must first know what the examiners are looking for. The purpose of the essay competition is to cultivate the intellectual capacities of young people across the globe. These include: 

Independent and original thought   

Critical textual analysis  

The ability to research and accumulate knowledge  

Logical reasoning  

The ability to write clear and persuasive prose  

The judges are not so much interested in the mere possession of information, which Director Martin Cox says comes cheap in the present digital age. More important is the ability to ‘ process, evaluate and use information to form sound judgments about difficult or controversial questions’, alongside the ‘skills of expression to organise one’s thoughts to offer an articulate, persuasive case in favour of those judgments’.

In other words, it is what you can do with information that counts. Armed with facts and evidence, what can you plausibly argue? What interesting claim can you defend? The subjects that the competition include, such as Philosophy, History, and Law, are deliberately chosen to foster the cultivation of higher academic virtues such as original thought and the capacity to contest difficult ideas: issues in these subjects, and the corresponding essay questions, are not the sort of thing that a quick Google search can resolve. In trying to answer them, a good answer will require you to reach deep insights that will develop your mind. 

2. Read well in advance  

If you are going to write an excellent essay then you will need exposure to great ideas. Social Science subjects demand some acquaintance with the relevant empirical studies; Humanities subjects demand acquaintance with the relevant ideological positions. Either way, your chances are best if you start reading around your subject as soon as you can . 

It can be difficult to know how to research – what books to read, which articles are relevant– if you aren’t already familiar with some of the relevant literature. Your tutor or teacher should be able to help you with a few suggestions to get you started. Follow the principle of ‘ quality over quantity ’: a thoughtful discussion of one important piece of literature will demonstrate your capacities far more than a thoughtless discussion of a vast literature, because it is more difficult to read critically and with insight than it is to simply read a lot. 

Make sure to read with a critical eye . Absorb both sides of a debate and aim to adjudicate: if you read an article which defends one particular view, read another which contests that same view. Doing so will give you a balanced, reasonable, and well-informed perspective . Take thorough notes and ask yourself questions: What is the author’s position? What reasons are there to adopt this position? What objections might there be against this position? How does this relate to other things I have read? By reflecting deeply on what you read, you will develop original insights and convey your ability to critically evaluate ideas. 

Furthermore, make sure to read the exemplar essays from past years of the competition, which you can find on the John Locke Institute’s website, especially those for the specific subject-category that you have chosen to enter. Again, don’t just read them but think about them and consider how they meet the stated objectives: How do they demonstrate insight and originality? How do they critically evaluate literature? What features of their writing style have aided the clarity of their argument? Do they counter possible objections to their argument? Use these excellent essays as models when it comes to writing your own. 

3. Demonstrate clarity of thought  

As the Institute’s Director Martin Cox says, ‘the John Locke Institute aims, above all else, to teach the principles of logical, analytical, and rational thought’ . This should be taken as a statement of the Institute’s intellectual values and priorities: while your essay must be persuasive, persuasion should primarily take the form of logical reasoning and evidence. Rhetorical flourishes must be undergirded and supported by argumentative quality and substance. In general, flowery prose should not take priority over clarity of expression and precision of thought . 

One of the best ways to demonstrate rational thought is through a good analysis of the essay question which identifies ambiguities and subtleties of meaning – key skills particularly in the Humanities. Let’s consider an example of how to do this. One of last year’s Philosophy questions, which I marked, was ‘In what sense are you the same person that you were ten years ago?’ The phrase ‘in what sense’ is crucial here and needs to be addressed. It is too crude to simply assert that you are or are not the same person that you were ten years ago. How are you the same? What is it by virtue of which you are the same? What would have to be the case in order for you to be a different person? Reflecting on this should make you think, ‘What are the criteria by which we can determine whether or not a person has or has not remained the same across time?’ And once you start thinking about that, you are engaged in a philosophical analysis of the concept of personhood – and that is what the judges really want from you. Therefore, by properly reflecting on the essay question, you will sharpen your analytical skills and come to a deeper understanding of the issue . 

Overall, start researching as soon as possible , think critically about what you read, and focus on logical arguments and the use of evidence when putting forth your answer to the question. Entering the John Locke Essay Competition is bound to be an instructive experience for any student keen to develop themselves as a thinker and writer. I wish you luck! 

This article is credited to Karim. If you would like Karim’s support with the John Locke essay competition, you can visit his tutor profile here https://doxa.co.uk/undergraduate-mentors/karimphil .

Essay Writing Competition

Essay writing competitions provide students with an excellent opportunity to showcase their writing skills, engage in critical thinking, and gain recognition for their work. These contests often prompt participants to explore a wide range of thought-provoking topics beyond the standard school curriculum, fostering independent thought and depth of knowledge. A notable example of such a competition is the 2024 Global Essay Prize.

Overview of Essay Writing Competition

The 2024 Global Essay Prize is a prestigious competition that attracts young writers from around the globe. Organized by the John Locke Institute, the competition aims to develop traits that turn good students into outstanding writers. These traits include independent thought, clear reasoning, critical analysis, and a persuasive style.

Registration and Participation

For the 2024 Global Essay Prize, registrations closed on May 31. This year, the competition received entries from 34,823 contestants. Participants who registered by the deadline were required to submit their essays by June 30.

Goals of the Competition

The primary objective of the Global Essay Prize is to encourage students to tackle challenging questions and topics. The competition aims to:

• Foster independent thinking and intellectual curiosity.
• Develop students’ abilities to construct well-reasoned arguments.
• Enhance skills in critical analysis and persuasive writing.
• Provide a platform for students to have their work assessed by experts.
• Also read  Simple Services Project for School .

Competition Categories

The competition invites essays in seven subject categories:

Additionally, there is a junior category specifically for participants under 15 years old.

Judging Process

Submitted essays are evaluated by a panel of senior academics from leading universities such as Oxford and Princeton. The panel is led by Dr. Jamie Whyte, a former Cambridge philosopher and the Chairman of Examiners. The judges assess the essays based on:

• Originality and independence of thought.
• Depth of knowledge and understanding of the subject.
• Clarity and coherence of the argument.
• Analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Persuasiveness and writing style.

Prizes and Recognition

The competition offers several prizes, including:

• Category Winners: The best essay in each of the seven subject categories is selected.
• Grand Prize: The overall best entry across all categories receives the Grand Prize.
• Junior Category Prize: The best essay from contestants under 15 years old is awarded a separate prize.

Winning an essay prize brings recognition and valuable feedback from distinguished academics, significantly enhancing students’ academic and writing skills.

Benefits of Participating in Essay Competitions

Participating in essay competitions like the Global Essay Prize offers numerous benefits:

• Skill Development: Students improve their research, writing, and argumentation skills.
• Intellectual Growth: Engaging with complex topics fosters intellectual curiosity and depth of understanding.
• Recognition: Winning or even participating in such competitions can enhance a student’s academic profile.
• Expert Feedback: Feedback from senior academics helps students improve their work and gain new perspectives.

Essay writing competitions are a valuable platform for students to demonstrate their writing prowess and engage with challenging topics. The 2024 Global Essay Prize, organized by the John Locke Institute, exemplifies the benefits of such competitions by encouraging independent thought, critical analysis, and persuasive writing.

With categories spanning various disciplines and a rigorous judging process, the competition provides participants with an opportunity to excel and gain recognition in the academic community.

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