john locke essay 2022 winners

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 Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

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,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

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 application deadline is November 24, 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.

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John Locke Institute Essay Competition: All You Need to Know

By Eric Eng

The philosopher John Locke left a big mark with his ideas. His work has inspired people to think about how we’re governed, our freedoms, and what role the state should play. The John Locke Institute Essay Competition keeps his ideas alive by inviting young minds to think about how his ideas relate to today’s world.

Let’s talk about the John Locke Institute Essay Competition. We’ll give you an overview of the rules and share some helpful tips to craft a winning essay. This comprehensive guide will help you make your essay submission shine.

What Is the John Locke Institute Essay Competition?

The John Locke Institute Essay Competition—also called the John Locke Institute’s Global Essay Prize—is a yearly event hosted by the John Locke Institute , an organization passionate about encouraging young people to excel academically and enjoy learning. Named after the famous English philosopher John Locke, it aims to honor his legacy by inspiring young students to think deeply and critically.

Students from anywhere in the world can enter by writing an essay on topics like politics , economics , philosophy , and history . You can pick from a wide range of topics for your essay, so you can write about what you’re really interested in and show off how curious you are. A group of experts will read all the essays and pick winners based on how original, well thought out, and clear they are.

If you win, you’ll get a scholarship and your work will get published on the John Locke Institute’s website, which is a big deal for your academic record.

What Are the John Locke Institute Essay Competition’s Prizes?

If you win in any subject category or the Junior category of the John Locke Institute Essay Competition, you’ll get a US$2000 scholarship. This scholarship can be used for any program offered by the John Locke Institute, and your winning essay will be published on the Institute’s website.

Plus, if you’re chosen as the overall best essay writer, you’ll become an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellow. This includes a US$10,000 scholarship for participating in the Institute’s summer schools or visiting scholars programs.

The prize-giving ceremonies take place in London, where you’ll have the chance to meet judges and faculty members. And whether you win a prize or not, if you’re short-listed, you’ll receive an eCertificate to recognize your achievement.

What Are the John Locke Institute Essay Competition’s Guidelines?

If you’re thinking about joining the John Locke Institute Essay Competition, it’s important to know the rules. Here’s a handy guide to get you started:

Eligibility

Students from any country and school can take part. There are two levels: one for high schoolers aged 15 to 18, and the Junior Prize for middle schoolers aged 14 and under.

There are seven categories to choose from: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology, and Law. Each category has its own set of questions (listed in the next section).

Essay format

Your essay should only answer one question from your chosen category. It should be no more than 2000 words, not counting diagrams, tables, bibliography, or authorship declaration. Don’t include footnotes, but you can have endnotes and a bibliography.

Your essay needs to be in PDF format and follow the filename format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf. Example: John-Locke-Economics-1.pdf.

Registration starts on April 1, 2024, and ends on May 31, 2024. Essays must be submitted by June 30, 2024.

You’ll find out if you’re short-listed by July 31, 2024. The academic conference is scheduled for September 20-22, 2024, and the awards night is on September 21, 2024.

Other requirements

There’s no submission fee. It’s free for everyone.

You’ll also need to provide the email address of an academic referee who knows your academic work well. They can be a teacher or another adult who’s not related to you. The institute will email them to verify that your essay is your own work.

If you have any questions, you can email [email protected] . Don’t forget to read through these guidelines carefully before submitting your essay.

John Locke Institute Essay Competition: Topics

Now that you’re familiar with the contest guidelines, it’s time to choose a topic for your essay . Here are the topics you can choose from, organized by category and question number. Remember to use the category and question number in titling the file you will submit:

• 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?
• ​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?

John Locke Institute Essay Competition: Writing Tips

The contest website states: “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 .”

Let’s zoom in on the five main things they’re after:

1. Independent thought

Independent thought means coming up with your own ideas that challenge the status quo or offer unique insights. Don’t just analyze existing literature. Try to bring new perspectives or suggest innovative solutions to complex problems.

For example, in the Philosophy category, instead of just discussing whether girls should be allowed to compete in sports that exclude boys, you could explore deeper ethical principles. This might involve thinking about fairness and equal opportunity, or looking at how gender segregation in sports affects society.

2. Depth of knowledge

Having a deep understanding is super important for nailing the John Locke Institute Essay Competition. Know the key concepts, theories, and historical contexts of your topic. This could also mean checking out different views on historical events, analyzing primary sources, or considering other theories. You should be able to analyze information effectively, making connections and spotting patterns that deepen your understanding.

In the History category, for example, if you’re writing about the fall of civilizations, it’s not enough to just list events. You need to dig into why it happened, like economic pressures or cultural changes.

3. Clear reasoning

It’s essential to think logically when writing your essays. This means laying out your arguments in a way that makes sense, so each point flows smoothly into the next.

To do this well, you’ll want to avoid common mistakes like using emotional appeals instead of solid reasoning. If you’re debating whether news agencies should be funded by taxes, you’d need to make your case using economic principles and real-world evidence.

Another important aspect of clear reasoning is addressing counterarguments. Acknowledging and responding to opposing views shows that you understand the complexity of the issue. This not only makes your argument stronger but also demonstrates respect for different perspectives. By presenting a well-rounded argument, you can make a compelling case for your position in the competition

4. Critical analysis

Thinking critically means going beyond just summarizing facts. You need to analyze and interpret data, arguments, and evidence to come up with a thoughtful conclusion.

To do this effectively, you can’t just focus on your own viewpoint. You also need to think about other perspectives and respond to them. This shows that you’re open to different ideas and can think critically. For instance, when talking about the ideal global population, you should consider what environmentalists, economists, and policymakers might think, and then integrate those views into your analysis.

Another important part of critical analysis is choosing your sources carefully. Make sure you’re using reliable, up-to-date sources to back up your arguments. Avoid using biased or outdated information. By carefully evaluating your sources and selecting the most relevant and reliable ones, you can make your argument stronger and show that you’ve done thorough research.

5. Persuasive style

In any writing competition , having a persuasive writing style is key. You need to be able to convince the judges of your ideas and arguments. If you’re debating whether a company should be allowed to turn away business based on public statements, you’d need to make a strong, well-supported argument. This could involve citing legal cases, analyzing examples, and providing clear explanations to back up your point.

To make your essay even more persuasive, try using rhetorical devices like ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos means showing why you’re a credible source, pathos means appealing to the judges’ emotions, and logos means using logic and reason. Using these devices can make your argument stronger and more compelling.

It’s also important to think about your tone and voice. You want to sound confident but also open-minded. Acknowledge any potential counterarguments or limitations to your argument, and respond to them respectfully. Strike the right balance in your tone, and you can make sure your essay is persuasive and engaging to the judges.

John Locke Institute Essay Competition: Sample Winning Works

Another sure way of standing out in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition is to read and study past winning works. Here are a few 1st placers and let’s see what we can learn from them:

1. Hosai Kishida – 1st place, Philosophy Category, 2023

Question: Is tax theft?

Summary: The essay says that taxation is like stealing, even though some people think it’s okay because we agree to it in the social contract. But the author argues that no one would really agree to give up their money to the government if they had a choice, because governments don’t always do a good job of protecting our rights and are often influenced by people who just want to make money. In the end, the author says that because taxation isn’t something we agree to, it’s basically stealing from us.

Analysis and tips

In the winning essay, Kishida used several smart writing tricks to argue against taxation. First off, they made sure to define important terms, like theft and rational consent, right at the start. This helped lay the groundwork for their argument and made sure readers were on the same page. For example, they defined theft as taking someone’s stuff without their okay, setting things up to argue that taxation is a type of theft.

The essay was also well-organized, with each point building on the last. This made for a clear and convincing argument. They started by talking about rational consent and how it relates to state power, then moved on to critique Kant’s ideas about the state, and finished up by discussing why some people think taxation is okay. This logical progression made it easy for readers to follow along.

Kishida also used rhetorical techniques, like logos and ethos, to make their argument stronger. They used logos by giving logical explanations and examples to back up their points. They also used ethos by mentioning famous philosophers like Locke, Kant, and Friedman, which made their argument seem more credible.

To make their argument even stronger, Kishida used real examples and evidence. They talked about bad things that governments have done in the past and argued that not everyone values the goods and services that governments provide equally, which weakens the case for taxation.

Lastly, Kishida kept things respectful and reasonable. Even though they were making a controversial argument, they stayed calm and used logic and evidence to back up their points, instead of using angry or rude language. This helped them keep their credibility with the audience.

2. Joonyoung Heo – 1st place, Junior Category, 2021

Question: 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?

Summary: In the essay, the author talks about why it’s not cool for the government to make laws that try to protect people from themselves, which is called legal paternalism. The main idea is that while it might make sense for the government to step in and make laws that protect people (like seatbelt laws), it’s not okay when those laws stop people from making choices that only affect themselves. The author thinks this principle is strong because it respects individual choice, even when the government doesn’t think it’s the best choice.

The winning essay shows how to write a great essay for the John Locke Institute Essay Competition. First, Heo starts by clearly explaining important terms and ideas. This makes sure everyone knows what they’re talking about. For example, they explain legal paternalism and the harm principle right at the start.

Next, the essay is put together in a logical way. Each point builds on the last. This makes the argument strong and easy to follow. The author also uses real examples and evidence to back up their points. They talk about things like Michael Bloomberg’s soda ban and the recent change in Germany’s laws about assisted suicide to support what they’re saying.

Another smart move is how the author thinks about and answers arguments against their own. They show they really know their stuff by considering other viewpoints and responding to them in a smart way. Finally, the author keeps a cool and respectful tone throughout the essay. This helps them stay believable and makes their argument even more convincing.

Joining the John Locke Institute Essay Competition is a great chance to tackle some big philosophical and ethical questions, while also sharpening your critical thinking and writing skills . You’ll get to dive into topics that are not just interesting, but also really relevant to what’s going on in the world today.

So, it’s not just about winning a prize—it’s about growing intellectually, opening up new perspectives, and becoming part of a community of people who love exploring the big ideas that shape our lives.

Who can join the John Locke Institute Essay Competition?

Any student from any country and school can join in. High schoolers aged 15 to 18 can compete in the regular categories, while the Junior Prize is for middle schoolers aged 14 and under.

Can you submit more than one entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition?

Yes. Feel free to submit as many essays as you’d like in any or all categories.

Does the John Locke Institute Essay Competition have an entry fee?

The good news is that there’s no entry fee. However, if you miss the regular deadline, there’s a 20.00 USD fee for late submissions.

What is the John Locke Institute?

The John Locke Institute is an educational organization that’s all about encouraging independent thinking, critical thought , and clear reasoning among young people. They run the annual Essay Competition to get students thinking about important philosophical and ethical questions.

Who was John Locke?

John Locke was a 17th-century philosopher and physician, known as one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers. His thoughts on liberty, property, and the social contract had a big impact on modern political thought.

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Hong Kong teen wins John Locke global essay writing competition

• Andre Chung Cheuk-hei won in the Institute’s junior category, wowing a panel of judges at the University of Oxford
• He credits his love of reading for his imagination and writing abilities

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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 of the academic writing competition’s junior category was the only Hong Kong contestant among all the winners.

The annual competition invites students worldwide to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Of the seven essay questions provided this year, Andre picked one that asked where he would go if he could travel by time machine.

5 tips to writing an essay that deserves an A

“If you could travel by time machine for your next holiday, which time and place would you visit? What preparations would you make for your journey? What challenges would you face in the first twenty-four hours, and how would you handle them?” the question read.

His answer, which wowed a panel of scholars from Oxford University, was rather “original”, according to the judges.

In his essay of about 2000 words, the student went back to the 18th century to appreciate the opera Polifemo , calling it a high point of art and the creation of humankind.

The judges thought highly of his writing.

“This is a brilliant essay which chooses a highly original destination, and through its consideration of how to prepare for arrival in past times, serves up a rich description and analysis of the early 18th century,” said the examiners, who selected Andre’s essay as the winner in the final round of grading.

It was Andre’s first time submitting to the competition, and he was surprised he won.

“I thought there must have been a finer essayist than I who had submitted a finer essay than mine,” he said.

An avid reader, his love for writing came from his overflowing imagination, which he explains he built up through reading.

20 English idioms about success to raise the bar on your writing

“Ideas, plotlines, and alternative histories are always flowing through my mind,” he said.

Winners of the junior category are awarded a scholarship worth US$2,000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and Andre’s essay will be published on the Institute’s website.

Winners would also be able to network with scholars, judges and faculty members at the prize ceremony taking place in Oxford.

After receiving such recognition for his writing, Andre, despite still being in secondary school, has set his sights on studying literature at university.

How journaling can help relieve stress and foster creativity

“I feel that I should definitely learn at least French and Italian, the great languages of opera, if not Spanish, Portuguese, German, Polish, and Russian, all of which remain beautiful tongues with tremendous literary traditions.”

He said the key to coming up with so many ideas and being creative is reading.

“Movies and television shows are good … but do not stop there: you must always read.”

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Alex Chen '23 Wins Third Prize in Global Essay Competition

• Alex Chen '23

John Locke Global Essay Competition (Standard Prize & Junior Prize)

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 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.

The Institute awards two separate prizes:

• For the standard prize a prize is awarded for the best essay in each category.
• For the Junior Prize there is only one winner.

The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior Prize, 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. The prize-giving ceremony takes 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 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.

Location(s)

• Entries are due no later than June 30

Cost/Compensation

Eligibility requirements.

• Students must be 18 or younger
• Entries are open to candidates from every country

Application or Entry Requirements

• Registration is required, which one can do  here.
• Essays should address only one of the questions in a chosen subject category but students may submit more than one essay so long as they are in different categories.
• Essays must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, footnotes, bibliography, or authorship declaration). 
• Essays should be submitted in pdf format, through the website. 

Notifications of Decisions

• Short-listed contestants announced: July
• Junior Prize announced: August
• Economics Prize announced: September
• Politics Prize and Law Prize announced: September
• Philosophy Prize and Theology Prize announced: September
• Psychology Prize announced: October

Financial Aid Details

Other dates to keep in mind.

• Essay questions released: February

Have other questions?

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. We work to embolden the best and brightest students to become more academically ambitious and more intellectually adventurous. Through our various programs - 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.

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 this competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. The essays 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.

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.

​

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.

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Winner Announcement: TGC’s 2024 Essay Contest for Young Adults

More by staff.

Gen Z is a generation that faces the temptation to avoid hard things. With phones to hide behind, it’s easier than ever to get lost in a virtual world instead of facing the real world . Scripture tells us we shouldn’t be surprised when we face trials in this life as if something strange were happening to us, and that we can even rejoice in trials (1 Pet. 1:6–7; 4:12–13). Our young writers are learning this countercultural lesson. We have a God who cares more about our Christ-conformity than our comfort, and this is good news.

Over the past few months, we’ve had the privilege of reading the submissions to The Gospel Coalition’s 2024 Essay Contest for Young Adults . Nearly 200 young writers submitted original essays, and the editorial team reviewed them. These writers shared personal testimonies of their wrestling with God as they faced debilitating illness, societal pressure, and unfulfilled desires. We were impressed by their self-reflections on what they were pursuing more than God, whether it was acceptance into university, dream jobs, or the phones in their pockets.

Their writing displayed their desire to treasure Christ above all else.

Thoughtful Writers

The essays TGC received came from 183 young writers:

• They ranged in age from 16 to 22. Many were high school students; others were in college or just beginning their adult lives.
• As with last year’s contest , two-thirds of the writers were female.
• They’re members of local churches—Presbyterians, Baptists, and Anglicans predominated, with many nondenominational churches also represented.
• They submitted their essays from all over the U.S. and 14 other countries including Canada, South Africa, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Many of these young writers poured out their hearts as they shared about times when God, in his love, withheld something from them. Others wrote of how they moved from clinging to their phones to clinging to Christ. Some shared how they see the need for men and women like themselves to give their lives to vocational ministry to reach the 3 billion people with no access to the gospel.

Our hearts were warmed as we read stories of Gen Z Christians refusing the lies their culture is feeding them. Instead, they’re inviting us to taste and see with them that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8).

Personal Reflections

In TGC’s contest guidelines , we provided three prompts that allowed writers to reflect on their own lives as a means of speaking to their generation. Gen Zers are stereotypically called “screenagers” for spending a considerable amount of time on the internet. One prompt asked, “How has the gospel changed your relationship with your phone?” Many who chose this prompt were aware of their temptation to depend on their devices. They want to view their phones as tools, not as extra limbs.

Other writers shared why they’re considering full-time vocational ministry, knowing it’ll come at great cost. They’re willing to lay aside dream jobs with well-paying salaries for the sake of serving the Lord. Having to stand firm in the faith amid a deconstructing culture, they see themselves as equipped to reach their generation.

The most selected prompt was “When did the Lord love you by not giving you what you wanted?” By withholding something these young people wanted (though it was often a good thing), the Lord in his kindness revealed sin in their lives, drawing them closer to himself. What a beautiful picture of what our loving Father does for us, his children (Heb. 12:5–11).

We pray your hearts will be warmed and your souls edified as you read these essays (and TGC will be publishing more of them over the coming months).

Among the essays, three pieces stood out as well-crafted, thoughtful, and engaging. Our editorial team was clear about which winners to select, and we’re delighted to publish them on the site for you to read.

First Place: “ Who Was ‘i’ Without My iPhone? ” by Luke Simon

Luke opens his essay with these words: “Steve Jobs might’ve been a prophet. Or he at least predicted how his device would shape my future. After all, he placed the ‘i’ next to ‘Phone.’” Behind his screen, Luke Simon became luk3simon, forging a new identity and avoiding reality—and ultimately God. Eventually, he realized he needed a digital detox. Luke gives us practical ways to unhitch our identities from our phones, pointing us to the hope found in Jesus alone.

Second Place: “ How God’s ‘No’ to My Dream School Was a ‘Yes’ to the Local Church ” by Logan Watters

In her inspiring essay, Logan tells of how membership in a faithful, gospel-preaching church was a better pursuit than her dream school. And this made no sense to her friends. When we seek the Lord’s will and his plans above our own, the self-seeking world around us is left confused. Logan writes, “After a taste of [God’s] plans compared to mine, I don’t want anything else.”

Third Place: “ The Lord Loved Me by Giving Me a Broken Family ” by Karsten Harrison

In his essay, Karsten sees God’s love through unanswered prayer. Speaking to those who come from broken families, Karsten brings hope by pointing to the Lord’s steadfast love and the rich fellowship found with our church family. He writes, “God doesn’t simply give whatever we ask. Instead, we pray that his will would be accomplished, thus aligning our wills with his.” May we learn with him that God’s “No” always comes from his love for us and invites us to depend on him.

Take time today to read these essays and praise God for his faithfulness in his love toward us:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lam. 3:22–23)

Read more essays from young adults: 2022 and 2023 Contest Winners.

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30 books to read this fall

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Fall Preview Books

30 Most Anticipated Books of Fall

If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org , whose fees support independent bookstores.

Peak publishing season is upon us. This fall offers a bounty of books from prominent authors Danzy Senna, Rachel Kushner, Sally Rooney, Michael Connelly and Richard Price and newcomers Kay Chronister and Weike Wang. It’ll see the release of novels that mark the end of beloved franchises (Attica Locke’s “Guide Me Home”) as well as returns to familiar worlds (Elizabeth Strout’s “Tell Me Everything”). Our must-reads also include biographies on writers Dorothy Parker and Sanora Babb in addition to raw memoirs from Annie Ernaux and Sarah Moss. From explorations of race to an examination of a right-wing sheriffs’ crusade, there’s something for every reader.

Colored Television By Danzy Senna Riverhead: 288 pages, $29

USC professor Senna follows up her previous critical successes with this hilarious Los Angeles-based novel. It follows Jane, a biracial novelist who is tired of not being able to support her family, so she goes to work on a TV series with an old college friend. Wry observations about writing, Hollywood and the space she occupies as a mulatto woman (Senna’s term) make this novel a tour de force. — Lorraine Berry

Creation Lake By Rachel Kushner Scribner: 416 pages, $30

A literary take on the spy yarn, Kushner’s fourth novel (and Booker Prize finalist) is narrated by Sadie, an agent who has infiltrated a French group of environmentalists that’s determined to undermine a national reservoir project. Devious schemes, honey traps and assassination plans all figure into the plot. But Sadie’s undercover operation is just one part of the intrigue. Kushner, accessing the brash style that made her 2013 novel, “The Flamethrowers,” a surprise breakthrough, also slyly works in riffs on human evolution, mob mentality and the perils of managing multiple identities. — Mark Athitakis

The Fallen Fruit By Shawntelle Madison Amistad: 448 pages, $28

“The Fallen Fruit” is a heady mix of well-researched historical fiction and gripping fantasy reminiscent of both Octavia Butler’s “Kindred” and Audrey Niffenegger’s “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” In 1964, history professor Cecily Bridge-Davis inherits the Bridge family homestead in rural Virginia only to learn that various ancestors have “fallen” into the past — as far back as the 18th century — a fate she fears awaits her. But there is much more to this complicated family history, even a mystery or two. “My family tree has poisoned roots,” Cecily says. “Secrets from generations ago sank far into the earth where truth and lies tangled in a polluted snarl.” — Paula L. Woods

Guide Me Home By Attica Locke Mulholland: 320 pages, $29

Bad news: “Guide Me Home” completes Locke’s Highway 59 trilogy featuring Texas Ranger Darren Mathews. Good news: Locke wraps up her remarkable series with authenticity and wisdom, as Mathews turns in his badge, realizing that his race will always clash with his official duties. But when his estranged mother, Bell, implores him to look into a Black sorority girl’s disappearance, he agrees, and stumbles into a deep web of local corruption. — Bethanne Patrick

Death at the Sanatorium By Ragnar Jónasson, translated by Victoria Cribb Minotaur: 320 pages, $29

Jónasson’s experience as a leading Icelandic crime writer and translator of Agatha Christie novels informs this standalone mystery, related in intriguing ways to his bestselling Hulda trilogy. Helgi Reykdal, a criminology graduate student, is researching two unsolved 1983 deaths at a former tuberculosis sanatorium. As research for his dissertation turns to investigation, it ripples back to the 1950 TB epidemic and forward, ensnaring in its wake Reykdal, reluctant witnesses and the detectives on the case. — P.W.

Tell Me Everything By Elizabeth Strout Random House: 352 pages, $30

Rejoice, Strout fans — Lucy Barton is back, and so is her ex-husband, William, and so is Bob Burgess, along with other members of the Stroutian universe. Don’t look for huge events this time around; the author concerns herself and her characters with the art of narrative, even having Lucy pick up the term “sin eater” from a chat with Olive Kitteridge, a reminder that our mistakes make up our most interesting tales. — B.P.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney FSG: 464 pages, $29

There’s not much one needs to say to explain the excitement over a new book by Rooney, the Irish wunderkind whose first novel is the unbelievably perfect “Conversations With Friends.” Unlike her previous books, which center on romance and its discontents, “Intermezzo” is about a family relationship: Two brothers, lawyer Peter and chess master Ivan, grapple with their father’s death. — Jessica Ferri

Playground By Richard Powers W.W. Norton: 400 pages, $30

What Powers’ epic, Pulitzer-winning 2018 novel, “The Overstory,” did for forests, this novel does for oceans. Set largely on a French Polynesian island that has become an unlikely bargaining chip in a battle over the future of humanity, the novel shifts across a group of scholars, entrepreneurs, artists and oceanographers. Powers has loved braided, multifaceted narratives since his 1985 debut, “Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance,” and Booker Prize finalist “Playground” demonstrates how he’s sharpened both his intellectual interests with a knack for lively and optimistic storytelling. — M.A.

The Bog Wife By Kay Chronister Counterpoint Press: 336 pages, $28

Set in Appalachia, this debut novel centers on a family’s cranberry bog and its meanings for different generations, as well as its near-sentient presence: Patriarchs lie buried in its peat; their progeny take ritual washes in its mud and emerge with new wives to carry on the family line. It’s a Gothic, environmental take on heredity as well as inheritance, with one of the Haddesley daughters, Wenna, challenging both as human and earthen secrets bubble to the surface. — B.P.

Pearly Everlasting By Tammy Armstrong Harper: 352 pages, $29

In a logging camp in 1934 New Brunswick, newborn Pearly is raised alongside Bruno, a foundling bear cub given to her father. In this magical read, Armstrong charms readers while drawing from rural folklore, superstitious beliefs and adventure in a suspenseful coming-of-age novel. When Bruno is taken, Pearly ventures after him, enduring human evil and a challenging landscape to rescue her ursine brother. — L.B.

The Puzzle Box By Danielle Trussoni Random House: 336 pages, $30

Mike Brink (from Trussoni’s 2023 novel “ The Puzzle Master ”) is invited to Tokyo to open the infamous and deadly Dragon Box, which has defied puzzle solvers for more than 150 years. But two sisters, descendants of a disgraced samurai clan, want that box too, and the imperial secret placed within it by Emperor Meiji. Polished prose, an action-packed quest across Japan and puzzles within the story too? Sign me up! — P.W.

Clean By Alia Trabucco Zerán, translated by Sophie Hughes Riverhead: 272 pages, $29

A finalist for the International Booker Prize, Chilean novelist Zerán has penned a riveting novel about an interrogation. The book is narrated by Estela, a maid and nanny who becomes an observer of her married employers’ fights and secrets. When the young girl in her care dies, Estela comes under suspicion, and, during questioning, she leaves family secrets as breadcrumbs, daring detectives to follow her trail. — L.B.

The Waiting By Michael Connelly Little Brown: 416 pages, $30

Detective Renée Ballard of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Open-Unsolved Unit gets a new volunteer: patrol officer Maddie Bosch. With a small squad of other talented volunteers, they tackle a 20-year-old cold case involving a serial rapist and, on Maddie’s initiative, the city’s most infamous unsolved murder. The iconic Harry Bosch is in the mix too, but the younger Ballard-Bosch pairing heralds an exciting succession plan for a beloved series. — P.W.

Seeing Further By Esther Kinsky, translated by Caroline Schmidt New York Review of Books: 224 pages, $18

Kinsky’s roaming Sebald-esque novels like “Grove” and “River” have made her a household name in plotless fiction. “Seeing Further” is her take on cinema. Our protagonist arrives at a dilapidated movie theater in Hungary and becomes intent on restoring it. Like all Kinsky books, “Seeing Further” is as much about this place, described as “a dream in a glass coffin,” as it is about her subject. — J.F.

The Grey Wolf By Louise Penny Minotaur: 432 pages, $30

Following 2022’s “A World of Curiosities,” Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his intrepid band of investigators are back in a thriller that starts with a Sunday phone call that disturbs Gamache’s reveries in his garden and expands to include a break-in, a murder, political intrigue and a greater threat than even Gamache could imagine. Penny’s ability to balance the idyllic village life in Three Pines with impressive thriller chops makes “The Grey Wolf” a richly complicated, compulsively readable tale that’s well worth the two-year wait. — P.W.

Lazarus Man By Richard Price FSG: 352 pages, $29

It’s been nearly 10 years between Price novels, and “Lazarus Man” shows him comfortably returning to his favorite characters: working-class New Yorkers caught in a maelstrom of racism, money, media and policing. Here, the collapse of an apartment building in Harlem kicks off a plot involving missing residents, hustling activists and the surprising survival of one man trying to reacclimate after the trauma of being trapped. Streetwise and informed by Price’s trademark dialogue and gallows humor, it’s a tale of individual redemption and an exploration of the precarity of American life. — M.A.

An Earthquake Is a Shaking of the Surface of the Earth By Anna Moschovakis Soft Skull: 208 pages, $17

An illusory reality colors this darkly comic novel by the International Booker Prize winner. Set on a still-trembling Earth after a global seismic event, the unnamed narrator sets out to find and kill her missing roommate. In a dusty city, she encounters ideologues offering healing who further destabilize the shaky ground of her existence. — L.B.

In Thrall By Jane DeLynn Semiotext(e): 312 pages, $18

First published in 1982, Semiotext(e) brings DeLynn’s coming-of-age tale of lesbian longing back into print this fall with an introduction by Colm Tóibín. The “jarring accuracy” with which DeLynn writes about 16-year-old Lynn yearning for her English teacher, while dating boys and making homophobic jokes with her friends, moves “In Thrall” up to the top of our TBR pile. — J.F.

Darkly By Marisha Pessl Delacorte Press: 416 pages, $20

Don’t overlook this one because it’s a young adult title; it’s full of atmospheric thrills. Arcadia “Dia” Gannon, a lonely high schooler in Missouri, wins an internship to the Louisiana Veda Foundation, along with six others. They all revere the mysterious Veda, world-renowned for exquisitely crafted and devilishly difficult board games. Once the group arrives in England, they find out the game they’re expected to play has higher stakes than they could have imagined. — B.P.

Rental House By Weike Wang Riverhead: 224 pages, $28

Keru and Nate, along with their beloved sheepdog Mantou, live in New York and escape the city during annual vacations. Wang shows us two of these, the first on Cape Cod, with Keru’s parents; the second in the Catskills, with appearances from members of Nate’s family. Tensions run high in both instances, which are set five years apart, but Wang (“Joan Is Okay”) uses sharp detail and gentle humor to portray the evolution of a thoughtful partnership. — B.P.

The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy By Jessica Pishko Dutton: 480 pages, $32

Pishko is a journalist and lawyer whose work skillfully combines history, investigative reporting and astute political analysis in examining constitutional sheriffs’ ties to far-right militias, white nationalists and Donald Trump. It’s an intelligent, compelling narrative assaying the influences of toxic masculinity, gun culture and rural resentment, and the empowerment of sheriffs who declare themselves the ultimate arbiters of what is legal in their jurisdictions. — L.B.

A Muzzle for Witches By Dubravka Ugrešić, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać Open Letter: 120 pages, $15

Ugrešić, who died in March 2023, was one of the great firebrand writers to emerge from post-Iron Curtain Europe. She paid the price for it, forced from her native Croatia in 1993 for her criticism of the government. A series of sardonic novels and essay collections followed, stylistically varied but typically concerned with themes of exile and misogyny. “Muzzle,” based on extended interviews with her in 2021 and 2022, is both a fine introduction to her sensibility and capstone for her career, punctuated with her trademark candor. “There is no doctoral degree or promising literary reputation that can shield women from men’s fear and contempt,” she notes. — M.A.

The Barn By Wright Thompson Penguin: 448 pages, $35

Combining history, true crime and memoir, Thompson, a sportswriter for ESPN and a Mississippi native, has written a gut-punch of a book about the murder of Emmett Till and the place where it happened. Foregoing the harrowing photos that emphasize Till’s martyrdom, Thompson dives instead into family trees, court transcripts, witness memoirs and more to unearth the enormous human tragedy we forget at our peril: “Hate grows stronger and resistant,” he reminds us, “when it’s pushed underground.” — P.W.

The Use of Photography By Annie Ernaux and Marc Marie, translated by Alison L. Strayer Seven Stories Press: 144 pages, $23

We would read Ernaux’s writing about cardboard or watching paint dry, but her new book, a chronicle of her love affair with a photographer while she was undergoing treatment for cancer in the early 2000s, sounds as intense as it gets. Ernaux said she was driven to keep things in order amid her illness and its treatment — and by taking photographs, she and her lover found a way to make sense of the chaos. — J.F.

Dorothy Parker in Hollywood By Gail Crowther Gallery Books: 304 pages, $30

Hollywood, Parker once quipped, “is as dull a domain as dots the globe.” That didn’t prevent her from turning down its promise of steady money, though, and from the 1920s through the ’40s, she labored off and on for the movies, earning a pair of Oscar nominations for her screenplays before personal demons and the blacklist caught up with her. Crowther thoughtfully considers Parker’s ambivalence about Hollywood through her poetry and fiction, failed romances, miscarriages, suicide attempts and activism. Parker was often abrasive, but Crowther considers Parker empathetically, as a sui generis who resisted becoming a cog in the filmmaking machinery. — M.A.

Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb By Iris Jamahl Dunkle University of California Press: 416 pages, $28

In 1938, Sanora Babb was an L.A.-based journalist working on “Whose Names Are Unknown,” a novel about Dust Bowl migrants in Southern California, when she met John Steinbeck, who was working on a similar book. Generously — or foolishly — Babb lent Steinbeck her copious research notes, which he used as inspiration for “The Grapes of Wrath,” whose success undermined Babb’s career. (“Unknown” wouldn’t see print until 2004.) Dunkle’s biography is informed by this injustice, but doesn’t dwell exclusively on it, revealing Babb as a brilliant and enterprising Western author in her own right. — M.A.

My Good Bright Wolf By Sarah Moss FSG: 320 pages, $28

In her novels, like “Ghost Wall” and “Summerwater,” Moss considers what people try to control — and what they can’t. Her stunning new memoir focuses on her 1980s adolescent eating disorder, when her body shrunk beyond her control. At the same time, she shrank away from her family and peers, taking refuge in literature and her imagination, where the wolf of the title functions as a fierce spirit guide that helps her begin to heal. — B.P.

Didion and Babitz By Lili Anolik Scribner: 352 pages, $30

What could be better than a book about Eve Babitz or Joan Didion? A book about both of them. Contemporaries. Frenemies maybe. Babitz biographer Anolik takes them both on in a dual biography that hopes to break the seal of Didion’s mysteriousness and Babitz’s connection to her through their shared time in L.A., where their friendship was formed and broken. Both writers are so iconic and yet so different — it will be interesting to see how the differences reveal new things about each of them. — J.F.

The Endless Refrain: Memory, Nostalgia, and the Threat to New Music By David Rowell Melville House: 272 pages, $20

Combining personal memoir and cultural critique, former Washington Post Magazine editor Rowell plays provocateur, arguing that the creation and sale of new music have been stymied by audiences who only want familiar tunes that spark nostalgic memories. It’s either three chords and the truth or a book readers will argue with from its opening notes. — L.B.

Sun City By Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal New York Review of Books: 224 pages, $17

Finnish artist and writer Jansson is perhaps best remembered for her “Moomin” cartoon, about a hippo-like creature named Moomintroll and his family. But Jansson was prolific; she also wrote short fiction and a whopping 11 novels. “Sun City” is a work of nonfiction that chronicles her travels in America in the 1970s, focusing on the “particularly American institution, the retirement home.” Jansson’s observations will no doubt be equal parts humorous and devastating. — J.F.

More to Read

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Aug. 31, 2024

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