Tackling the John Locke Essay Competition

The John Locke Essay Competition is noted as “The World's Most Prestigious Essay Competition.” With over 30,000 submissions, high school and middle school students from around the world participate in developing their research and writing skills every year. But how does the competition work? Is it even worth participating in? Let's break it down. 

The Competition:

The John Locke Essay Competition allows students to select a research topic from 7 fields:

1. Philosophy 

2. Politics

3. Economics

4. History

5. Psychology

6. Theology

7. Law

Every field has 3 questions that students can write about. Submissions cannot exceed 2000 words. The John Locke Institute makes it clear that they want to see students utilize a wide variety of academic sources to strengthen their arguments. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful.

Entry to the competition is free, and students are allowed to submit as many essays as they please. However, it may be best to focus your time on writing one or two high quality essays rather than submitting many low-balled submissions. 

The best way to write convincing essays that judges enjoy reading is by reviewing essays from past winners. These essays are typically the length and style that are appropriate for placing high.

You can see a selection of winning essays here.

Results:

Judges select several essays from every category to be shortlisted. Every shortlisted submission will be invited to London for an academic conference and awards dinner, where winners will be announced. In order to win a prize, you must be shortlisted. 

Historically, economics has always had the most shortlisted essayists because it is the most popular category. The more entries in a category, the more shortlists. 

The winner of each subject category receives a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme. The best essay overall receives US$10,000 to attend a summer school or visiting scholars program. 

Tips:

The best way to approach the competition is by picking a subject and question that you like. It is MUCH easier to write about something you enjoy. 

If you are looking to be shortlisted and even placed in the top 3, you may want to select a question that seems unpopular from a field you're interested in. Here is an example from the 2023-2024 Economics Questions:

1. What is the optimal global population?  

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

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

All three of these questions are difficult and require some time and research to develop a thought-out essay. However, the easiest and most straightforward question is clearly the first one. Questions that are very straightforward are typically the ones that have the most submissions. Selecting questions two or three may give you an advantage. 

No matter where you finish, the John Locke Essay Competition is a fantastic way to develop research skills and tackle difficult problems from your own lens. The competition encourages critical thinking, and will help better your writing skills that are invaluable for future success. One essay at a time.

Looking for other economics-oriented activities just like this? Check out the extracurricular tab!