Student Essay Competition 2010 - What is the good of your discipline?

February 8th 2010

As we experience the biggest public sector cuts in decades, the choice of where to channel public funds has never been harder. Universities are experiencing severe cuts, leading to a more instrumentalist approach to HE in which the humanities look set to suffer.

In the light of this, where does your discipline stand? What is its value to society? Why should students pay to study it? Does it need to have value, over and above education for its own sake?

The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies annual student essay competition, sponsored by Continuum books, is now open. Entries are invited of not more than 2,000 words (excluding references and footnotes) which address the above question, and justify the response, with originality and style.

The winner will receive a cash prize of £250, £100 worth of books from the Continuum list, and an invitation to the Higher Education Academy Annual Conference. The winning entry will also be considered for publication in our journal, Discourse: Learning and Teaching in Philosophical and Religious Studies.

Marking criteria

Your essay will be marked against the following criteria. It should:

  • Be original and interesting to read
  • Communicate your ideas clearly and concisely
  • Show evidence of independent, critical thought
  • Show evidence of analytic ability (i.e. moving beyond description to analysis)
  • Present and evaluate conflicting points of view, including those with which you disagree, in a sensitive, respectful, and balanced way
  • Be logically structured, with a clear and relevant introduction and conclusion which address the question directly
  • Include well-structured and substantiated arguments
  • Be well written in terms of grammar, spelling and punctuation

Competition rules

  • You must be registered as a student on a philosophy, theology, religious studies, history of science or philosophy of science course (undergraduate single, joint or combined honours) in a UK higher education institution.
  • Your entry must be your own work.
  • Only one entry per student is allowed.
  • Entries must not be longer than 2,000 words, excluding references or footnotes.
  • The judges’ decision is final.
  • Your entry must be submitted via the online application form.
  • Your entry must be submitted on or before 12 noon, Monday 12th April 2010.

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Created on: February 8th 2010

Updated on: February 10th 2010