Writing
The excitement of participation in an international essay competition is difficult to imagine for some students, while others may find this process challenging. An essayist who wants to achieve success and win the contest might forget the basics of essay writing. Despite the apparent simplicity of the task, there is no universal recipe for creating a winning paper. It has to be topic-driven, include the author’s views, and be proofread and edited several times prior to submission.
Learn About the Rules Before Starting the Draft
Prior to starting the draft, it is essential to familiarize yourself with all the rules and guidelines. Firstly, it is vital to understand if you are eligible for participation, identify the topic, word count, and deadline. Remember that rules may vary for different competitions, so it is unwise to rely on the rules of previous contests.
In particular, it is essential to learn the dynamics of the competition, such as who will score your paper and if the organization has the right to post your essay on its website. Secondly, when paraphrasing or quoting another author’s words or ideas, it is crucial to make sure that you have the right to use them. Thirdly, analyzing the rules, check if the competition allows using artificial intelligence to write essays, for example, Grammarly. AFSA Rules and Guidelines is an example of a rules page that includes vital information.
Determine How to Approach the Essay Topic
International essay competitions usually provide a wide range of topics to choose from. However, it is essential to identify the controlling idea, which will serve as the backbone of your paper and guide you during the writing process. In particular, the judges may ask you to describe, explain, define, differentiate, classify, compare and contrast, justify, evaluate, assess, judge, criticize, etc. something in particular. To do that, follow these simple steps:
1. Convert the question into a statement to identify what needs to be argued or proved.
2. Narrow down the topic if possible to make sure that it is possible to cover it within the word count.
3. Determine how to approach the prompt based on the available topic and rules.
For example, when given the subject technology, you may want to narrow down the topic and argue that students need to learn to identify fake information created by artificial intelligence.
Construct a Strong Thesis Statement
A thesis statement is a summary of what your essay is about. Ideally, it should enable the reader to understand the paper’s context and help them navigate the essay. A strong thesis statement should also be specific and debatable, not factual. According to the UNC Writing Center’s tips on thesis statements, the thesis provides “a roadmap for the reader,” and “focus and organize the writer’s thoughts.”
While the thesis statement AI is changing education is a strong statement, it does not specify what exactly the author wants to say about this issue. Instead, consider the following example: schools should educate students on verifying AI information because not all confident and persuasive statements are true. Having a general idea of what you want to say in your essay is essential, and constructing a strong thesis statement will help you achieve this goal. It will also help you determine what information to include or exclude from your paper and enable you to create the introduction and conclusion paragraphs.
Write an Engaging Introduction Paragraph
The introduction paragraph is where you can hook the reader’s attention and invite them to continue reading. A hook can be any word, phrase, or statement, including quotes or surprising facts from the body of the essay, rhetorical questions, or fictional scenarios associated with the topic. However, it is essential to avoid clichés, such as how the world or society is changing, and make sure that the selected hook is relevant to the chosen topic to engage the audience and guide them through the paper. After the hook, it may be helpful to provide the audience with background information or explain why this issue is essential. Finally, the introduction paragraph should contain a strong thesis statement. The introduction paragraph determines the essay’s tone, so it is worth spending a few hours on it. However, it is not necessary to start with the introduction paragraph if it is too challenging at the beginning; sometimes it is worth starting with the body of the essay or the conclusion. The most critical point is to ensure that the introduction is attractive and transitions smoothly to the next paragraph.
Support Your Ideas With Relevant Data and Information
A winning paper will contain ideas that go beyond common knowledge, but it is also crucial to provide relevant data and information to ensure that the essay is engaging and convincing. In other words, it is not enough to come up with interesting ideas – it is necessary to collect statistics, document, provide evidence, or present facts that will help convince the audience and support your ideas. There is a wealth of information that can be used in essays, including scholarly articles, statistical data, historical facts, and personal experience; however, it is essential to remember that simply citing reputable sources is not enough. It is also crucial to ensure that the information cited actually supports the essay’s claims and that the author interprets this information correctly to help the audience understand its meaning and relevance to the essay. For example, when analyzing the theme of technology, it may be helpful to use statistical data that describes students’ experience with computers and cellphones. However, when discussing this statistic in writing, it is essential to explain to the audience what exactly this data represents and what it means to you.
When presenting data and information in your essay, it is essential to rely on recent and reputable sources and cite them appropriately according to the rules established by the competition. The UNC Writing Center’s tips on using evidence contain valuable advice on using statistical data, documentation, and other sources.
When using artificial intelligence to help you write your essay, it is essential to rely only on those technologies that are permitted by the rules of the competition. In particular, the 2026 UNIDROIT Essay Competition guidelines contain specific rules for using artificial intelligence technologies, including those that can be used as supplements and those that are prohibited.\
Revise and Edit the Essay
Before submitting the essay, it is essential to revise and edit it. When writing the first draft, it was probably impossible to express your thoughts clearly and concisely, so when revising the essay, focus on the elements that need to be improved or deleted. Rewriting the draft gives you a chance to organize the material properly, expand on your ideas, and clarify the language. Below are some helpful tips for revising and editing your essay:
1. First of all, focus on the main issues, such as topic sentences, paragraph structure, essay structure, content, and argumentation, rather than grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
2. Always revise the entire essay at once rather than jumping from one sentence to another. It will be challenging to focus on punctuation and spelling while proofreading, so it is essential to take a holistic view of the paper and highlight the critical issues.
3. Let your essay “rest” for a while and reread it to see the typos and grammatical errors with fresh eyes. Alternatively, you can ask a friend to review your essay and point out the obvious problems.
4. Finally, remember that a winning paper rarely appears immediately. Proofreading, revising, and editing are time-consuming and exhausting tasks, but a winning essay always requires hours and days of diligent work.
Check Deadlines and Other Requirements Before Submitting the Essay
A winning paper can fail to achieve its goal simply because the author did not follow all the rules, so it is essential to familiarize yourself with all the requirements before submitting the essay. In particular, when preparing the submission package, it is vital to double-check that all the rules have been followed.
Some of the most common rules that are worth remembering when preparing the submission package include:
1. Deadline: It is vital to remember that the essay must be submitted by the deadline. Never miss the deadline due to the time zone difference.
2. Word count: It is essential to ensure that the essay meets the word count requirements.
3. Language: Make sure that the essay is written in the required language.
4. File, structure, and design: Check that all file structure and design requirements have been followed.
5. File name, personal information, and other guidelines: Make sure that the file name, personal information, and other guidelines have been followed.
It is always advisable to save the submission confirmation page or receipt for future reference. Following all guidelines will ensure that your application has been successfully submitted, but even the best essays can be rejected due to minor details. Remember that the rules may vary for different competitions, so it is always important to double-check even the most minor details. Some seemingly minor rules, such as word count and design requirements, may appear counter-intuitive, but they are there to ensure that all students submit their applications consistently, and judges select the winner based solely on the content and other factors related to the essay.
Avoid Common Mistakes That Can Harm Your Application
Common mistakes that can harm your application are usually the reverse of the guidelines listed above. For example, while constructing a strong thesis statement, you may have decided to include all the facts, data, ideas, and arguments that seem interesting or relevant to you. However, a short essay is unlikely to give you an opportunity to demonstrate all of your writing skills, so it is essential to narrow down the topic and focus on a few powerful ideas, arguments, and facts. Secondly, while developing a strong thesis statement and constructing a compelling introduction, you may have forgotten that an essay is not an opinion piece; it always has to contain sufficient evidence and facts to support the author’s views. Next, it is essential to avoid generic statements and wordiness; a strong hook will engage the reader and stimulate their interest, but generic statements at the beginning of the introduction paragraph will hardly achieve the same effect, and wordiness will make the paper boring. Another common mistake is to leave only a few days before the deadline and rush to finish the paper, leaving only a few hours to proofread and edit the essay. Finally, it is essential to ensure that all rules have been followed, including those related to eligibility, citation and reference format, design, publication rules, and artificial intelligence use.
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