W W W . I M M E R S E . E D U C A T I O N Essay Competition F U L L P A R T I C I P A N T G U I D E | 2 0 2 3
Why Enter? 01 A chance to win a full or partial scholarship to one of our programmes in Oxford, Cambridge, Sydney or London. 02 Full support from our team as you write your essay, with free guides and top tips to help you along the way. 03 A chance for you to demonstrate your content knowledge by answering advanced university-style questions. 04 The opportunity to apply and advance your essay writing skills. You will likely learn something new in the process! 05 A chance to strengthen your selfdiscipline as you commit to a challenging project and complete it from start to finish. T H E 2 0 2 3 I M M E R S E E S S A Y C O M P E T I T I O N Page 1
Essay Competition Guide | 2023 Immerse Education are excited to open Round 2 of our 2022-2023 Essay Competition, where participants like you get the opportunity to showcase your subject knowledge and essay writing skills, with the opportunity to win a full or partial scholarship to one of our 2023 summer programmes in Oxford, Cambridge, London or Sydney. Each year we receive thousands of essays and this year we expect to receive further recordbreaking numbers. To help you on your journey to writing a scholarship-winning essay, we have put together this useful guide to answer all of your competition questions and more. Whether you're considering joining the competition or are already in the process of writing your essay, we recommend that you read this guide to help you understand what we're looking for in a winning submission. After reading this guide, if you still have unanswered questions, don't hesitate to reach out to one of our advisors at: advisor@immerse.education. We wish you good luck and look forward to receiving your essay very soon! WWW. I MME R S E . E D U C A T I O N | E S S A Y C O MP E T I T I O N F U L L G U I D E 2 0 2 3 Page 2 Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Guide for Participants For more guidance visit www.immerse.education
Within This Guide Explore the contents below to find answers to our most commonly asked essay competition questions. Essay Competiton Deadline P4 Essay Questions (13-15) P6-7 Essay Questions (16-18) P9-11 Essay Specifications P12 Referencing Guide P13-17 More Resources P19 Frequently Asked Questions P20 Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Full Guide for Participants Page 3
Essay Submissions Deadline Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Deadline for Submissions Wednesday 4th January 2023 23:59 BST Time Submit your essay here Page 4
Essay Questions 13-15 Year Olds
Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Questions for 13-15 year olds What are the foundations of good architecture? Architecture Business Management Computer Science Creative Writing Economics Encryption & Cybersecurity Which functions are needed to make a business run and why? How has the internet transformed our modern world? How would you make non-fiction writing persuasive? What is economics at its core? What is the difference between Encryption & Cybersecurity, and how do they ensure online safety? Page 6 Essay Questions for 13-15 year olds Choose the subject you are most interested in studying with us in the summer. If you will be 16 years old by June 2023, we recommend you choose an essay question from the 16-18 category. Coding Why is coding needed to engineer software? Engineering In your opinion, what have been the most significant engineering innovations to date, and why? Game Design What are the principles of creating an engaging game? Earth Science How has earth changed overtime?
Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Questions for 13-15 year olds Page 7 Medicine Physics Politics & Debate Psychology 3D Animation Open Question What are the principles of medical ethics, and why are they important? Why is gravity so important on earth? What are the attributes that make a great public speaker? How does psychology impact an individual's personality? How has 3D animation developed over the last 30 years and where do you see it going? Create your own question using one of the available subjects for your age group and write your essay response to it. Law Would the legal system benefit from terminating the use of juries in court cases? International Relations How do nations maintain peace in the 21st century?
Essay Questions 16-18 Year Olds
Does the future of AI scare or excite you? Explain. What are the key qualities of a leader in business? What key attributes make a protagonist likable? Architecture What makes light so important in architecture? To what extent is DNA significant to living organisms? How does plastic packaging affect the environment? Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Questions for 16-18 year olds Artificial Intelligence Biology Business Management Chemistry Creative Writing Page 9 Essay Questions for 16-18 year olds Choose the subject you are most interested in studying with us in the summer. If you will be 16 by June 2023, we recommend you choose an essay question from the 16-18 catagory. Architecture & Design Where does inspiration come from in architecture & design? Can computers really understand humans and natural language? Computer Science How has the creation of code impacted us as humans? Coding How do the changes in the climate affect farming and agriculture? Earth Sciences Explain the role of the government in managing the economy and economic growth. Economics Encryption & Cybersecurity How do encryption and cybersecurity protect people online, and why are they so important?
Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Questions for 16-18 year olds Page 10 English Literature Which literary features do you find to be most powerful and why? Fine Art How does art reflect values in culture? Game Design Do computer games help or harm young people? Film Theory What are the key considerations when adapting literature to film? Female Future Leaders What are the benefits of having greater female representation in leadership roles? International Relations What are the leading causes of international war and how can they be avoided? History Which factors led to industrialisation? Engineering How would you demonstrate the difference between AR & VR? Law Examine the meaning and significance of ‘fault’ within criminal law. Mathematics Find a connection between mathematics and the arts. Medicine “You are what you eat” - to what extent is this true? Nanotechnology How could nanotechnology save our lives?
Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Questions for 16-18 year olds Page 11 Philosophy Is knowledge a result of learning or experience? Physics Which scientist made the most significant contribution to the field of physics? Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) How do politics, philosophy and economics interconnect? Psychology Describe the ways in which playing is used to promote children's development. Sustainability Is it possible to reverse global warming? 3D Animation Where can we find animation in our daily life? Politics & Debate How would you persuade your audience about the reality of the climate crisis? Open Question Create your own question using one of the available subjects for your age group and write your essay response to it.
Your answers should be no more than 500 words +/- 10% (excluding references, headings and title text ) Only one entry is allowed per person. Essays should be submitted directly via the competition entry form. Essays received by email will not be considered. Essay Specifications Entrants should ensure they have read these specifications prior to submission as failure to comply with these specifications may result in disqualification. Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Specifications Page 12
Referencing Guide Entrants should ensure they have read these specifications prior to submission as failure to comply with these specifications may result in disqualification. What Is Referencing? When constructing your essay, you should show your research through your sources. It is important to use books and other texts to support your arguments and that these are recorded through referencing. References act as a record that you have used another person’s words or ideas. All points taken from other authors should be referenced accordingly. Bibliographies list the texts and other sources that you have used for your work. References and bibliographies allow the reader to identify the exact sources of what you have written, and ensure that you have not plagiarised in your work. References are used throughout work (for example, a book, article, image, etc,). It shows readers where specific pieces of information came from and how readers can find it themselves. It acknowledges, or gives credit to the author who actually created the content being used. The opposite of a citation is plagiarism, or not giving credit to others for their ideas, concepts, or images. Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Referencing Guide Page 13
In this essay, we would like you to use the Oxford referencing style. This consists of two elements: footnote citations and a bibliography at the end of the document. It is important that you follow the guidelines laid out in this document exactly, to ensure good academic practice and consistency throughout your work. Plagiarism is considered taking the work of others and presenting it as one’s own. Source citations give work credibility. In other words, it shows the information is not simply made up. When creating footnotes, you will need to indicate a reference by putting a superscript number directly following the source material - this number is called the note identifier. This is followed up through a footnote citation at the bottom of the page. The note identifier, also referred to as the in-text citation, and the footnote should have the same number, to ensure that the reader knows which source the identifier is referring to. Citations should be listed in chronological order. How to Use Oxford References Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Referencing Guide Page 14
Your bibliography should include the names of the authors, title and the date of publication, the name of publisher and the place of publication. All sources referenced in your footnotes should be included in your bibliography, as well as any other sources that informed your work which you didn’t necessarily quote or paraphrase. Your bibliography should be organised alphabetically by author, then by title. Films referred to in the text should be included in the list, alphabetically by title. Bibliography Oxford Referencing Example Below is an example of the Oxford referencing system. It is a two part system that has a reference as a footnote at the bottom of the relevant page as well as a list of references, also known as a bibliography, at the end of the essay. Example: According to a recent study, food waste recycling could be contributing to the increase in antibiotic resistance. The information provided here is not something that you, the writer, knew before you read the study, it is therefore important to show exactly where you found this information and who is responsible for the research. An example of a footnote refernece is: M. Furukawa., N. Misawa. and J. Moore, “Recycling of domestic food waste”, British Food Journal 120:11 (2018): 2710 Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Referencing Guide Page 15
Furukawa, M., Misawa, N. and Moore, J., “Recycling of domestic food waste”, British Food Journal 120:11 (2018): 2710-2715 The first part of the reference provides the names of the authors, the second part is the title of the article. The next part, in italics, is the name of the journal, then the volume number and issue number. The section in brackets shows the year that this was published. Finally, the page number where this information can be found is provided in the footnote, and the page range of the article is provided in the bibliography. Referencing Different Formats Different sources will require different referencing formats. Examples of how to cite this information within your bibliography are shown below. Solé, Yolanda. “Valores aspectuales en español.” Hispanic Linguistics 4 (1990): 57–85. Article Murphy, Robert. “A Revenger’s Tragedy—Get Carter.” British Crime Cinema. Eds. Steve Chibnall, and Robert Murphy. London: Routledge, 1999: 123-133. Chapter Wilson, Edward O. “Back from Chaos.” Atlantic Monthly Mar. 1998: 41–62 Magazine Article Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Referencing Guide Bibliography example: Page 16
Naremore, James. More Than Night: Film Noir in its Contexts. Berkeley: California UP, 1998. Book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Dir. Chris Columbus. UK-US. 2001 Film The Walt Whitman Hypertext Archive. Ed. Kenneth M. Price and Ed Folsom. 1997–1998. 27 Apr. 2003. [https://whitmanarchive.org/ last accessed: 1st May 2020] Webpage Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Referencing Guide Page 17
Page 18
More Resources Don't forget to take a look at our other helpful resources to help you on your journey to writing a scholarship-winning essay. How to Write an Academic Essay: 9 Amazing Steps Essay Writing Top Tips Guide Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Resources Page 19
Frequently Asked Questions Got more questions? Visit our FAQ's page following the link below to find answer to more common essay competition questions. Essay Competition FAQ's Immerse Essay Competition 2023: Essay Resources Page 20