The Hertford JCR Essay Prize
This term we are launching an essay competition for Hertford JCR members for the first time: “The Hertford JCR essay prize”.
Please submit an essay of up to 1500 words in response to one of the following questions:
- What has been the most significant discovery in your discipline in the last 100 years?
- What is the most significant ethical dilemma currently facing your discipline?
- What other field of study does your discipline need to engage with right now and why?
n.b. that the maximum word count is 1500 but the essays do not need to be this long.
Deadline for submission: 15th November 2026.
Members of the current JCR committee will read the essays anonymously to decide on a shortlist, from which the Principal, Alex Freeman, will decide the winner.
- The prize will be a £50 Blackwells book voucher.
Submission guidelines:
- DO NOT put your NAME ANYWHERE on your actual essay.
- Attach a ‘motto’ to your essay. This is only a few words such as a quote phrase and is not important – it will not be read as part of your essay but serves only as a way for us to identify who has written which essay after the marking process.
- We will not tolerate substantial use of AI in the process of writing the essay. It may be used for grammar and spell checks, and as a tool for accessing sources, but the submitted essay must be original work produced by an individual student.
Please complete BOTH these forms to submit.
- Submit your entry here using these two forms
- Submission Form 1 – Is to anonymously submit your essay but with your ‘motto’ clearly on the first page or above the title. Please DO NOT submit your essay with your name or identifiable information on the file you submit.
- Submission Form 2 – Is to submit your name with the motto used for the first form so that after judging we can identify whose essay is whose.
