Essay Questions 2022 (Choose 1 question to answer):
1. “Russia’s war on Ukraine provides the European Union with a chance to reunite its member states.” To what extent do you agree with this claim?”
2. The outbreak of the pandemic and the escalation of geopolitical tensions have cast a shadow over the world’s economic development.
(a) To what extent do you agree that the impending recession is inevitable and irreversible?
(b) What policies should we adopt to address global economic problems?
Answer with reference to one question.
3. “The global balance of power is shifting from the West to the East.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
We are living in a world filled with uncertainty. Since February 2022, the Russia-Ukraine Conflict has lasted more than 6 months, bringing turbulence and destruction to the people of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the energy crisis induced by it added fuel to the global economic decline that has been going on since the beginning of the pandemic. Some viewed the current chaos as a result of the fall of U.S. hegemony, global geopolitical landscape has changed radically entering the 2020s. It is the responsibility of political scientists to help people understand this rapidly changing world. Please choose 1 question from the above to answer.
Why Enter?
1st Place Prize:
- £100 Amazon Voucher
- Certificate signed by Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Head of the LSE Department of Government
- Essay published in the LSEUPR blog
- The opportunity to attend and to present your essay at the LSEUPR Annual Conference
2nd Place Prize:
- £50 Amazon Voucher
- Certificate signed by Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Head of the LSE Department of Government
- Essay published in the LSEUPR blog
3rd Place Prize:
- £25 Amazon Voucher
- Certificate signed by Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Head of the LSE Department of Government
- Essay published in the LSEUPR blog
As well as the prospect of winning a prize, this competition presents a unique opportunity for:
- Exploration: this is a chance to engage with the topic and to explore your ideas and thoughts in a new way, outside the confines of academic stress from examinations and grades.
- Experience: for those of you wishing to apply to university, this essay competition is a chance to produce an evidence-based, long form piece of writing. This is exactly the kind of work you will be regularly asked to produce at university, LSE or elsewhere!
- Prestige: taking part in this competition is an achievement in itself and something that you can discuss in interviews, on your CV, and your personal statement for university.
Eligibility
- You must be yet to complete your A-Level studies, IB or equivalent, i.e., about to begin year 12 or 13 of secondary school or equivalent.
- Students from any country are allowed to enter, the competition is not limited to the UK, but is limited by level of study.
How to Enter:
To enter, fill out the form below with your personal details and please ensure to attach your essay submission as a PDF.
Click here to enter: https://forms.gle/wALoGj3EzDcWWogF9
Deadline:
1st October 2022, 23:59 BST
Submission Specifics:
- Must be written in English.
- The word limit is 1000 words, any submission that is longer than this will be automatically disqualified.
- Please note: any in-text citations, footnotes and headings are included in the word count, but the title, bibliography and appendix, if applicable, are not included.
- Arial font, sized 12.
- Standard 1-inch margins.
- Submit essay as a PDF.
- It is extremely important to cite your sources. You are free to use any established referencing style (APA, Chicago, Harvard), as long as its use is consistent.
- Ensure that the PDF essay entry is completely anonymised, there should not be any personal details such as name or school attended included within the PDF.
- This is an independent piece of work. While you are free to discuss the topic with your peers/teacher, the final submission ultimately needs to be your own work. Plagiarism is a serious case of academic misconduct and will be met with disqualification.
- Essays should be concise, analytical, imaginative, and impartial.
- Submissions that are explicitly biased, agenda-fuelled, or without strong supporting evidence, are discouraged – scholarly essays are not columnist opinion pieces.
Resources
Essay Writing:
- General guidance on academic essay writing: https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/lse-life/resources/podcasts/academic-writing-basic-principles
- Developing your essay thesis: https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis
Structuring your essay:
- https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/essay-structure
- https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/lse-life/resources/podcasts/essay-writing-planning-and-structure
Writing a clear introduction:
Ensuring your essay is clear and easy to follow:
- https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/topic-sentences-and-signposting
- https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/transitioning-beware-velcro
Writing an impactful conclusion:
Editing your essay:
- https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/editing-essay-part-one
- https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/editing-essay-part-tw
- https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis
Referencing your Essay
General overview: https://student.unsw.edu.au/referencing
- Chicago: Chicago Manual of Style (17th Edition): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/chicago_manual_of_style_17th_edition.html
- APA: APA Style (6th Edition):
- Harvard: Harvard style https://student.unsw.edu.au/harvard-referencing
- Footnotes & bibliographies: https://student.unsw.edu.au/footnote-bibliography-or-oxford-referencing-system
Topic Specific Resources:
Some of these readings will be quite challenging but they reflect the sort of things you will be expected to read at LSE. If you have any trouble understanding do not worry and please email any queries or questions to lseupr@lse.ac.uk.
LSE Russia-Ukraine Dialogue Series
LSE Expertise: Ukraine and the global response:
- https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2022/03/14/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-signals-new-beginnings-and-new-conflicts-for-the-european-union/
- https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/medialse/2022/03/18/russia-ukraine-war-who-is-winning-the-info-war/
Background on Economic Declines:
- Energy Crisis (EU and Global)
- https://www.ft.com/content/f7990162-395f-488e-9d23-13f3cce83e24
- https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/30/europe-energy-crisis-bad-winter-russia-ukraine-gas/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-27/global-energy-crisis-spurs-a-revival-of-nuclear-power-in-asia
- Inflation and Recession
- https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/ukraine-war-niesr/
- https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2022/09/06/reforming-pensions-to-protect-adequate-and-sustainable-benefits/
- https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2022/09/02/sunak-truss-what-should-the-next-uk-prime-minister-do/
Global Balance of Power/Geopolitics
- https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/cff/2022/08/02/pelosi-lands-in-taiwan-a-cross-strait-crisis-or-continuation/
- https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202209/1274707.shtml
- https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202209/1274690.shtml
- https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2022/08/19/will-academic-cooperation-facilitate-frances-new-deal-with-african-countries/
- https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/the-boons-of-the-rcep-for-china-the-statesman
Good luck!
