We are incredibly proud to announce that three of our students — Xarina, Ombeline, 和 Jethro — have been shortlisted for the prestigious John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition.
Here is a glimpse into their experience and the insights they gained.
Xarina INTERVIEW
UISG G11 Student
Domain: Psychology
Essay Prompt: ‘What is self-deceit?’
Xarina approached the prompt from evolutionary and cognitive perspectives.
“Self-deception is not solely a negative attribute of people, but a skill developed to help them survive in this increasingly complex world.”
How was your experience of writing for the competition?
It was actually a lot more fun than I thought it would be. It took me a month overall working on it, but it was really enjoyable. Especially when I found out something really new and interesting, and I just had to think, ‘wow, that’s so cool,’ and then I would write it down.
How did studying at UISG help you prepare for this competition?
I did it in the psych category, but I wasn’t taking psych at the time. The only subjects that really came in use were English, especially with all the long essays we had to write. Additionally, the Personal Project and all the long-term commitments you do in Year 10 helped me with time management. Also, MYP helped me learn a lot of professional structuring for my essays.
Do you have tips or advice for anybody who does this in the future?
Start early. Start the essay really early the moment you find out about it. Take in all the knowledge before you write your final piece because if you know what you’re saying, that’s the most important thing. Also, try to have a unique approach. They don’t want the most basic answer; that’s why most of the questions are vague. They want a unique approach to the essay prompt.
Ombeline INTERVIEW
UISG G11 Student
Domain: History
Essay Prompt: ‘Which figure in history did most to enlarge human freedom?’
To answer the prompt, Ombeline focused on Martin Luther King Jr’s efforts to enlarge human freedom.
“He fought not only to raise awareness, but to start a movement to enlarge the boundaries and put an end to division.”
How was your experience of writing for the competition?
My experience went better than I thought. I initially thought my chosen prompt was a bit complicated, but since I had already practiced a lot of essay writing, I knew how to structure it properly. Participating allowed me to dive deeper into my passion for history and learn more about what I want to do in the future. It also allowed me to develop my passion towards writing further.
How did studying at UISG help you prepare for this competition?
By studying at UISG, I already had a lot of experience writing essays. I learned how to structure my essays and write proper, formatted ones throughout my whole secondary years, so the process was smoother and less challenging. It wasn’t my first time being faced with such a demanding situation where I needed to write an essay about a very specific prompt.
Do you have tips or advice for anybody who does this in the future?
It’s really important to choose a topic that you really enjoy and that can help you explore what you want to do in the future. If you want to be able to write properly and actually have a good essay, you need to enjoy what you’re writing about. I chose the history prompt as it is something I am passionate about, and might do in the future; which made my essay process extremely fun.
I would also recommend to start planning and structuring your essay earlier on and not leave it to the last minute.
Jethro INTERVIEW
UISG G11 Student
Domain: Theology
Essay Prompt: ‘Why would the creator of a trillion galaxies become angry if you engaged in questionable or immoral actions?’
Jethro answered this prompt with a thoughtful analysis involving Christian philosophy.
How was your experience of writing for the competition?
My experience was very engaging and quite laid back. The essay prompt challenged me to converse in dialogue with other essay writers and really think deeply. I spent most of my time thinking; the hardest part was coming up with a strong argument. The actual writing time only took less than four hours.
How did studying at UISG help you prepare for this competition?
Of course, my English class really helped me write an essay that I could make flow very well and have a logical structure. But also classes like Visual Arts and Design, which challenge me to think uniquely and creatively on a class basis, helped me come up with an argument that is beyond superficial and actually meaningful.
Do you have tips or advice for anybody who does this in the future?
I would say focus on actually having a good idea. The writing part is not so hard. The hardest part is having a really unique, strong, and well-rounded perspective that gives you an argument that is very impactful.
我们无比自豪地宣布，我校有三名学生——Xarina、Ombeline和Jethro——成功入围声名卓著的John Locke约翰洛克研究所全球征文比赛。
以下是他们的参赛体验与心得分享。
Xarina INTERVIEW
广州誉德莱11年级学生
参赛领域： 心理学
论文题目： “什么是自我欺骗？”
Xarina从进化与认知的角度探讨了这一命题。
“自我欺骗并不完全是人的负面特质，而是一种为了在这个日益复杂的世界中生存而发展起来的技能。”
参加这次论文竞赛的体验如何？
实际上比我想象的有趣得多。我前后花了一个月的时间准备，但整个过程非常享受。尤其是当我发现一些新奇有趣的内容时，会忍不住感叹“哇，这太酷了”，然后赶紧记下来。
在UISG的学习如何帮助你为这次竞赛做准备？
我参加的是心理学组，但当时并没有选修心理学。真正派上用场的是英语课，尤其是那些长篇论文的写作训练。此外，十年级的个人项目以及所有的长期任务都帮助我提升了时间管理能力。同时，MYP课程教会了我如何专业地构建论文框架。
对将来参加竞赛的同学有什么建议？
尽早开始。一得知竞赛信息就马上动笔。在完成终稿前要充分吸收知识，因为清晰自己要表达的内容是最重要的。另外，尽量选择独特的切入角度。评委不希望看到最常规的答案——这也是为什么大多数题目都设计得比较模糊。他们期待的是对命题有独到的见解。
Ombeline INTERVIEW
广州誉德莱11年级学生
参赛领域： 历史
论文题目： “历史上谁为扩展人类自由做出了最大贡献？”
为了回答这个问题，Ombeline聚焦于马丁·路德·金为扩大人类自由所做出的努力。
“他不仅致力于提高人们的意识，更发起了一场运动，以扩大自由的边界并终结分裂。”
参加这次论文竞赛的体验如何？
我的体验比预期要好。最初我觉得所选题目有点复杂，但由于之前有过大量的论文写作练习，我知道如何合理地组织结构。参赛让我更深入地探索了自己对历史的热爱，并对未来的方向有了更清晰的认识。这也进一步培养了我对写作的热情。
在UISG的学习如何帮助你为这次竞赛做准备？
在UISG的学习让我积累了丰富的论文写作经验。整个中学阶段，我学会了如何组织结构、撰写规范的论文，因此这次写作过程更加顺利，挑战也小了很多。这不是我第一次面对这样要求严格的写作任务，需要就一个非常具体的题目完成论文。
对将来参加竞赛的同学有什么建议？
选择你真正感兴趣、并且能帮助你探索未来方向的题目非常重要。如果你想写出好文章，就必须享受你所写的内容。我选择历史题目是因为我对此充满热情，并且未来可能会从事相关领域，这让我的写作过程非常愉快。
另外，我建议尽早开始规划和构思论文结构，不要拖到最后一刻。
Jethro INTERVIEW
广州誉德莱11年级学生
参赛领域： 神学
论文题目： “为什么万亿星系的创造者会因你做了有争议或不道德的行为而愤怒？”
Jethro结合基督教哲学进行了深思熟虑的分析，回应了这一命题。
参加这次论文竞赛的体验如何？
我的参赛过程非常投入，但也比较放松。这个题目促使我与其他论文作者进行思想对话，并进行深度思考。我大部分时间都在思考，最困难的是提出一个有说服力的论点。实际写作只花了不到四个小时。
在UISG的学习如何帮助你为这次竞赛做准备？
当然，英语课帮助我写出了逻辑流畅、结构清晰的论文。但像视觉艺术和设计这样的课程也很有帮助，它们在课堂上挑战我以独特和创新的方式思考，使我能够提出超越表面、真正有意义的论点。
对将来参加竞赛的同学有什么建议？
我认为重点是要有一个好的想法。写作部分并不难，最难的是拥有一个真正独特、有力且全面的视角，从而形成非常有影响力的论点。
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