This week, we got a request from our student community asking 'How do you get better at social science competitions?' 

Before getting better in social science competitions, what are some of the largest competitions you can take part in this field?

Are you ready for the pandora box of opportunities that they bring you?



Most social science competitions take the form of essay competitions: where you have to express a view on certain social, economic, or political issue concerning people from around the world. It is easy to pen your thoughts down, but to be successful in social science competitions, you will need to learn the fundamentals of a good essay structure.

A good essay structure consists of three basic, but very important sections: Introduction, content, and conclusion.

A good essay will centre around a core argument, that is coherent and having links drawn between points in the essay. Your introduction should serve as a summary of what you are going to talk about in the essay.

Your content should not only be for your argument, but also demonstrating that you have considered the antithesis, and how your argument is stronger and better than it.


Your conclusion should effectively sum up the points in your content, and link back to your introduction: showing how your content has justified your argument stated in the introduction.

Each point in your content should not only be your hypothesis on why your argument is good. It is easy to write down opinions, but most people forget to give evidence to justify them.

It is thus important to follow this rule when writing your content: description, example, evaluation, link.

Remember, that your essay should not be confusing, and in order to acheive that, linking your content together with your argument will always help to clarify your point. Examples such as statistics, quotes and citations are always favorable. They will make your content stronger, demonstrate that there is concrete evidence to prove your point, as well as provide credibility and make your essay more convincing.

Social science essay competitions are large-scaled competitions that receive thousands of applications. Catching the attention of the judges with flowery language and neat presentations are not enough. Your content has to look as good as your presentation does.

How do you make yours stand out?