2013 International Science Essay Competition for High School Students

ELIGIBILITY: This contest is open to high school (secondary school) students from all over the world.

RULES AND REGULATIONS: All high school students and international equivalents are invited to submit an essay about the recent effects and future promises of science in our society. Write about particular discoveries, events, or persons from science in current events or present a more general account of the changes and developments. Each essay must be accompanied by a statement of acknowledged validity by a teacher in the field of the sciences, technology, engineering or mathematics.


2013 ISEC Prompt:
Scientific dilemmas today occur on a global stage and require international cooperation. Please choose one pressing scientific issue and explain: the problem as it exists today, the point it can reach before action must be taken, some potential courses of action to combat the problem, and the global implications of solving or avoiding the issue.
Topic suggestions include, but are not limited to: alternative energy sources, global climate change, increased rate of species extinction, and development of extreme weather conditions. Note that judges look favorably on unique topics.

No literary form other than an essay will be accepted.
Each essay must reflect the contestant’s own writing and original thinking.
No graphs, images, or illustrations should be included in the essay
All essays must comply with the following contest rules before submission:

Each contestant may submit only one (1) essay.
Each contestant must complete, scan, and attach a student entry form
Teachers must verify and sign the verification of authenticity on the student entry form.
The essay is limited to 1500 – 2000 words, 12-point font, double-spaced, Times
New Roman, numbered pages with one-inch margins. The title page and works cited sections are not included in the word count.
The Student Entry Form should be scanned and saved as a .pdf, .jpeg, or .pngfile.
Each essay must include a title page, not counted towards the 1500-2000 word limit, with the following information:
Essay title
Author’s name
Author’s grade
Author’s email
Name of school
School address
School telephone number
Total number of pages of essay (excluding references and title)
Name of supervising teacher
Email of supervising teacher
The title of the essay and the page number MUST appear on header of every page of essay text.
References should be included and clearly identified.
No images should be included
Any references and citations used must follow APA citation format
If you have chemical structures in your article, please take note of the American Chemical Society (ACS)’s specifications of the diagrams.
Name submission in the following format: ISEC_LastName_Topic.docx
Example: ISEC_Johnson_ScienceandSociety.docx
The essay must be sent via e-mail to dujs@dartmouth.edu with the subject line “DUJS ISEC SUBMISSION.” It must be attached to the email in conjunction with the essay. 

PRIZE: The author of the winning essay will receive a $150 monetary award in addition to having their winning essay published in the Fall 2013 print issue of Journal. In addition, three runner-ups will be selected. The winning and runner-up essays will be featured on the Journal website at http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/.

The winner and the runner-ups will receive a certificate and a print copy of the Fall 2013 issue of the Journal.
For essay examples from last year’s winners, please click here


HOW TO APPLY: The essay must be sent via e-mail to dujs@dartmouth.edu with the subject line “DUJS ISEC SUBMISSION.” It must be attached to the email in conjunction with the essay.

DEADLINE: September 30, 2013