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Student Excels in Essay Competition
17 May 2024
A Year 12 student has succeeded in becoming a finalist in a prestigious essay writing competition. Ecaterina, who studies English Literature, Business Studies and Religious Studies at A Level, entered the Northeastern University Essay Competition earlier this academic year.
The Northeastern University Essay Competition is open to all students in the Year 12 English Education system and in Grade 11 in India. They accept entries from all over the world and give out cash prizes of up to £1,000.
Ecaterina said: ‘Initially, I signed up to the competition to experience what the process would be like and I didn’t expect it to be so simple. The competition provides individual set questions for 10 subjects like English, Economics, Law and Philosophy. I chose to participate in the English category and the question my essay was based upon was: “Is it fair to say that English Literature is another name for language which has no practical use?”
The first step I took was to highlight whether or not I agreed with the statement. I started off with the definition of ‘English Literature’ and then proposed my arguments of why I think that English Literature is very practical. However, I proposed the idea ‘why does English literature have to be practical?’ and focused my essay on how it can be practical but also how it can just be enjoyable.’
Ecaterina then had a long wait of several months before finding out her essay had been selected as one of the top 12% of entries and that she’d made it as a finalist, beating more than 4,000 others.
Ecaterina said: ‘Overall, this competition allowed me to expand my horizons on the true meaning of English Literature; it reaffirmed my passion for the subject and gave me confidence in my writing skills.’
Well done, Ecaterina!
