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The Bell Burnell Society is now welcoming entries for their annual Science Essay Competition. The competition is aimed at Sixth Form students (or equivalent), with a passion for science.

The Bell Burnell Society is a student-run society at Â鶹ÉäÇø, named in honour of our alumna and Honorary Fellow, Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell. As a postgraduate student, Bell Burnell discovered the first radio pulsars, which remains one of the most significant discoveries in astrophysics to date.

Britt Dewing, President of the Bell Burnell Society, announced the competition this week, noting that the society ‘encourages entries from interested students studying any combination of subjects at school, who are eager to develop and showcase their independent study and writing skills.’

The competition is designed to challenge students to think about science outside of the school curriculum. It is also a brilliant opportunity for those with an interest in both essay and science subjects to work in an interdisciplinary fashion. The essay competition encourages key skills, such as independent thinking and critical research, which are essential in University level study.

So how does the competition work?

Students select an essay question from a list of options, and write an essay between 1000 and 3000 words in length. This year possible essay topics include antibiotic resistance, quantum computers, GMOs, ageing, and deterministic and stochastic systems of the universe.

Please note that the deadline for essay submission is the 16th August 2024, 17:00 BST.

As well as a £50 prize for first place, and further prizes for second and third place, all students will receive a certificate of participation, and certain entries may be awarded certificates of ‘Distinction’ or ‘Merit’ to commend their work.

Full details can be found in the 3 attached documents at the top of this article. Please make sure to read all documents carefully before submitting your entry. 

Good Luck!

Top Tips

Some students may not have written a scientific essay before, so here are a few top tips from our STEM students to help you get started!

• Plan your essay before you start and use a structure that is clear, coherent,

and presents the information in an engaging way

• There is no need to meet the upper word limit — try to keep your points

concise and highlight key pieces of evidence, rather than telling us everything

you know about the topic

• Consider several different approaches to the question and try to include a

range of ideas in your essay

• Use reliable scientific sources to back up your claims, such as textbooks,

articles from New Scientist or the BBC News Science Section, and scientific

articles

• Feel free to use subheadings to help you structure your essay clearly

• You can use diagrams to illustrate key points — remember to include a

caption and refer to your diagram in the essay

• Include a list of references at the end of your essay and make sure you keep

your referencing style consistent — you can use this website as a guide:

• There is no need to cite facts from your AS/A level textbook

• Try to avoid colloquial language or a conversational tone

• Make sure your formatting is consistent throughout (for example, using the same font)

• Make sure you proofread your work before submitting!