Lessons from The Economist’s essay contest on climate change
By: The Economist
Tags: Writing, Essay Writing, Climate Change, Journalism

Lessons from The Economist’s essay contest on climate change

Reading a zillion essays numbs the mind. But poring over the vast volume teaches you a few things about how to write an article that stands out.

The Economist’s Open Future essay competition asked people between 16 and 25 years old to answer the question: “What fundamental economic and political change, if any, is needed for an effective response to climate change?”

Entrants had 1,000 words. (The shortest essay took just two: “Abolish capitalism”.) Nearly 2,400 people from 130 countries and territories participated. You can read the winning essay here, quotes from finalists’ essays here and excerpts from other essays here.

Overall the quality was high. The essays educated us, entertained us and occasionally moved us. However at other times, a special spark was missing. We cannot give feedback on individual essays, but several judges shared their thoughts on what it takes to stand out, and what to avoid.

Where essays fell short

Answer the question. Early. Clearly. In this case: what is the change you are advocating? Is it “fundamental?” Is it “economic and political?” The reader shouldn’t have to hunt to find it.

Don’t bother explaining what climate change is and why it’s bad — we probably know that already. No need to “clear your throat,” so to speak. Read our description of the essay question — but certainly don’t repeat it back to us.

Edit, edit, edit. Cut, cut, cut. “There is no such thing as writing, only rewriting,” an old adage goes. Some long paragraphs could have been written as a single, short sentence.

Will your answer work? Creativity and ambition are good, but so is pragmatism. Hypotheticals are fun, but realism gets you further.

Thou shalt not steal. It’s obvious when one plagiarises. It’s even more obvious when it’s from Wikipedia.

We asked for your ideas, not a summary of others’. Cite experts only if it’s relevant to your point; don’t try to impress by name-dropping. If you’re proposing something that already exists, tell us why it hasn’t worked in the past and why it would now.

Avoid lists. Take a single idea and support it with arguments. If you feel you must put forward more than one answer, go for a few (not 20!) and be sure to tie them together.

Don’t be trite. Avoid cliches like the devil. Don’t generalise if you can be specific or cite a fact.

Climate change is a global problem, so it needs a global solution. It’s great to use a local or national solution, but explain how it can be applied more globally. Though America is an important actor, it’s not alone.

Balance ideas with their expression. An essay can’t rely exclusively on good writing or good argumentation; it needs both.

The ending is important and should follow from what preceded it. In many entries, the conclusion took a different turn or adopted a new voice. This confuses rather than impresses.

Where essays stood out

Be original. Consider how others may answer the question — and do something else. Strive for a novel idea. Let us hear your unique voice. Within reason and with care, experiment with the format and style.

Catch us with the first sentence. A gripping introduction will keep readers in.

Identify what’s wrong with common thinking. Find something overlooked. Undermine something that’s overrated. Defend something with a bad reputation. Tell us what you see that others don’t, and we’ll be inclined to trust you to tell us what will work.

Personal stories make the ideas come alive. They blend the analytical with the emotional, for memorable prose. But be sure they are directly related to your argument.

Know your audience. The archetypal reader isn’t a teacher or fellow student, but a thoughtful generalist. Essays that advanced through the rounds were positioned this way.

Research. Familiarise yourself with the issue before commenting on it. It was a problem when old ideas were presented as if new. The best essays built on past ideas to speak more convincingly about the future.

When citing experts, be distinctive. Choose extraordinary ones we may not have heard of, or say something new about the ones we have. But don’t be the 800th person to evoke the Green New Deal or Greta Thunberg unless you’re saying something unmissably shrewd.

Good essays take the reader from one place to another. As with a film, elegant cuts between close-ups and long shots give more depth and texture, and keep the audience interested, curious for more.

After reading hundreds of essays over six weeks, the judges’ minds were not entirely numbed; they were also enriched. A jury of 16 people evaluated the entries in four phases: initial review; agreeing on a long-list of 20 finalists; choosing a shortlist of six essays and picking a winner. Discovering young people’s ideas on how to solve a crucial global problem was inspiring. All the judges want to thank the participants for that.