John Locke Essay Competition Guide

3. Which student skills are evaluated by the John Locke Essay Competition?

• Basic knowledge of ideas and principles in philosophy, politics, economics, history, psychology, theology, or the law
• Mastery of fundamental writing structures and expertise in argumentative essay writing
• Autonomous thought, logical analysis techniques, and written persuasion

4. What is the argumentative essay’s basic organization?

An argumentative essay differs from other sorts in that it needs to have a simple, understandable structure, as well as a strong point of view and supporting evidence. We’ll use an essay from the John Locke Essay Competition in 2020 that won first place in the junior category as an example. The prompt was “Who should own your data? Whichever businesses you choose to share your data with, everyone, just you, or nobody?” You can access the essay’s link here.

An effective argumentative essay should have the following format:

Introductory paragraph:

This paragraph should give a general overview of the subject under debate and provide background information relevant to your argument.

Today, we produce unfathomable amounts of data, leading the OECD to call data a “key pillar of 21st-century growth.”[1] Legislators, politicians and the popular press have increasingly called for ownership of data.[2] 

Describe the discussion’s focus and provide background data on data ownership.

Ownership is generally defined as “full and complete control with recognised legal rights,” with legal discretion for the rightsholder to exploit, change, destroy, possess, exclude others from and transfer their property.[3] An ownership right for personal data does not currently exist in the legal statutes of any industrialized country.[4] Property laws intentionally exclude personal data from subject matter definitions and newly introduced regulatory frameworks do not specify data ownership.[5] [6]

Give a broad definition of the topic. The definition of ownership and the issue of data ownership that is not addressed by the ownership rule are covered by the author in this paragraph.

The thesis statement:

Here, students should state their position and the supporting evidence they will use to support it. The major arguments that will be covered in the body paragraphs should be introduced in the thesis statement, which should be a succinct exposition of your main point.

In 1893, Sir William Blackstone noted the human fascination with ownership, saying we desire “sole and despotic dominion … in total exclusion of rights of other individuals in the universe.”[7] In this case, that fascination detracts from the problems and solutions surrounding personal data today. An ownership right should not be created for data. To illustrate this, I shall explore the implications of assigning a data ownership right to corporations, everybody, individuals and then discuss why data should not be owned at all.

Give your opinion on the subject and the first supporting piece of evidence. In response to the question of who should own the data, the author said that data shouldn’t be held by businesses, people, or anybody else, as he detailed later in the body paragraph.

Body paragraph:

A body paragraph explains the primary arguments supporting your thesis. If you want to focus on three primary ideas, only one notion should be included in each body paragraph. To increase credibility and win readers’ trust, you can back up your arguments using examples, research, studies, statistics, and any other data. You can also raise competing arguments in the body paragraphs and explain why you disagree with them. The main goal of the argument is to express your viewpoint, justify the reader’s acceptance of it, and support any contrary claims with solid evidence.

The student offered four primary justifications in the winning essay for why businesses, people, and everyone else shouldn’t own data. He also talked about the effects of these entities owning the data.

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, you should restate your thesis and summarize your points. The hardest part of writing a conclusion is making it personal by inserting an anecdote or a personal experience that relates to the subject.

Today, policy makers must strike a balance between individual rights and extracting societal benefits of data. It is the subject of age-old philosophical debate; whether to prioritize a categorical imperative of privacy at the expense of utilitarian societal progress. Assigning data ownership to a single party means choosing a side, one side will inevitably lose out – sacrificing progress or privacy. Thankfully, reality does not reflect this simplistic trade-off. Ergo, legislators must continue to push for a sector-specific rights-based regulatory framework to complement existing efforts and forgo the need to legislate through assigning data ownership. Therefore, I believe, data should remain as is, res nullius – “property of no one.”

This is an excellent example of a conclusion because the author reiterates his original thesis—that data shouldn’t be held by anyone—as well as what would happen if you gave people control of their data.

5. What are the John Locke Essay Competition’s awards?

• Each subject category winner will get a scholarship for any John Locke Institute program worth $2000 (US dollars) as part of their prize.
• The author of the overall winning essay will receive a scholarship of $10,000 (USD) to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or gap year programs.
• The essays will be posted online by the Institute.
• Networking possibilities with judges and other John Locke Institute professors.

Each year, hundreds of students compete in the prestigious John Locke Essay Competition. If you plan to be part of them, we highly recommend you find out more about our Essay Counseling program by clicking here. We have specialized tutors who can help you write a compelling essay. Schedule your free trial now!