Autumn 2026 round · Free to enter
The Research Question Prize
Most bad research fails at the question, not the writing. This competition asks you to find a question in your subject that is asked badly, and ask it better.
The prompt
Identify a question in your subject that you believe is badly asked. Explain what is wrong with it. Then ask it better, and show why your version could actually be answered.
Under 1,000 words. Any subject. The question can come from a textbook, a news article, a paper, a class debate, or your own head.
This prompt was chosen because it is difficult to fake. A general essay prompt rewards students who write fluently about anything. This one requires you to know a subject well enough to see where its questions go wrong, which is the same skill that separates a research project that works from one that stalls in week four.
It is also, deliberately, hard for a language model to answer well. Ask one and you will get a competent, general answer that names no specific source and takes no real position. That is what a weak entry looks like.
Prizes
First
50% of the fee
up to $3,000
Half the fee for the ScholarBridge programme the winner chooses, up to $3,000.
Second
35% of the fee
up to $2,000
Thirty-five percent of the fee for the programme chosen, up to $2,000. One awarded per round.
Third
20% of the fee
up to $1,000
Twenty percent of the fee for the programme chosen, up to $1,000. The number awarded depends on the strength of the entries in that round.
Every award is a share of the fee, never the whole of it, so a place always remains partly funded by the family. The dollar figure is a ceiling on that share rather than an amount paid out: whichever is lower, the percentage or the ceiling, is what applies. Awards reduce the ScholarBridge programme fee only, are valid for twelve months from the date of the award, carry no cash value, cannot be transferred, and do not oblige the winner to enrol. Programme fees are confirmed at consultation.
How entries are judged
Is the original question actually flawed?
The strongest entries pick a question that sounds reasonable until you look closely. Choosing an obviously silly question makes the essay easy and uninteresting.
Is the new question answerable?
A rewritten question that is merely broader is not an improvement. We look for a question with a defined population, a defined variable, and a plausible route to evidence.
Does the reasoning hold?
The argument for why the original fails should survive a sceptical reader. Assertion without support scores poorly regardless of how well written it is.
Is the thinking the entrant's own?
We would rather read an uneven essay that is clearly a real person working something out than a polished one that could have been written about any subject by anyone.
Presentation is not a criterion. We are not scoring vocabulary, essay structure, or how much you have read. A clearly reasoned entry in plain language beats an ornate one.
Rules and dates
- Round
- Autumn 2026
- Opens
- 1 September 2026
- Closes
- 31 October 2026
- Results
- by 30 November 2026
- Length
- 1,000 words maximum, excluding references
- Eligibility
- Aged 14 to 18 at the closing date, any country
- Entry fee
- None
- One entry per student per round. The work must be the entrant's own and must not have been submitted for assessment elsewhere.
- Entrants under 18 need a parent or guardian to confirm the entry by email. We do not collect personal data beyond what is needed to judge and to reply.
- AI use must be declared and is limited to spelling and grammar. See the generative AI policy.
- Sources must be cited where used. Fabricated citations are treated as disqualifying rather than as a referencing error.
- Copyright remains with the entrant. By entering you give permission to publish your entry only if it places, and only with your confirmation at that point.
- Our safeguarding policy applies to all contact with entrants.
Frequently asked questions
Who can enter?
Students aged 14 to 18 at the closing date, in any country, in any school system, studying any subject. Entrants do not need to be ScholarBridge applicants and there is no expectation that they become one.
Is there an entry fee?
No. Entry is free and always will be. A competition that charges students to enter and then awards them a discount on the organiser's own product is a sales funnel, not a prize.
Can I use AI to write my entry?
You may use AI to check spelling and grammar, and you must say so. You may not use it to generate the argument, the structure, or the prose. Entries are read by people who read a great deal of student writing, and an entry we believe to be AI-generated is disqualified without appeal. Our full position is set out in the generative AI policy.
What happens to my essay?
Winning and commended entries are published on this site with the entrant's consent, credited by first name, year group, and country unless the entrant asks otherwise. Entries that do not place are not published, not shared, and not used for any other purpose. Copyright stays with the entrant throughout.
Does the scholarship cover the whole programme?
No, and that is deliberate. Each award covers a share of the fee, up to half of it for first place, and the family pays the remainder. We would rather fund a larger number of students partway than fund one student entirely, and a place that is partly paid for tends to be taken more seriously by everyone involved.
Do I have to accept the scholarship if I win?
No. There is no obligation to enrol, and declining the scholarship does not affect the prize itself. If a winner does enrol, the award reduces the programme fee and the usual consultation happens as it would for anyone.
How are entries judged?
Against the four published criteria, by ScholarBridge academic staff and mentors. Entries are read with names removed. Where a judge has any connection to an entrant, that judge does not read the entry.
When do I hear back?
All entrants are notified by 30 November 2026, whether or not they have placed. We do not leave unsuccessful entrants without a reply.
How to enter
Send your entry as a PDF or Word document to [email protected] with the subject line Research Question Prize, Autumn 2026.
Include your first name, age, year group or grade, country, and subject. If you are under 18, copy a parent or guardian into the email so they can confirm the entry. Do not put your name in the document itself, since entries are read with names removed.