Marianne Talbot Student Essay Competition

The Philosophical Society (PhilSoc) instituted the Marianne Talbot Essay Competition in the Hilary term 2012. Marianne Talbot, our President Emerita and renowned author, is a retired Director of Studies in Philosophy at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education. The Competition's objective is to promote a serious interest in philosophy by encouraging and stimulating students who participate in Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) philosophy on-line courses and weekly attended classes.

Entry for the Competition is very simple, since all a student needs to do is submit an essay of maximum length 1,500 words already written as part of required coursework. The full rules governing the termly essay prize and submission are found HERE.

Each term, all prize-winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd prize) will receive diplomas and cash prizes (£50, £30 and £20) donated by the Philosophical Society: Oxford. They will also be awarded one year's free membership of Philsoc, and their essays will be published here on the Philsoc website. The essay winning 1st prize will also appear in Philsoc's prestigious Annual Review, a copy of which is one of the benefits of PhilSoc membership. All prize-winners will receive private comments on their essays from the judges.

OUDCE holds many qualifying philosophy courses in a term. To win a place in the Competition is quite an achievement! The essays will be judged by philosophically well-qualified members of The Philosophical Society who do not know the identity of the authors, only the titles of the courses they are pursuing.

Submission deadlines
Michaelmas Term: 15 February Hilary Term: 15 June Trinity Term: 30 September

Judges' Guidelines

Click HERE to see the important Judges' Guidelines. They explain both what we are looking for and what we are hoping not to see in the essays we mark.

All submitters must take note of the Society's AI and plagiarism policy.