Competitions · Humanities and writing · Social Justice Awards
The Social Justice Awards.
Two age tracks with different rules: under twenty may answer in writing, art or speech; under fifteen answers in writing. Open to any student, in any country, at any school.
Read this first
Two tracks, and they do not offer the same options.
The age split is not just about difficulty - the younger track has fewer ways to answer.
Under twenty: writing, art or speech
Entrants who are twenty or under on the submission deadline choose a set topic and answer it in any of the three forms.
Under fifteen: writing only
The Junior track sets its own topics and asks for a written response. Art and speech are not options there.
Any country, any school
There is no restriction on nationality or on the type of school attended. Age at the submission deadline is the only condition.
And you must use a set topic
Every entrant chooses one of the published topics as their subject. This is not an open-brief competition.
At a glance
The essentials.
The Social Justice Awards are run by Social Justice Watcher, a youth non-profit, as a public-interest project encouraging young people to notice social inequality and to think about changing it through their own action - expressed in writing, speech or art.
- Who can enter
- Young people from any country and any school
- Senior track
- Aged 20 or under on the submission deadline
- Junior track
- Aged 15 or under on the submission deadline
- How you answer
- Senior: writing, art or speech. Junior: writing
- Topics
- Set each season, and every entrant must choose one
- Written work
- Narrative or essay of 600 to 2,000 words, or poetry of no more than 80 lines
- Art work
- Any medium. Video is submitted as a link; other work as a PDF
- Artist’s statement
- Required for art entries - at least 100 words, in English
- Speech and media
- Uploaded as a Word document containing the link to the recording and a statement about the work
- Anonymity
- Do not include your name, home address or any other personal information in the text
- Originality
- Required. Quotations need in-text citation and a bibliography. Plagiarism means immediate disqualification
- Deadline
- Early April, 23:59 US Eastern
What to submit, by form
Three routes, three sets of requirements.
The format rules differ enough that the choice of form should be made before the work starts.
| Form | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Writing | A narrative or essay of 600 to 2,000 words, or poetry of no more than 80 lines. Original, with citations and a bibliography for anything quoted, and no personal information in the text |
| Art | Any medium, submitted as a PDF - or as a link if it is video. An English artist’s statement of at least 100 words is required. Quoted material needs citation and a bibliography |
| Speech and media | Uploaded as a Word document. For a recorded piece - photography, video, a spoken performance - create a Word file, insert the link and the statement about the work, and submit that |
The Word-document-with-a-link arrangement is unusual and worth reading twice. The file you upload is a container for the link and the statement, not the work itself.
The awards
Four tiers, plus a grand prize in each category.
The structure recognises a reasonable number of entrants and reserves one award per category for the strongest.
First, second and third prizes
Awarded across the entries, alongside a shortlist award for work that reaches a standard without placing.
A grand prize in each category
One Social Justice Award grand prize per category, and one Junior Prize. These are the narrow awards.
The grand prize carries cash
Awarded by Social Justice Watcher. Ask the organiser for the current amount.
And selected work is published
Some winning entries are published on the organiser’s website, in its Voice and Gallery sections, where past winners can also be read.
Preparation
How Hanlin prepares an entry.
A set topic, a free choice of form and a low barrier to entry. The work is in having something specific to say.
Choosing the topic honestly
Every entrant answers one of the published topics. The one the student already has a view about will produce better work than the one that sounds most important.
Choosing the form the student is best at
For the senior track, writing, art and speech are equally valid. A student who speaks well should speak.
Reading past winners first
They are published in the Voice and Gallery sections of the organiser’s site, which makes calibrating the standard straightforward.
And writing the artist’s statement properly
A hundred words minimum for an art entry, in English. It is where the judges learn what the work is arguing, and it is often written carelessly at the last minute.
Why Hanlin
Preparation for Social Justice Awards at Hanlin is taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
Programme formats
Five ways this is taught.
Group size is the whole difference between these. It decides how much of the tutor's attention a student gets and how far the course can bend to them, so it is worth choosing rather than accepting.
| Format | Group size | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-to-one | One student | Content, pace and emphasis set by what this student actually needs rather than by a syllabus. The only format that can be rebuilt mid-course. |
| Small group | Three to eight | Opens at three. Frequent discussion, and the tutor can slow down or move on according to what the group has absorbed. Most students chasing a higher award are taught in this one. |
| Class | Eight to twelve | Taught by the subject lead or a medal coach. Less back-and-forth, so it suits a student who will say when something is unclear. |
| Large class | Ten to twenty | For students in the middle of the placement range, and a way to try a competition before committing. Students often move to a small group or to one-to-one afterwards. |
| Past-paper class | No cap | Past papers worked through in sequence in the weeks before the sitting. Free to students already enrolled. |
Course length for Social Justice Awards is set after a placement paper. The gap between where a student is and what the paper asks for is what the course has to close, and that gap is not the same for two students in the same year group.
How it runs
Six steps, four people on your side.
The same process for every student, so that nothing depends on one tutor remembering to do it.
Step 1Pre-course assessment
A placement paper before anything is booked, so the course tier is chosen on evidence rather than on a year group.
Step 2Tutor matching
A subject tutor is matched to the result, and their full background is provided before you agree to it.
Step 3Plan and group
A study group opens with four people on one student: the tutor, a planner, a supervisor and an academic manager.
Step 4Scheduled teaching
The teaching office sets the timetable around the competition date and school term, and teaching begins.
Step 5After-class reports
What was covered, and how the student handled it, reported after every lesson.
Step 6Homework follow-up
The teaching assistant and the form teacher both check that homework is done, which is where most preparation quietly fails.
Free resource pack
Past questions and writing pack
The same material our own Social Justice Awards students work from. Scan the code, say what you need, and an advisor sends it.
Tell an advisor which competition and year group, and the material comes back the same day. Free, and you do not have to enrol in anything. If we do not already hold what you need, we will go and find it.
- PDFEvery past question the competition has set
- PDFShortlisted and published essays, to calibrate the standard
- PDFStructure, referencing and word-count guide
- PDFEntry checklist and the dates for the current cycle
Teaching team
Who would teach it.
Three of the twenty-two tutors on the published Hanlin roster - the ones whose subject this is.
Lu
Master's in education from the University of Pennsylvania and a double major in psychology and philosophy at Mount Holyoke. Cross-cultural teaching experience across China and the US, with research work in child and adolescent development, cognition, and international students' identity.
Yang
Educated at American Heritage School, then English literature and philosophy at the University of British Columbia and a master's in language education at Toronto. Eleven years in North America, with a close working knowledge of the international curricula and overseas admissions.
Zhang
Master's in cognitive science at UC San Diego on full scholarship, after double honours in neurobiology and behaviour and in cognitive science at UC Davis. Ten years overseas, a perfect TOEFL speaking score, and named an outstanding education scholar at UCSD.
Student results
What Hanlin students got.
Taken from Hanlin's published record of student honours and rewritten in English. Figures are as the organisers reported them.
Social Justice Awards
- 2025Shortlisted in the writing division
The full record, across every subject and year, is on the student honours page.
Where it is taught
Hanlin learning centres.
Teaching runs from Hanlin's own centres in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hangzhou, and online for students elsewhere.
Talk to an advisor
Everything Hanlin does for Social Justice Awards, in one conversation.
Entry, planning, coaching and the past papers. An advisor will tell you which of these a student actually needs, including when the answer is none of them.
Competition entry and planning
Which competitions suit this student, in what order, and by when - then we handle the registration, including the ones that can only be entered through a school or a centre.
Competition coaching
Taught by full-time subject tutors, on a course tier chosen by placement paper rather than by year group.
International curriculum tutoring
IB, AP, A-Level, IGCSE and the US high school curriculum, taught alongside school and timed around the exam calendar.
Competition past papers, free
A large library of past papers, mark schemes and syllabus breakdowns across every competition on this site. No charge and no enrolment.
Scan to add an advisor
Say which competition or course you are asking about. Replies in Chinese or English.
Or call +86 21 6352 6630FAQ
The Social Justice Awards, briefly answered.
What students and families ask before entering.
Who can enter?
Young people from any country and any school. The senior track is for entrants aged 20 or under on the submission deadline, and the junior track for those aged 15 or under.
What forms can I use?
Senior entrants may answer in writing, art or speech. Junior entrants answer in writing.
Do I choose my own subject?
No. Topics are set each season and every entrant must choose one of them as the subject of their work.
How long can written work be?
A narrative or essay of 600 to 2,000 words, or poetry of no more than 80 lines.
How do I submit art or a video?
Art is submitted as a PDF, or as a link if it is video, with an English artist’s statement of at least 100 words. For speech and recorded media, create a Word document containing the link and your statement about the work, and upload that.
Should my name be in the text?
No. Do not include your name, home address or any other personal information in the work itself.
What are the rules on originality?
The work must be your own. Anything quoted needs an in-text citation and a bibliography, and plagiarism results in immediate disqualification.
When is the deadline?
Early April, at 23:59 US Eastern time.
What can you win?
First, second and third prizes and a shortlist award, plus one grand prize in each category and a Junior Prize. The grand prize carries a cash award - ask the organiser for the current amount.
Where can I see past winners?
On the organiser’s website, in its Voice and Gallery sections.
Related
Other writing and art competitions.
What students enter alongside this one.
Social Justice Awards enquiries
Any school, any country, and three ways to answer.
The barriers here are low and the topics are set, so the work is in having a specific view rather than a general concern. Tell us what the student notices and an advisor will help find the topic and the form.