The 2025 Brandon Langhjelm Essay Contest 

Criteria and Guidelines 

Please review your eligibility for the contest and follow all the guidelines in this document. Essays that violate these guidelines will be disqualified. 

Eligibility 

• Contestants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or be able to provide proof of immigration status.
• Contestants must be aged 15-25 at time of contest deadline. Age verification will be required for all winning contestants. 
• The Justice Centre will not accept submissions from its directors, employees, representatives, or their immediate family and household members. 

Length 

• Essays should be at least 1,200 words but should not exceed 1,500 words.  
• The word count does not apply to footnotes or to bibliography.  
• The word count must be included on the submitted document.

Formatting 

• Essay should contain a title page that includes (1) the essay title, (2) word count, and (3) submission date
• Essays should not contain any personal, identifying information about the contestant (e.g., their name, email address, or gender). Essays containing such information will be disqualified
• Essays should contain a clearly marked (1) introduction, (2) body (and/or body subheadings), (3) conclusion, and (4) bibliography.
• Essays should be double-spaced with (a minimum of) one-inch margins
• Any font is acceptable (Times New Roman is preferred)

Sources 

• Essays should use a variety of sources – academic journals, news sources, magazines, books, government documents, or publications from think tanks and research organizations.
• At least three of the cited materials should be primary sources (i.e., not a second-hand account of a primary source).
• General non-academic encyclopedias (including Wikipedia) are not acceptable sources. Any citations to general encyclopedias in the footnotes or bibliography will result in deductions.
• Expert-reviewed and specialized encyclopedias such as the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (REP), and Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) are good as secondary
• If you are unsure if your source is acceptable, it is best to exclude it.

Citations

• Contestants must submit an original essay. By submitting an essay, contestants acknowledge that the material is original and their own.
• All sources should be properly cited. (The Justice Centre has no citation style preference. However, whatever style is used must be used consistently and properly.)
• Essays that contain plagiarism (use someone else’s work without properly citing them) will be automatically disqualified.
• Essays will also be monitored for the use of AI. Essays that were generated with AI will be automatically disqualified.