The Wesley Historical Society has announced a new prize competition for essays on any topic involving the history of Methodism in the British Isles. The competition is being held in association with the Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History, Oxford Brookes University. Two prizes of up to £175 will be awarded, one for a Sixth Form pupil, and one for an undergraduate studying for a first degree. Where the standard of entries merits it, the prize money may be split.
Entries will be judged by a panel of historians of Methodism overseen by the Society’s President, Professor Edward Royle of the University of York. The judges are looking for essays which are well argued and presented, show an understanding of the values of Methodism, place Methodism firmly within its historical setting, and offer reflections with some relevance to present-day life in the British Isles.
Timetable: the competition opens for submissions on 1 June 2020, and closes on 1 October. The Society aims to announce the winner(s) on the Society’s website by 31 December.
Eligibility: for the Sixth Form prize, any pupil studying full-time in a Sixth Form in the UK at the time of entry; for the undergraduate prize, any undergraduate studying at a UK university. Competitors must be resident in the UK at the date of submission of their entry.
Number of entries: Only one entry is permitted per person.
Essay length: entries should be 1,500-2,500 words long, including footnotes, but excluding (required) bibliography.
Originality: each entry must be the original work of the entrant. All entries will be subject to checking for plagiarism, including by the use of Turnitin software. The Society recognises the difficulties of undertaking research in current circumstances, but there are rich resources available online, for example at these sites:
http://www.methodistheritage.org.uk/research-online-books.htm
Acknowledgement of receipt and feedback: the Society will acknowledge receipt of entries, but is unable to provide feedback on individual entries.
Publication: The winning essays(s) will be published in the Society’s Proceedings; at the judges’ discretion, other essays may be published on the Society’s website.
How to enter: the essay and cover sheet (downloadable from the Society’s website) should be submitted as three separate files, sent to cnorris@brookes.ac.uk and copied to the teacher, lecturer or tutor who certifies the originality of the work. The cover sheet should be in PDF format, and the essay in both Word and PDF.
Enquiries: Please direct all enquiries concerning the competition to: Dr Clive Norris, Competition Secretary, at cnorris@brookes.ac.uk
Westminster College Oxford - Research 
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