Research Paper Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A teachers-only written competition in which a school teacher submits an original research paper of 2,500 to 3,000 words on media policies, contemporary media challenges and the impact of digitalisation, referenced in the Harvard style.

Research Paper is the one competition in a national school media-literacy programme in Sri Lanka that students cannot enter. Every other item is for pupils or for whole schools; this one, called Best Research Paper, is conducted exclusively for teachers of government, semi-government, private and international schools. It is an open competition, so there are no age categories, and a paper may be written in Sinhala, Tamil or English.

The brief is narrow and fixed. Every paper must be written under one theme: media policies, contemporary media challenges and the impact of digitalisation. The paper must run to no fewer than 2,500 and no more than 3,000 words, references and citations must follow the Harvard Referencing Style, and it must follow the fundamental structure of a standard research paper. Each paper also needs a title that suits its subject.

Presentation is specified down to the front page. Immediately below the title, in 10-point type, the researcher states their name, designation, school, e-mail address and telephone number. The paper is typewritten, and the programme’s general conditions on typing and format apply to it as they do to every entry.

Two conditions protect the fairness of the contest. The paper must not have been submitted to any other competition before, so a paper that has already won or been entered elsewhere is out. And it must be the entrant’s own original work: if it is established even after the results are announced that it is not, the award is withdrawn. A participant may send in at most two papers.

For an organiser this is a document-review item rather than a staged event. Nobody performs; each teacher sends one file, and a panel reads it. Entries are made by e-mail only, with a completed teachers’ application form, and, as with the other competitions in the programme, winners are chosen separately for each language in which papers are received. The programme prints no marks and no points for the places, so the template installs the item with a default maximum of 100 marks and a coordinator can change it.

Where Research Paper is run

In eTalenter’s data the exact title Research Paper, as a teachers-only written item, is carried by one template: a Sri Lankan national school media-literacy competition run by a government information department. It sits beside nine student and school items (short story, screenplay, photography, broadcast, short film, school magazine, radio, Facebook page and YouTube channel). This page describes only that edition and does not claim that the item is used elsewhere; research-paper contests for educators exist in many education systems, but their rules differ.

• Sri Lanka

Key facts

• Individual entry, open to both genders, for teachers of government, semi-government, private and international schools only. Students and school teams cannot enter this item.
• Open competition: no age categories and no language medium restriction. Papers may be written in Sinhala, Tamil or English.
• Length: no fewer than 2,500 and no more than 3,000 words. The theme is fixed: media policies, contemporary media challenges and the impact of digitalisation.
• Harvard Referencing Style for references and citations; the researcher’s name, designation, school, e-mail address and telephone number go directly under the title in 10-point type.
• At most two papers per participant; a paper must not have been submitted to any other competition before, and must be the entrant’s own original work or the award is withdrawn.
• Entries are made by e-mail only, with the teachers’ application form. No marks or place points are printed; the template installs 100 marks by default.
• Idea starters, not rules: how a school’s own media policy on phones and social media shapes classroom life; verifying online information, a classroom case study; screen time and reading habits in one grade band; community radio or school bulletins as a media-literacy tool; how digital notices and messaging groups change school-parent communication.

On eTalenter, Research Paper is filed under Creative Writing and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Research Paper is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Research Paper

What a Research Paper panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• The programme prints no marks and no criteria for the paper, so what follows is what a panel can reasonably weigh from the rules that are printed: fit to the theme, research quality, structure, referencing, originality and clarity of writing.
• Fit to the theme: the paper has to address media policies, contemporary media challenges and the impact of digitalisation. A paper that wanders into general educational technology, or covers media only in passing, answers a different question and loses ground.
• Research substance: a standard research paper states a question, explains how the evidence was gathered or which sources were read, presents findings and draws conclusions from them. Opinion without evidence, or a collection of quotations without analysis, is where such papers are weakest.
• Structure: the rules require the fundamental structure of a standard research paper. A clear introduction, method or approach, findings or discussion and conclusion, with headings a reader can follow, shows the panel the paper is built, not just written.
• Referencing: Harvard style is a stated requirement. Consistent in-text citations that match a complete reference list show care, and missing, inconsistent or unchecked references are an easy way to lose credibility.
• Originality and compliance: the paper must be the teacher’s own work and must not have been entered anywhere else. Anything that looks copied, or that falls outside 2,500 to 3,000 words, is a risk, because an award can be withdrawn even after the results are announced.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Research Paper under Scoring Setup, or start from how judge scoring and tabulation works on etalenter.

How to prepare for Research Paper

How entrants and their teachers usually get Research Paper right on the day:

• Read the rules before choosing a topic. Note the theme wording, the 2,500 to 3,000 word range, Harvard referencing, the front-page details line and the two-paper limit, and keep them in front of you as a checklist.
• Narrow the theme to a question you can answer with evidence in 3,000 words, for example one school’s mobile-phone policy, how pupils check an online claim, or how a school’s messaging groups work, rather than ‘digitalisation in education’.
• Collect evidence that is genuinely yours: a short pupil or parent survey, classroom observations, interviews with colleagues, or a review of a handful of published sources. Keep your notes and data, because original work is the one condition that can cost an award later.
• Plan the structure before writing: introduction and question, background reading, method, findings, discussion and conclusion, with a rough word budget for each. Write the draft in the language you teach or research in and aim for about 2,800 words, leaving room to trim.
• Keep a reference list as you read. Use the Harvard style throughout, check every in-text citation against the list, and make sure each source is one you have actually used.
• Set up the front page exactly as printed: title, then in 10-point type your name, designation, school, e-mail address and telephone number. Count the words of the body, not the notes, before you finalise.
• Ask a colleague to read the draft for clarity and structure, and check it has not been entered in another competition. Then complete the teachers’ application form, send it with the paper by e-mail, and keep a copy of what you sent and when.

Frequently asked questions

Is Research Paper judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Who can enter the Research Paper competition?

Only teachers of government, semi-government, private and international schools. It is conducted exclusively for teachers, and students cannot enter it.

What is the theme and how long must the paper be?

The theme is media policies, contemporary media challenges and the impact of digitalisation. The paper must be no fewer than 2,500 and no more than 3,000 words.

Which language can the paper be written in?

Sinhala, Tamil or English. The competition is open irrespective of language medium.

Can I enter a paper I have already submitted elsewhere?

No. A paper that has previously been submitted to any other competition is not allowed, and the paper must be the entrant’s own original work or the award can be withdrawn, even after the results.

How many papers can one teacher send?

At most two research papers per participant.

How is the Research Paper judged?

The programme prints no marks or criteria. Panels weigh fit to the theme, research quality, structure, referencing and originality, and the template installs 100 marks by default with First, Second and Third Places and Certificates of Merit. A coordinator can change the maximum marks.

Want the full judging picture? Read how judge scoring and tabulation works on etalenter, or browse every creative writing competition item.