As the weather changes and with the vuelta al cole well underway, it is always a great seasonal pleasure to read the BAS/UoG Sixth Form Essay Competition submissions. For not only do they function as a cultural barometer of sorts, but they offer a vibrant insight into the concerns, interests and viewpoints of a new young generation of hispanists.
This year’s offering was no exception, going from strength to strength with a broad spectrum of original topics from Spain and Latin America, made all the more interesting due to their essentially extra-curricular aspect. Students wrote about what intrigues, infuriates or impassions them, often within a clear interdisciplinary framing.
The breadth and originality of topics was awe-inspiring, from Bad Bunny to Chile’s La Cueca Sola, through Borges, Matute and the Spanish Republican Left to cholera epidemics and women’s rights. Entrants’ personal investment in their topics was strong and, once again, the very best offerings focused on a clear question or discursive aspect in their title which warded off any tendency towards a narrative or fact-based tract. A few entries came without titles, which is not an advantage; on the plus side, nearly all stayed within the prescribed word length.
The top entries stand out through their attention to detail: tight editing, elegant expression, dynamic language, focus on the question, depth of ideas and rhetorical devices – all strategies to hold the readers’ attention and make them feel involved.
Very well done to our winner, Ella Johnston, and to the four highly commended and ten commended entries, all of whom have received certificates attesting to their achievement. In this edition you can read Ella’s entry, and two other highly commended essays by Barney Venables and Sofia Anya Shah. All three are published unedited, other than the BAS’s choice of illustrations.
More broadly, congratulations to all who took part, and their ‘support teams’. We understand that every submission represents a deal of hard work, probably during entrants’ summer holidays…. All have been offered the chance to develop their essays further in coming months, working with BAS editors towards a publishable draft. We look forward to seeing some of them in print in due course.
A word about large language models (LLMs): they are designed to make your expression error-free in terms of grammar (though not always in terms of fact), but they tend to hollow it out in terms of expression and depth. In the end, if you follow their suggestions exclusively you will often be led to write something that is clear but dull and void of depth. The end product is usually less memorable and less dynamic. Our own thoughts are full of detail that enriches our expression and makes for more engaging writing. We make this point because a number of essays were well written but lacked personal engagement and the tight focus needed to make an impact on the reader.
Like the juez instructor in Crónica de una muerte anunciada, our judging panel made a number of jottings that our readers – present and future – may find helpful.
Favourable comments included:
thought-provoking, engaging, informed, judicious and balanced
close textual knowledge and exegesis
use of secondary source with a thoughtful consideration of the ‘bigger picture’
an informed interrogation of the current situation and possible future outcomes and solutions
‘newsworthy’ events seen through the lens of the Spanish-speaking world
some nice conclusions drawn regarding justice, social appearance and mental health. We particularly liked the popular-culture inspiration of this submission
a judicious and balanced treatment of cause and effect within the global context
well-researched with relevant secondary sources and a mature handling of social issues and demographics.
a highly original and ambitious essay which demonstrates a developing undergraduate mindset
nice use of the imperative in establishing a connection with the reader
well organised and thoughtful treatment of a very current issue – comprehensive and balanced
good primary source deconstruction and broader historical contextual analysis
a thought-provoking essay which explores the country’s transformation from a political and cultural perspective, nicely interspersed with personal anecdotes
More nuanced compliments:
an interesting if slightly chaotic essay, with some real nuggets of erudition and mature exegesis
the academic tenor of the essay’s thesis serves to elevate it, albeit with the obvious lack of primary source examples
a thought-provoking interrogation of an ambitiously broad topic
Occasionally even the judges have to put it out there…:
tended to the narrative – more helpful cultural references would have enlivened the text
has the feel of an A-level Paper 2 essay from the syllabus: lacking in the kind of imagination for which this competition offers scope
let down by some careless errors / typos in Spanish
some punctuation / presentation irritation
some dubious conclusions
overly factual / narrative due to the vagueness of the title
commentary was unsubstantiated in places
an interesting if somewhat pedestrian ramble through the topic. Entire parts did seem lifted from an internet source…
May all your essays be commended in the year ahead.
Bulletin of Advanced Spanish 