The Reasoning Commons Essay Competition

The Reasoning Commons Essay Competition invites students to examine what they believe, and how they came to believe it.

It is neither a test of scientific knowledge nor a competition in literary style. Its purpose is to recognise careful reasoning: the ability to examine a claim critically, weigh evidence fairly, consider competing arguments, and draw conclusions that are proportionate to what can reasonably be known.

Every entry is read anonymously and judged on the quality of its reasoning rather than the position it defends. Judges look for essays that examine questions carefully, engage fairly with competing views, distinguish evidence from assertion, and hold their conclusions with as much confidence as the evidence supports. Agreement with the judges is neither expected nor rewarded.

The inaugural edition is open to students of Classes 11 and 12 studying at schools across Sonitpur district, Assam. Entry is free.

Schools, junior colleges and colleges across Sonitpur district that would like to take part are welcome to register an expression of interest by writing to founder@thereasoningcommons.org, and we will be glad to discuss participation.

This year's
topic

The competition sets a single essay topic each year. This year's topic, with a note and suggested reading, is below.

Essay Topic

Does relying on AI to think for us strengthen human thought, or weaken the abilities it replaces?

Note

Every major intellectual tool has changed the way people think. Writing reduced the need to remember everything. The calculator changed how we do arithmetic. The search engine changed how we find things out. Artificial intelligence goes further, taking on tasks such as summarising, analysing, coding and writing. Does handing over this work free us for deeper thought, or does it slowly weaken the abilities it takes over? The answer may depend on which mental skill you have in mind, how often it is handed off, and whether leaning on a tool changes what we do, and also how we learn to think in the first place.

Suggested reading

  • Nicholas Carr, Is Google Making Us Stupid? (The Atlantic, 2008): The best-known statement of the case that digital tools erode attention, memory and deep reading.
  • Clay Shirky, Why Abundance Is Good: A Reply to Nick Carr (2008): The counter-case, arguing that new tools expand what the mind can do rather than diminish it. Read alongside Carr.
  • Plato, Phaedrus (the myth of Theuth) : An ancient argument that writing would weaken memory. Two pages, and strikingly familiar.
  • Vannevar Bush, As We May Think (The Atlantic, 1945): The optimistic case that machines can extend the mind rather than replace it.
  • Recent research on cognitive offloading and AI: look for peer-reviewed studies published since 2023 on how relying on AI tools affects memory, learning and judgement. Treat the findings with care, and note how tentative the evidence still is on either side.

All reading is optional and freely available online. It is there to help you explore the wider debate, not to be copied from. Do not reproduce or closely paraphrase these sources, or pass off their arguments as your own. Read them, think for yourself, and write in your own words. Essays are judged on the quality of their reasoning, not on the number of sources they cite.

A note on using AI

The topic is about artificial intelligence, so the rule about it deserves to be stated plainly. You may read widely about these systems and write about them freely, but you may not use them to produce your essay. Generating, drafting, rewriting or editing any part of the submission with an AI tool is not permitted, and an entry found to have been produced this way will be disqualified. The thinking and the writing must be your own.

Submissionguidelines

Eligibility

Open to students of Classes 11 and 12 studying at a school in Sonitpur district, Assam, any stream, any board. The inaugural year is open to schools across the district, and we hope, in time, to widen the competition further. Entry is free. One essay per student.

Format

  • 1200–1500 words
  • Submitted as a PDF
  • Write for an intelligent general reader, in the register of a good magazine essay rather than a school assignment
  • Remove your name, school and all personal details from the PDF itself. Personal details are collected separately in the submission form
  • Cite your sources in any consistent style. Where you make a factual claim a reader might reasonably doubt, show where it came from

Original work

  • The essay must be entirely the entrant's own. Discussing ideas with others is welcome; another person writing any part of the essay is not
  • Every entry includes a signed declaration of original work

Use of AI

  • The use of artificial intelligence tools to generate, draft, rewrite or edit any part of an essay is prohibited. This applies to the whole of the submission, including its title, structure and references
  • The prohibition concerns the production of the essay, not its subject. Entrants are expected to write about these systems, and may read widely about them
  • An entry found to have been generated or edited by an AI tool will be disqualified

Theawards

First prize

₹5,000

with a book and a printed certificate

Second prize

₹3,000

with a book and a printed certificate

Third prize

₹2,000

with a book and a printed certificate

Prize money, books and printed certificates for the first three places are sent to the entrant's school, so that they may be presented there.

Every entrant who submits a complete entry receives a digital certificate of participation.

The fifteen strongest essays will be published as an anthology of the first edition, with the author's permission. Permission is sought in the submission form, and giving or withholding it has no bearing on the assessment of an entry.

How to enter,
step by step.

  1. Read the topic.There is one topic this year, and every entry answers it. The suggested reading is optional and freely available.
  2. Write the essay.Between 1200 and 1500 words, entirely your own work, prepared without the use of AI tools.
  3. Remove identifying details from the file.The PDF must carry no name, school or other identifying information.
  4. Complete the submission form.It collects your details, the declaration of original work and the essay itself. Entrants under eighteen provide the consent of a parent or guardian at this stage.
  5. Confirm receipt.An acknowledgement is sent by email. If it does not arrive, write to us before the deadline rather than after it.

Before you submit, check

Submissions will be open soon

Questionswe are asked

Who can enter, and does it cost anything?

Students of Classes 11 and 12 at a school in Sonitpur district, Assam, in any stream and under any board. Entry is free, and there is no charge at any stage.

When does it open and close?

To be announced. The submission window and the results date will be published on this page as soon as they are fixed.

Can I submit more than one essay?

No. There is one topic this year, and each student submits one essay in response to it. If more than one entry is received from the same student, only the first will be considered.

Do I have to read everything under Suggested reading?

No. All of the suggested reading is optional. It is there for anyone who wants a way in, and every item is free to access. A strong essay may draw on none of it, and no entrant is disadvantaged by not having read a particular book or article.

Can I use AI to help me write it?

No. Using AI tools to write, draft or edit the essay is not permitted. This is worth stating plainly given the topic: you may write about these systems, but the writing and the thinking must be yours.

Reading about the subject, including material these tools might point you towards, is of course fine. The line is between finding out and being written for.

Will the judges know who I am?

No. Your name, school and contact details are collected separately in the submission form and are kept apart from the essay. That is why the PDF itself must carry no identifying details.

Do my parents need to be involved?

If you are under eighteen, yes. Indian law requires the consent of a parent or lawful guardian before we can process your personal data, so the submission form asks for their details and their consent. Our privacy notice sets out exactly what we collect and why.

Can I withdraw my entry?

Yes. Write to us and we will withdraw the entry and delete the data we hold for it. If you withdraw while judging is under way, the essay cannot be considered.

Will my essay be published?

Only with your permission, which the submission form asks for. The fifteen strongest essays are collected in an anthology of the first edition. Withholding permission has no bearing on how an entry is assessed, and you keep the copyright in your work.