The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest – How to Win

The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest is a dream come true if you are a high school student who loves literature that explicitly addresses philosophical ideas. This competition gives young minds the chance to read Ayn Rand's 1957 dystopian novel, Atlas Shrugged and write an essay about it. Besides, winners and runner-ups are awarded substantial cash prizes totalling $ 25,000 and earn recognition for their writing, argumentative skills and ability to engage with the ideas expressed in the novel.

This post provides a short summary of the novel, details about the competition, and advice on how to write a winning essay.  

Atlas Shrugged: The Novel and the Author   

Atlas Shrugged is set in a future United States on the verge of economic and industrial collapse. This is due to extensive government control of the initiatives of businesses and creative citizens (scientists, artists, industrialists). The book’s main character, Dagny Taggart, grapples with the challenges of managing a railroad company amid the mounting pressure exercised by the government and its bureaucratic demands. 

Through its plot and characters, Atlas Shrugged enacts issues often addressed in philosophical inquiry such as the nature of human happiness, the value of laissez-faire capitalism, individualism and the limits of collectivism. The philosophical content of the novel is so dense because Ayn Rand saw herself not only as a novelist but also as a philosopher who conveyed her ideas through fiction. Her ideas now constitute a philosophy in its own right called ‘objectivism’. Objectivism has been highly controversial as a philosophy since it appears to value self-interest and individualism, rather than altruism and collectivism, as the key to human progress and happiness. It is, perhaps, due to objectivism’s controversial claims that Atlas Shrugged can generate new and original essays through the contest.   

Atlas Shrugged: The Contest

This essay contest is organised by the Ayn Rand Institute. Every three months, there is a new entry with predefined essay prompts (essay questions) about the philosophical ideas in the novel. Students from 9th grade through to graduate school can participate and they may compete in any or all of these entry rounds. The essays are judged for their grasp of the content and events represented in the novel, logicality and clarity of expression. While the novel's themes can be controversial, participants must remember that the judges will evaluate the strength of the essay’s argument. You are free to share a unique perspective, regardless of your philosophical leanings.

Submission deadlines change every year and are published on the contest’s official website. In the interim between submission and grading, candidates may be asked to attend an interview. Therefore, it is advisable to keep reviewing your essay and researching critical material about the novel after submission to identify potential questions. Alongside a cash prize, winners may be given the opportunity to participate in promotional activities, thus earning further recognition for their writing. 

The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest attracts a high volume of candidates every year. It is very competitive since the panel consists of high-profile academics and professionals who select only three winning essays among thousands of entries. Winners of this contest often attract the attention of selective colleges and universities because the contest champions the ability to analyse literary texts, engage with complex ideas, to develop convincing interdisciplinary arguments at the interface between literature and philosophy. For instance, winners from the 2022 edition were accepted into Stanford, Cornell, and other top universities.

Tips on How to Write a Winning Essay for the Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

1. Read the novel at least twice

Before writing your essay, ensure you understand Atlas Shrugged thoroughly. You may need to read it twice since a second reading helps to notice details that may be overlooked when reading a text for the first time. If you do not own a copy of Rand’s novel, you will be able to access a digital copy, as well as the essay prompts, when you register for the competition.

2. Choose a topic that interests you and read criticism about the novel 

To write an essay that could win the contest, you need to choose the prompt that interests you the most. Since Atlas Shrugged is a best-selling novel that has generated a large body of critical responses by academics and scholars, you can then start reading these as well. They can be accessed through academic databases such as JSTOR and Google Scholar, which are usually provided by college and university libraries. Reading criticism is important because it will highlight issues to be discussed, provide models of good academic writing, and, most importantly, reliable sources to be cited in your essay.

3. Have a strong thesis and include counter-arguments 

Your essay should take a clear stand (your thesis). A good thesis is like a riddle; it makes the reader think; it may even provoke them and cause them to disagree with your stand. However, by approaching this from different standpoints and addressing counterarguments (opposing views), you will gradually enable the reader to see your thesis’s validity and strengths.     

4. Review your work for consistency, punctuation, and grammar

After finishing your draft, or after every partial draft,  take a break. This will enable you to review it with a clearer mind and to spot typos, grammatical errors, and unclear passages. Try reading your essay aloud as well; it is an effective way to notice awkward phrasing or sentences that are hampering the flow of your writing. 

Conclusion 

The Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest requires the ability to write thought-provoking and well-crafted essays at the interface between literature and philosophy. 

Indigo Research can connect you with skilled academic mentors who can guide you through the process of writing a research project. This may then become the basis of an essay for this competition as well as an invaluable addition to your college application.