General Requirements

• Word count: 100 - 300 words
  
• There is a 10% leeway on the upper word limit
• All UA anonymity requirements apply to the abstract
• The abstract does not need to include references/citations

Entrants to the Architecture & Design and Visual Arts categories DO NOT submit an abstract.

Advice on how to write an abstract.

It is very important that your entry upload i.e. actual PDF document does not include any personal details or details of your institution.

Failure to remove this information will result in disqualification.

Before you submit your entry, please make sure to remove the following details from your entry upload. You can use the CMD/CTRL + F function to find this information quickly.

• Your name
• Your photograph
• Your supervisor's name - including where it is mentioned in citations
• Your university's name, nickname, initial, photo, and logo
• Your student number
• Your module or course name and code

You should either delete this information, or replace it with an X or a short note such as "this citation has been redacted for anonymity."

It is recommended that you do not drag black boxes over the details, as sometimes these elements disappear when you highlight them, revealing the information.

Please take particular care with the following:

• When referencing online articles via your institution library or website, please redact the name or initial of your institution i.e. www.oed.comlibezproxy.... - exclude entirely or redact names.
• Headers and/or footers
• Ethic statements & declarations - remove institution name.
• File name

When attaching your entry upload to the submission form, please use a generic file title. Do not include your own name or module code/name as the title of the PDF file.

Interviews

When citing interviews you carried out ensure you write "conducted by the author" or similar instead of citing your name.

If referencing your supervisor, remember to redact the institution and your supervisor's name.

We understand that these redactions may make your work seem improperly cited, however our judges will understand that this has been done for the purposes of anonymity and will not penalise you.

We do not require entrants to redact: names of cities, countries, areas, geographic features, hospitals, schools, etc.

Word Count Limits

For entry uploads, the word count must be between 2,500-5,000 words, with the exception of the following categories, which can be up to 12,000 words long:

• Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Computer Science
• Earth & Environmental Sciences
• Engineering
• Life Sciences
• Mathematics & Physics
• Medical Sciences

The submission criteria allows for a 10% leeway over the maximum word count of your chosen category. For example, if the word count of your category is 5,000 words, then an entry of 5,500 words will be accepted.

If the entry is over 5,500 words, however, it will be counted as over the maximum word count, and will be disqualified.

Papers with a word count below the minimum of 2,500 words will be disqualified.

There is no leeway under the minimum word count.

The word count requirements for our portfolio-based categories, Visual Arts and Architecture & Design, are a bit different. For more information on these categories, please see our website FAQs.

You may make edits to your coursework after you receive your grade in order to improve it upon consultation and approval from your supervisor. This revised entry must still meet our grade requirements.

Word Count Guidelines

The following elements DO contribute to the word count:

• Footnotes
• In-text citations
• Image/figure captions

The following elements DO NOT contribute to the word count:

• Abstract
• Appendices
• Bibliography or works cited pages
• Submission title
• Table of contents
• List of abbreviations
• Tables of figures

Abstract word count

Abstracts must be between 100-300 words in length. There is a 10% leeway on the upper word limit.

Appendix

If you have a small additional piece of information that is pushing your entry over the word count, you are allowed to place it in the appendix and refer to it in your entry.

It is important for entrants to note that the appendix should ONLY contain information or material supporting the body of the entry, as opposed to introducing any new information.