Can you single-handedly discover a niche topic related to an international issue? Are you capable of exploring something under-researched and shedding light on a crucial issue? It may sound intimidating, but if you are planning to submit an article to the Harvard International Review (HIR), this is exactly what they look for. The question is: are you up to the challenge? The HIR Academic Writing Contest (https://hir.harvard.edu/contest/) looks for insights into international affairs from scholarly, analytical perspectives. It asks students to write articles with an 800-word minimum and a 1,200-word maximum. While the articles are concise, HIR expects them to be highly detailed and nuanced. To write the best possible article for HIR, you’ll need to consider the following: Topic Selection: The key thing you need to remember when preparing a topic for HIR is that your topic should not be a “hot topic.” HIR is looking for articles about countries and issues that are not mentioned in the news and therefore deserve attention. In other words, rather than publishing more articles about the Israel-Palestine war, HIR has published articles like, “Africa’s Growing Scientific Communities: A New Renaissance” or “Force-Feeding and Drug Abuse: The Steep Price of Beauty in Mauritania.” If you don’t know what to write about, try researching a less well-known country and discovering some of the current issues they face. Research: Keep in mind that even if you are working on an article, you will still need to use reputable, scholarly sources as you research. Rather than getting information from blogs or random websites, try using search engines like JSTOR or Google Scholar to make sure that you are getting journal articles, dissertations, working papers, or other scholarly materials. The more seriously you research the topic, the more informed you will be. Structure: You will have to carefully structure your HIR article. You might want to aim for about a seven to ten-paragraph article that includes: A clear thesis Background information on your chosen country/topic, A breakdown of 1-2 main issues your topic covers, Possible solutions to any issues based on what the rest of the world is doing, and A reflective conclusion. The goal of 1-5 is to show your readers that you truly understand your topic and its significance and that you are committed to contributing to international perspectives. Remember, a great HIR article isn’t just a summary of something that is going on in the world. It should cover an international issue that is not getting the attention deserves, thoughtfully analyze it in detail, and think about how we, as an international community, can work together to build a stronger and more informed world. As Gro Brundtland, the Prime Minister of Norway once said, “We are working toward a shared vision of the future.” HIR wants to know: What’s your vision?
