concord review sample essay

Upcoming Summer 2024 Application Deadline is May 12, 2024.  

Click here to apply.

Featured Posts

10 Free Summer Programs for Middle School Students

10 Computer Science Courses for High School Students

10 Prestigious Business Competitions for High School Students

8 Machine Learning (ML) Internships for High School Students

9 Productive Things to do Over the Summer as a High School Student

8 Pharmacy Internships for High School Students

10 Coding Internships for High School Students

Sally Ride Science Academy - 8 Reasons Why It's Worth It

10 Ways to get a High School Business Education

10 of the Best Engineering Projects for Middle School Students

The Concord Review: The Complete Guide To Getting In

The Concord Review is the most prestigious journal for high school students in the social sciences. As William Fitzsimmons, long-time Dean of Admissions at Harvard College, put it “A simple fact that an essay has been published by The Concord Review is something that’s impressive to the committee , just as the committee can be impressed when a scientist or mathematician does well in an international competition.”

The Concord’s Review’s prestige comes from its high level of selectivity (currently less than 5%), focus on quality, and long track record of winners going on to top universities. In 2010, 10% of all students published in the journal had gone to Harvard College . As the Concord Review describes , many authors will attach their Concord Review in their application. Of students who have been published, they have “gone on to Brown(35), University of Chicago(36), Columbia(31), Cornell(21), Dartmouth(24), Harvard(152), Oxford(17), Pennsylvania(30), Princeton(76), Stanford(86), Yale(123).”

So, what is the Concord Review and how can you build a paper that is accepted? In this guide, we’re going to go through what the Concord Review is, what it looks for in papers, and what you need to do to stand a chance.

What is the Concord Review | A brief history

The Concord Review was founded in 1987 by Will Fitzugh when he was a teacher at Concord-Carlisle High School in Massachusetts. The goal of the journal was to introduce more students to long-form history writing. At the time, he reached out to a few thousand high schools in the United States and their respective history teachers and requested submissions to the journal. Papers began to come in and Fitzugh launched the first journal.

Since then, the journal has grown in its scale and number of submissions. Though the Concord Review does not report exact numbers of its submissions, in 2020, 44 student papers were published of an estimated 900 papers submitted . The journal is considered to be the most prestigious competition for students interested in history, equivalent, as Harvard’s Admission Dean Fitzsimmon’s noted, to a student in mathematics winning a national math competition.

How selective is the Concord Review?

The Concord Review is ranked as most selective by our team, due to its acceptance rate of around 5% in most recent years. The quality of the papers that are published is also very high, with the average length of papers in the past year at 9000 words. A qualitative assessment of the quality of the papers, also indicates significant time invested and a high level of writing.

Essay Requirements | What does the Concord Review look for in papers? The Concord Review gives somewhat broad requirements on their website. We’ll talk below about what else you’ll need to do.

Essay Requirements

Paper must be written in secondary school.

You must be the sole author

The paper must be in English and may not have been previously published

Essays should be in the 4,000-6,000 (or more) word range, with Turabian (Chicago) endnotes and bibliography. The longest paper we have published was 21,000 words (on the Mountain Meadows Massacre).

Essays may be on any historical topic, ancient or modern, domestic or foreign, and must be submitted electronically.

Essays should have the notes and bibliography placed at the end (Chicago Style).

More informally (but implicitly true), the essay must be

Thoroughly researched (e.g.,, aa minimum of 10 distinct sources)

Well-written and clear

Minimum of 6000 words, but on average 9000 is the average length published.

Submission Process:

As the website describes “The Concord Review is published quarterly, and issues arrive in September, December, March and June. Essays are eligible for at least the next four issues.” In general, you will hear back about a month before the publication.

In other words, after submitting to the Concord Review, the timeline for hearing back may be up to a year after submission, but is usually faster if you are accepted. To submit your paper, you have to create an author member account , which costs $70 for the electronic fee. This also gives you access to the past year’s essays.

10 Tips to Create An Essay That Gets In | Concord Review

1. Pick a topic that you can go deep in

The Concord Review is not only interested in quality, but also in quantity (i.e., length of paper, amount of research done, etc.). That means that you are going to have to spend dozens of hours reading about a single historical event or area.

If that’s the case, choose something that you actually enjoy and could read about. The Concord Review accepts all types of historical areas – from ancient Chinese dynasties, to Enlightenment Era Europe, to World War II USA. So, choose something that you find truly interesting and go deep.

2. Make your topic specific & your thesis clear

Think about your paper as trying to make a contribution to the historical field. To do that, you’ll need to pick something specific. To give some example of past TCR papers, these have included an analysis of John Law and his effect on the French Monetary system, a look at the Iconoclasm of the Taiping Rebellion (Iconoclasm means the destruction of icons/monuments/idols of another religion.), or a look at the persecution of Buddhists in the Tang Dynasty from the perspective of a single Japanese monk (Ennin).

Note how these topics often focus on a single individual, historical event, or phenomena. John Law was a revolutionary economist who helped shape our modern thinking about the concept of money. He also shaped French monetary policy in the 18th century. A paper on the French economy in the 18th century probably would be too large, but a paper on John Law and his influence can be a great fit.

Here is an example thesis statement from the 2020 winner, “ Buddhism in Tang China ” by Jiwon Lee.

Thus, the paper aims to develop the argument that the personal records of the foreign monk Ennin contain invaluable information on how the persecution impacted the general Buddhist clergy; without him, these descriptions might have never been known to contemporary historians.”

3. Write a lot – length matters (And so does depth!)

Throughout the Concord Review website there are references to the length of student papers. The past year’s essays have all hovered closer to 9000 words (one was over 20,000 words!) . The Concord Review was founded by Will Fitzhugh, in part, to encourage students to write long-form historical work. So, this journal looks positively on longer length papers.

The key is not simply to “write a lot,” but rather to build up a deep insight into a topic and field that you can write about at length. This requires reading broadly about the topic and developing your own unique thesis.

4. Reference other historians & extend on their work

When you are writing, it’s important to show that you understand what other historians have approached this topic and what they have said. By noting what other historians have written, you’ll be able to show what the current state of knowledge is in the field. You can then add on your own distinct perspective.

One great example of how to do this is in Jingxuan Lin’s 2020 Concord Review essay “Iconoclasm in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom”.

Fortunately, over the past two decades, historical works such as the monographs by Thomas Reilly, Carl Kilcourse and Xia Chuntao have begun to shed light on the religious culture of the Taiping. However, many critical components of Taiping religion still lack sufficient attention. In particular, while almost every account of the Taiping Kingdom touches on its aggressive iconoclasm, Xia Chuntao remains the only scholar to have specifically and systematically analyzed Taiping iconoclasm and traced its development through the history of the movement.9 However, Xia’s work was primarily descriptive rather than analytic, and many of its assertions, which will be explored in this paper, appear to be insufficiently supported by the available evidence

Note how Lin shows a command of the other historians, then describes how their work will respond to this gap in the current literature. To do this, you need to read widely on the topic. In most winning essays, there are a minimum of ten distinct historical works cited and usually more than 15.

5. Have a thesis

It’s important that you have a point of view. Usually, the structure of Concord Review papers follows an abstract, introduction, main section, and then conclusion. In many papers, the thesis statement comes at the end of the introduction. Here’s an example from the same paper that came at the end of the introduction section.

Therefore, this paper will explore Taiping iconoclasm through the following question: With what significance did the Taiping Kingdom’s iconoclasm enhance or hinder its ability to garner and consolidate political support? To answer this question, this paper will trace the development of Taiping iconoclastic policy and evaluate the reactions of various affected social groups.

Note how this thesis statement sets out an agenda for the paper “What was the importance of iconoclasm in the Taiping Kingdom’s.” The thesis then outlines how it is going to address that question “By looking at the development of Taiping’s iconoclast policies and how other social groups reacted.”

6. Read Examples of Past Winning Essays

The best way to see what is expected of Concord Review winning essays is to see what past winning essays have done. The website has some example essays which you can see by signing up for the newsletter. Unfortunately, these essays are primarily from the early 2000s and so don’t really reflect the level or rigor of the most recent few years. A better bet is to first sign up to be an Author Membe r to see the past essays and to submit one of your own. The cost for this is $70, but gives you access to past essays from the last year.

7. Use a wide variety of historical sources for the essays

When writing your paper, first begin by reading historical perspectives on this issue. One good way to start is to find a book on the topic of your interest. Then while you are reading the book, note what research papers or other books they are citing. Put those other books on a list and identify the ones that come up the most often. That’s your next set of resources.

In total, most winning essays in the past year have had about 15 distinct historical sources in their bibliography. This probably does not mean that all 15 of those sources were fully read, it probably does imply that the author has read deeply at least 3 or 4 of these sources on the topic and has used those to find an additional 10 sources to cite throughout the paper.

8. Follow the abstract, introduction, main content, conclusion format

Most of the papers in the Concord Review follow the same format. They start with either an introduction or an abstract and then an introduction. The introduction frames the main topic and sets the scene for the rest of the paper. At the end of the introduction, usually a thesis statement is introduced that then guides the rest of the paper.

From there, the main section involves the primary analysis of the paper. This is usually broken into a number of smaller chunks to keep the reader engaged and following the broader argument. Sometimes this also involves a narrative description of the historical figure in question. The paper then usually ends with a short conclusion. You should try to innovate on the analysis and the writing quality (more on that next), not as much on the structure.

9. Write, write, and rewrite

All of the Concord Review essays that are selected showcase a level of writing that is difficult to accomplish at first try. Instead, each of these papers clearly show a significant amount of time writing and rewriting. As you work on your essay, make sure to allocate time to rewriting your essay and getting feedback from others. This will be critical for you to successfully write an essay that gets accepted!

As an example of thoughtful writing, here is the introductory paragraph of Jack Tae Hyun Yoon’s 2016 winning essay “John Law: Murderer, Economist, Statesman.” Louis XIV’s (1643-1715) absolutist France was an authoritarian paradise: “L’etat, c’est moi,” declared the so-called Sun King as he consolidated France’s place as the leading power of Europe. Indeed, the state—with all its various wars and monuments—was the personification of Louis XIV’s towering ego. Yet by the King’s death in 1715, the vast expenses of financing wars such as the costly War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) and building massive construction projects such as the palace at Versailles had left behind a staggering national debt of 2,800 million livres... Nevertheless, while economic turmoil meant hardship for the vast majority of the nation, in the eyes of daring speculators, it signified opportunity, and France met its very own daredevil financier in the form of a mysterious Scotsman named John Law (1671-1729). While Law’s economic system foreshadowed several modern economic policies, its decline served as an early reminder that money is not physical wealth, but rather human confidence in an idea.

10. Prepare alternative publications and competitions to submit to

Ultimately, the Concord Review is prestigious because it is hard to get in. Even with all of the above preparation, it’s very possible that you won’t be accepted to the journal. In that case, be prepared and think of proactive ways to use your essay. After you’ve spent dozens of hours on the project, you shouldn’t let it go to waste. You can identify other history essay competitions, other student journals, or local places for you to publish your work (note that you can’t submit the same article to the Concord Review and another journal. But, you could adapt that piece and submit it somewhere else!). The key is that you don’t let the time you spent on the project go to waste!

One extra tip: Find a mentor

For a long project like this, it’s important to have someone to push your thinking and writing. A history teacher could be a great mentor here or you could identify a history researcher, who can give you the researcher perspective. You want this person to give you direct feedback and to help you shape your thesis, writing, and research process.

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

The information clevescene.com contains equips students to make educated choices when seeking essay assistance. This review is useful for any student on the lookout for high-quality study resources.

| Home | The Concord Review | The National Writing Board | | Contact Us | Search | Site Map | FAQ | About Us |

Publishing in The Concord Review: The Complete Guide

By Jin Chow

Co-founder of Polygence, Forbes 30 Under 30 for Education

5 minute read

Getting published in The Concord Review is the most prestigious achievement for a high school history student. It’s like a math wiz winning the International Mathematical Olympiad or a science prodigy winning the Regeneron Science Talent Search. And most Concord Review authors go on to have amazing college careers. Here’s just a partial list of where they end up as of last count: 35 at Brown, 31 at Columbia, 152 at Harvard, 76 at Princeton, 86 at Stanford, and 123 at Yale.

So what is The Concord Review ? It’s the only dedicated quarterly journal for history research papers by high school students. Founder Will Fitzhugh founded the magazine in 1987. As a history teacher (with a MA in history from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from Princeton), he was disappointed with the curriculum’s general dumbing down of student essay writing. He created the journal as a place to encourage and showcase the very best student research from all over the world, and he employs a team of experts (composed of professors, teachers, and other professionals in their fields) to help him select only 12-18 research papers per quarterly issue. It has received attention from some of the world’s finest historians themselves, including Arthur Schlesinger Jr., David McCullough, and Shelby Foote.

Create a research project tailored to your interests and your schedule

Polygence pairs you with an expert mentor in your area of passion. Together, you work to create a high quality research project that is uniquely your own. We also offer options to explore multiple topics, or to showcase your final product!

In short, if your passion is history, The Concord Review should definitely be on your radar. Below is a guide for navigating the steps toward publication. Note that the Review is very selective and only about 45 out of the approximately 900 submissions they receive get published each year. But even if you aren’t selected, the process is well worth the effort. Writing a research paper for the Review teaches you the lifelong skills of how to do research, how to work independently, how to think deeply about one subject, and how to generate and organize your own ideas. (You can also submit your paper to other publications, such as Perspectives on History ).

If you do get published, the Review is a laudable resting place for all your hard work. And it looks amazing on college applications!

Step 1 - Register for The Concord Review ’s free newsletter

Signing up for the newsletter gives you free access to a few past Concord Review essays. Reading these can give you a sense of the historical subject matter, essay length, research sources, and tone of the journal and inspire your own work. You can also, of course, subscribe yearly or purchase copies of the journal and individual articles on subjects that interest you. If you submit a paper, you will also be subscribed to a year’s worth of The Concord Review .

Step 2 - Know the basic requirements 

Your paper must be written by you as the sole author before you graduate from high school and unpublished. “Sole author,” however, doesn’t mean you need to write in complete isolation. Historians don’t generally work in a vacuum. Famous historian Robert. A. Caro, for instance, always discusses his research with his wife, Ina. It’s important to have a knowledgeable teacher or mentor to chat with about your ideas. With Polygence, you have a built-in collaborator. While you’re doing the actual writing and researching, your history mentor will help you stay the course.

Your essay must be around 5000-7000 words (the average are 5500 including the endnotes and bibliography and the largest one accepted has been 21,000!). No need to print out your 18+ page essay and haul it to the post office because only electronic submissions are allowed.

The rules for formatting are very specific. Your paper must include Chicago-style endnotes and a bibliography. (They don’t include a minimum number of sources, but you should aim for a minimum of ten.) Be sure to look through their Essay Requirements page. There you’ll find rules like: use only Arabic numerals for endnotes, not Roman numerals. All endnotes should end with a period. Use only one font family style. If you want to learn more about the importance of bibliographies, check out our handy guide for how to think about citations and references . The paper must be in a Word doc or RTF format, not Google docs or pdf. The filename should be your first and last name followed by an underscore and the first 3 words of your essay title. Etc. None of this is difficult; it just requires some attention to detail. The paper should also go through at least one draft before being proofread and submitted. It should be clear, well-written, and mistake-free. Again, your mentor can help you by providing feedback.

Submission Fee

There is a $70 submission fee, but it includes a yearly subscription to the ebook version of the journal. (These submission fees also help keep the journal running.) If you want a print subscription, the fee is $110 for U.S. students or $150 for international students.

Concord Review Deadlines

As far as deadlines are concerned, The Concord Review comes out in the summer (June), fall (September), winter (December), and spring (March). In order to be eligible for a specific issue, here are the deadlines:

For summer issue, by February 1st

For the fall, by May 1

For winter, by August 1

For spring, by November 1

They have a rolling admissions policy and your essay will be eligible for at least the next four issues after they receive it. If your paper is selected, you’ll get a letter the month before it’s published!

Because publication in this journal is so highly regarded by college admission boards, you should ideally try to get your paper in at least six months or so before you apply to college. So say you are applying for college in January of your senior year, you would want to submit a paper before or by February 1st of your junior year. That way you could at least be eligible for the summer, fall, or winter issues before your application is due. But if you’re already a senior, always is better than never! You just need to have written the paper in high school in order to submit it. You can also submit more than one paper before the end of your high school career.

So now… what should you write about? 

Your Project Your Schedule - Your Admissions Edge!

Register to get paired with one of our expert mentors and to get started on exploring your passions today! And give yourself the edge you need to move forward!

Step 3 - Choose your topic

Your essay can be about any historical topic, ancient or modern, domestic or foreign. If you haven’t started writing yet, you may be wondering how to pick your topic. Will Fitzhugh himself says, “I tell people, the topic doesn't matter; it's the quality that matters, so a kid learns the joy of scholarship. If you learn what it means to go in-depth, you also realize when you're being superficial.'' 

The most important thing about choosing your topic is picking something you can get fired up about because you’ll be spending quite a bit of time and energy thinking about it. Does the subject spark your imagination? Does it make you ask a lot of questions? Does it resonate with something in your own life? It also helps if your question addresses a gap in the existing academic literature. Here’s a great article on finding a good research topic and organizing your research. Once you’ve  found your direction, get going!

Step 4 - Start researching and writing

Now—if you’ve chosen a subject dear to your heart—comes the fun part! 

So where do you find sources? Start by gathering 3-5 books on your topic. For primary and secondary sources, you’ll also want to visit your local library and arrange for online access to digital databases such as JSTOR, eLibrary, Gale, EBSCO, and Congressional Quarterly. Choose at least 10 total potential sources. Admittedly it can feel overwhelming to find 10+ sources for your research, but one way to manage the task is learning how to skim related books and articles. 

To stay motivated, remember Robert A. Caro’s favorite piece of advice: “Turn every page.” In our digital age, that may mean scrolling down further. Read articles that may not support your thesis. You will start with a provisional thesis and new research can always cause you to alter it. Discovery is a big (and fun!) part of the process.

As for the writing process itself, we already wrote this super useful step-by-step guide on how to write a research paper . It gives you a structure for how to attack the project: how to conduct preliminary research, how to draft a thesis statement, how to draft a preliminary outline, crafting expert transitions, how to conclude the paper, and how to work with sources,  

This article by student Ryan Chung also discusses concept mapping , source analysis, and other useful methods for approaching your work. 

Step 5 - Share your project with a mentor

As mentioned, having a mentor to bounce ideas around and to proofread your work is priceless. The process of writing your research paper will teach you a lot, but a mentor can push you to make new connections and take your work further. 

Happy writing!

Further reading/inspiration:

On Working by Robert A. Caro

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

Want to Learn More?

Join Polygence and do your own research project tailored towards your passions and guided by one of our expert mentors!

clock This article was published more than  2 years ago

Stuff your 5,000-word limit! Students dare to write longer history papers.

Very few U.S. high schools ask their students to write long research papers. Teachers may lack time to supervise such work. It is also feared that teenagers would rebel against such drudgery.

Or, possibly, this is just one more sign of our unfortunate national tendency to overlook our children’s potential.

A farsighted former history teacher named Will Fitzhugh has been publishing long and deep high school papers for 34 years. His young authors love the work so much that they routinely defy his 5,000-word limit. He has discovered something our schools usually ignore — the powerful effect of going as deep into a topic as you like.

Keeping essays to that length, about 20 double-spaced typewritten pages, made sense to Fitzhugh, who was a high school social studies teacher when he started the Concord Review in 1987 to publish these papers. But if students wrote more than that he was fine with it.

Because of his willingness to indulge the adolescent urge for something extra, the average paper used by the Concord Review is now 9,000 words. The quarterly journal has so far published 1,427 history papers by high school students (and four middle school students) from 46 states and 43 other countries in 131 issues. The torrent of submissions is so great he can publish only about 5 percent of what he gets.

For decades Fitzhugh, now 85, has been receiving excited emails from students such as Jane Chen, whose teacher at Fairview High School in Boulder, Colo., suggested she expand a class project into a Concord Review article. Chen told Fitzhugh it was “a completely new experience for me. . . . I was free to pursue whatever aspect of my topic that I wanted to whatever extent that I wanted.”

What if more high school teachers encouraged dissertations such as Chen’s examination of the light shed on the Pentagon Papers by President Richard Nixon’s telephone transcripts?

Perspective: Writing instruction in our schools is terrible. We need to fix it.

Long research papers are usually required only by certain parts of the International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement high school programs and by some private schools. Many of the papers published by Fitzhugh come from students revising and expanding that schoolwork.

This year, the IB extended essay program, begun in 1975, produced 88,249 papers. The AP research essay program, begun in 2015, produced 24,021. Both covered many topics besides history. But neither shares Fitzhugh’s fondness for work of any length. To ensure no student gets an unfair advantage, IB limits essays to 4,000 words and AP to 5,000 words.

Fitzhugh first got the idea for big papers because he concluded that his students at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School in Concord, Mass., were better than the five-to-seven-page assignments he was giving them. One sophomore handed in a 28-page paper on the nuclear strategic balance between the United States and the Soviet Union.

“He was not meeting my standards, but his own,” Fitzhugh recalled. “This gave me a clue that perhaps I was not asking students for all they could do. Two of my colleagues proposed to the administration that they work with two or three volunteer students who wanted to work on a history paper for a year . . . for a one-semester independent study credit. This was turned down as elitist.”

Fitzhugh had a sabbatical in the 1986-1987 school year. He read a landmark book by reformer Ted Sizer, “ Horace’s Compromise: The Dilemma of the American High School .” He realized many educators shared his concern about nonfiction reading, knowledge of history and academic expository writing.

“I was 50, feeling I hadn’t done much with my life,” Fitzhugh said. “I admired entrepreneurs, and desktop publishing had just become a possibility.” His father had left him $80,000. He sent a four-page brochure asking for papers from every high school in the United States and Canada, and 1,500 more schools abroad.

He taught one more year to pay for his sabbatical and then quit. The next 14 years he worked with no pay and no vacation from his dining room table. The first issue of the Concord Review came out in the fall of 1988. He sent the first four issues free to 1,000 private schools. They were the most likely to require student research. But at the beginning he got almost no response.

The project was always short of money. He tried to stretch the occasional grants he received from intrigued billionaires and foundations. Then he discovered a more reliable moneymaker — summer history camps. He charges $3,500 per student for a two-week online research and writing course, including one-on-one student-teacher contact.

The fall 2021 issue of the Concord Review has 11 essays, three of them from students abroad. Titles include “Tanzimat Reforms” (19th-century Ottoman Empire, 5,880 words) by Atharv Panditrao at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, Calif.; “Green Goods Scam” (19th-century United States, 6,884 words) by Michael Benjamin Hoffen, an eighth-grader at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx; “Committees of Correspondence” (6,753 words) by Ruosong Gao at Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.; and “Battle of the Somme” (8,172 words) by Ju Hwan James Kim at the United World College of South East Asia, a K-12 IB school in Singapore.

A paper on the Chinese population in Indonesia in the same issue had 13,076 words.

AP and IB officials say they admire what Fitzhugh, his authors and their teachers have done. Educators who want to encourage writing have been urging students to submit their work not only to the Concord Review but also to college undergraduate research journals now open to younger scholars and to publications run by their own high schools.

Like Fitzhugh, those teachers understand that seeing your name in print is a powerful incentive. It is admittedly a juvenile obsession, but it got me into journalism and is still keeping me at it.

Perspective: Why don’t schools embrace editing? Let’s sneak it in.

According to Fitzhugh, experts often say teacher quality is the most important factor in academic achievement, but he thinks challenging academic work inspires the most learning.

Students who have tackled demanding tasks “now know they can do it,” he said. “We are not surprised by the breaking of Olympic records by young people inspired by the examples of their peers. Why be surprised if that works in academics too?”

Teachers who haven’t tried this could start with a few independent study projects. That can’t be dismissed as elitist if they let anyone do it who wants to try.

Local newsletters: Local headlines (8 a.m.) | Afternoon Buzz (4 p.m.)

Like PostLocal on Facebook | Follow @postlocal on Twitter | Latest local news

+1 (603) 932 7897

[email protected].

Guide to The Concord Review (TCR)

• Last modified 2024-01-17
• Published on 2022-02-01

1. What is The Concord Review?

The Concord Review , or TCR, is an academic journal dedicated to publishing historical research papers of high school students in English. Many of the authors of TCR have gone to prestigious universities and colleges across the U.S and in 38 countries worldwide, from Ivy League colleges to excellent institutions like Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and John Hopkins.

The Concord Review is considered the most prestigious in the high school history field, with its acceptance rate being only around 10%. Only 11 students worldwide are recognized and published in every issue, making the chance to be published more competitive than ever. With the spring issue, the quarterly journal has published 1,362 research papers from authors in 46 states and 41 countries. William R. Fitzsimmons, Harvard’s dean of admissions, considers essays published in the review “ impressive .”

2. How do I submit to The Concord Review?

All essays can be about any historical topic , ancient or modern, domestic or foreign. Essay submission must be 4,000 – 6,000-word range (8-12 pages) , with Chicago endnotes and bibliography. Students must be the sole author, and the word must not be published elsewhere except for a publication of the secondary school the students attend. Students can submit more than one research paper.

Eligibility : Secondary students from all countries and schools can participate.

Deadline :  For consideration for the Summer issue, your paper should be received by February 1, 11:59 pm EST (UTC -5).

For the Fall issue, your paper should be received by May 1, 11:59 pm EDT (UTC -4).

For the Winter issue, your paper should be received by August 1, 11:59 pm EDT (UTC -4).

For the Spring issue, your paper should be received by November 1, 11:59 pm EST (UTC -5).

Fee : Ranges from $70 – $150 depending on which type of subscription students want to sign up for.

3. What prizes are available from The Concord Review?

In addition to being published in the Concord Review, there are two prizes students can receive: Fitzhugh Prize and Emerson Prize. The Fitzhugh Prize was newly announced in 2021, named after the Founder and Editor of the journal. Both prizes are awarded annually to students published in The Concord Review and have shown outstanding promise in history at the high school level. From Fall 2020 to Summer 2021, ten students received the Emerson Prize, and one student received the Fitzhugh Prize. Recipients are from high schools in Asia and the United States.

4. How can students get published in The Concord Review?

• Read previous works by published students for reflection and inspiration 

There are a couple of ways students can access published work: The Concord Review paid subscription and Newsletter subscriptions. With The Concord Review paid subscription, you have access to the eBook or print quarterly journal with all high school students’ published academic history research papers. The second option is the Newsletter subscription, which is free. With the second option, subscribers will have access to a limited number of published articles. Therefore, depending on your budget, you can choose the appropriate subscription and receive sample essays. You can also purchase historical research papers on  Amazon . 

By reading through the published historical research papers written by students, you will find patterns and understand what the judges are looking for in a historical research paper and receive perspectives on how the students approach their hypothesis and analysis on a historical issue.

• Understand the structure of a historical research paper 

Depending on the kind of historical research you are aiming for (narrative, analytics, etc.), there will be different depth and focus on research, analysis, and discussion. However, the primary guiding and focal point will be the thesis statement. An example of a winning essay written by a student from Mercersburg Academy is The Civil Service Examination System: A Vehicle for Social Mobility in Song China. In this essay, the writer examines the system that selected bureaucrats to China’s government for over a thousand years in Chinese history. 

To come up with an appropriate thesis statement, students must do  intensive research beforehand . Since The Concord Review doesn’t have a prompt, students have the freedom to choose any topic of interest to them. After selecting a topic that you’re interested in, you should do outside research. Resources for researching can be found in scholarly and peer-reviewed journals, books, as well as internet resources. When it comes to source search and selection, we recommend that you should filter and evaluate each source carefully before adding information from it to your research paper. ProQuest, Nexis Uni, Google Scholar, Search Engines, Google Books, or your school’s library are great starting places to find information.

Sources for Historical Analysis : According to  Harvard University , students can use two types of sources as evidence for their analysis. Primary sources are materials produced in the time period of the study, such as diaries, correspondence, dispatches, newspaper editorials, speeches, economic data, literature, art, and film. Secondary sources are produced after the time period of the study, such as  Works of Scholarship . 

Draft a thesis statement : After collecting enough resources, you should start developing a thesis statement and thinking about how you want to develop your arguments. We understand that thesis writing is a hard and challenging process, but keep in mind that your thesis statement will change over time with more sources collected and deeper thinking developed.  

Annotate resources: Before jumping into writing an outline and working on your first draft, we recommend that you should annotate your key sources. Annotating sources means writing a paragraph or paragraphs to summarize the source’s main idea and how you will use it in your research paper. Annotation is essential in keeping your research paper organized and helps you keep track of all the key sources used in the paper. An annotation example is:

Davidson, Hilda Ellis. Roles of the Northern Goddess. London: Routledge, 1998.

Davidson’s book provides a thorough examination of the primary roles filled by the numerous pagan goddesses of Northern Europe in everyday life, including their roles in hunting, agriculture, domestic arts like weaving, the household, and death. The author discusses relevant archaeological evidence, patterns of symbols and rituals, and previous research. The book includes a number of black and white photographs of relevant artifacts.

You can start writing your research paper after you have the thesis statement, key arguments, and key annotations. The  University of California, Los Angeles  has published a checklist for students after they are done with the first draft: 

• Does my thesis clearly state my argument and its significance?
• Does the main argument in each body paragraph support my thesis?
• Do I have enough evidence within each body paragraph to make my point?
• Have I properly introduced, analyzed, and cited every quotation I use?
• Do my topic sentences effectively introduce the main point of each paragraph?
• Do I have transitions between paragraphs?
• Is my paper free of grammar and spelling errors?

5. The Concord Review Research Paper Example

As mentioned above, this example is Lian Wang’s research on the Civil Service Examination System: A Vehicle for Social Mobility in Song China. Her paper was published in The Concord Review, Spring 2021 Issue. We will summarize Lian’s key points and essay structures for reference. In the article, she analyzes the system that selected bureaucrats to China’s government for over a thousand years in Chinese history. 

• Introduction : This section introduces the civil service examination system, which people can take to work in the government. After providing the background information, she ends the introduction with a general outline of upcoming paragraphs: development of the civil service examination system, significant reforms during the Song dynasty that contributed to the system’s success, two characteristics of the Song system. She will end the research with a discussion about the civil service examination system that fostered social mobility in Song China.
• Body paragraphs : At the beginning of a new argument, she highlights the main point she will be discussing. Those main points are History + Overview of the Song System + Measures to Address Corruption and Cheating + The School System + Social Outcome of Success in the Examinations. 
• Conclusion: She concludes the research paper by synthesizing the main points that led to the Song system’s success in increasing the fairness of the civil service examination and its availability to commoners. 

The Concord Review is a prestigious academic journal for students aspiring to be a historian and work in a history-related field. We hope this guide to The Concord review gives you an overview and step-by-step guide to complete your first historical research paper for submission. Aralia’s Historical Research class is the suitable class for you if you prefer receiving guidance while developing your research paper.

6. The National Writing Board

In addition to the competition, The Concord Review also has the National Writing Board, an assessment service for the history research papers of high school students. Papers can be submitted in two categories: Short papers from 1,500 to 2,500 words, and long papers from 4,000 to 6,000 words. 

Students who are interested in receiving assessments and evaluations for their historical research paper can contact The Concord Review at [email protected]. The submissions will be reviewed by two senior secondary instructors, and a three to four-page report will be sent to the author. The evaluation can also be sent to college admission officers to add to the information of applicants. The National Writing Board has been endorsed by the following 39 colleges:

Amherst, Boston University, Bowdoin, Carnegie Mellon, Claremont McKenna, Colgate, Connecticut College, Cooper Union, Dartmouth, Duke, Eckerd, Emory, George Mason, Georgetown, Hamilton, Harvard, Haverford, Illinois Wesleyan, Lafayette, Lehigh, Michigan, Middlebury, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Pitzer, Princeton, Reed, Richmond, Sarah Lawrence, Shimer, Smith, Spelman, Stanford, Trinity (CT), Tufts, the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee, Williams, and Yale.

The fee for evaluation is $3000.

Students who receive the evaluation will have a score range from 1 to 6 (or F to A). The same report can be found here . 

Score Distribution 2000-2011 , provided by the Concord Review: 

Further reading: 

• The Concord Review Contest
• 8 Steps in the Research Process

Through Historical Research and Writing, students will learn about choosing a topic, composing research questions, effective research methods, drafting, composing, and revising. These skills will be taught with an emphasis on historical research, allowing students to engage in analysis of primary and secondary sources, discover interesting insights in history, and partake in the active pursuit of understanding the importance of historical study.

• Competitions

Interested in learning more?

Aralia Education is an innovative online education platform for ambitious middle and high school students worldwide. Aralia’s instructors propel students forward by helping them build a strong foundation in traditional academic courses. They also actively engage and guide students in exploring personal interests beyond their school curriculum. With this holistic approach, Aralia ensures its students are well-prepared for college and equipped for success in their future careers.

• College Accelerator Program
• Comprehensive Introduction to High School
• Academic Empowerment Program
• Test Preparation Bootcamp
• Private Lessons
• Student Awards

Give us a call: +1 (603) 932 7897

Email us: [email protected]

Add us on WhatsApp:

• Sample Essays
• Current Issue
• 1980s Vol 1
• 1990s Vol 2 - 9
• 2000s Vol 10 - 19
• 2010s Vol 20 - 27
• The Emerson Prize
• TCR Institute
• Reviews and Letters
• TCR History Camp
• Evaluation Process
• Letters and Comments
• Submissions
• TCR Academic Coaches
• Current Issues
• TCR Readers
• Back Issues
• TCR Singles
• Give to TCR

Submitting papers to TCR

• Subscribing to TCR
• Submitting papers to the National Writing Board
• TCR History Camp FAQ
• The Concord Review

1. Who may submit papers to The Concord Review? You may submit a history research paper to The Concord Review if you completed the paper before finishing secondary school and you have not yet enrolled in a college or university. You must be the sole author. The paper must be in English and may not have been previously published except in a publication of a secondary school that you attended. Public school, private school, and home school students are all eligible. 2. Must papers submitted to The Concord Review be about United States History? We welcome papers on any historical topic (ancient or modern, domestic or foreign. See our issues index or our online sample essays for examples of the types of essays that have been written in the past. 3. May I use MLA style endnotes for my paper? Papers submitted to The Concord Review should use Turabian (University of Chicago) style endnotes, NOT MLA style. Information about Turabian endnotes can be found in A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations by Kate L. Turabian, or at this page on the website of the Memorial University of Newfoundland.   5. May I submit more than one paper? Absolutely! Our mission here at The Concord Review is to encourage secondary students to push themselves academically. We love to hear about students who write more papers than expected. On several occasions we have published more than one paper by an author.

Click this link to send us a request by email.  We'll adjust  your account and you can fill out the new essay data in your profile.  Each essay must be accompanied by a $70 submission fee. We can bill your existing account for the new submission. Allow 1-2 Business days for a reply. Do not update your account with the new information until you  have heard from us.

6. May I submit a paper that is less than 4,000 words? You are certainly welcome to submit a paper that is less than 4,000 words in length. However, we would like to caution you that your paper will be competing with longer papers submitted. 7. May I submit a paper on a topic that TCR has already published? We welcome papers on topics that we've already published. Every historian can add more insight to what has been published before.    8. May I submit papers completed during an independent study? Of course you may! We have published a number of great papers from students pursuing the study of history on their own, with guidance from someone else.    9. May I submit the same paper to The Concord Review and the National Writing Board? Yes. We would like you to note that the submission and evaluation processes for The Concord Review and for the National Writing Board are completely separate. It is necessary to complete the submissions process for each separately. Please see the submissions guidelines for The Concord Review and the submissions guidelines for the National Writing Board.  

10.  What is the deadline for submitting my paper? For consideration for the Summer issue, your paper should be received by February 1 , 11:59pm EST (UTC -5). For the Fall issue, your paper should be received by May 1 , 11:59pm EDT (UTC -4). For the Winter issue, your paper should be received by August 1 , 11:59pm EDT (UTC -4). For the Spring issue, your paper  should be received by November 1 , 11:59pm EST (UTC -5).

These deadlines are for consideration in a specific issue. Essays are eligible for at least the next four issues.

11. Will I hear if my paper is not used in the next issue? We publish about 5% of the essays we receive. If your paper will not be in the next issue, you will not hear anything, but your paper is still eligible for future issues. If your paper is to be published, you will receive a letter the month before the issue comes out. Issues come out four times each year.  Fall (September), Winter (December), Spring (March), Summer (June).

12. I'm a teacher/school who is paying submission fee(s) for student essay submissions.  What do I do?            

1. Students apply and click "Invoice me" Have each student individually fill out the online application using their own email address at the tcr.org/submit page .  They should choose the Author - eBook option. Students will upload the essay file (only one per student, per application). Essays should follow the formatting and naming requirements on this page and the Submit page . They should  click the " Invoice me " button at the end of the process.  The system will email each submitter with their user name and password as soon as their application is done. It will also email them an invoice. The student should forward the invoice to the payer (School Business office, Teacher, etc.). 2. Business office or Teacher pays invoices online ( or sends a check ) Each invoice can be paid by clicking " View Invoice Online " in the email then "Pay online" on the website and paying with a credit card. Look for the "Pay with a debit or Credit Card" link on the lower right at the Paypal site. Students will receive a confirmation email as soon as the payment is made.             - or - Send a check   with a list of names and the email addresses the students used when they applied . Include the teacher's email address so that we can follow up with any questions. Once we receive the check and list, we activate the memberships.  The authors will get an email confirming their completed application. (Students must have completed their online application for us to activate their account.)

14. Can I pay by check? Yes.  Complete the application at the membership page and check the box "Invoice me".  When you have completed the application, go to "My Profile" by clicking your name at the top of the page.  Then click the "Invoices and payments" tab.  Print your invoice and send it with your check to:

The Concord Review Subscriptions 730 Boston Post Road, Suite 24 Sudbury, MA 01776

16. I've paid for my Author membership, but I don't know how to submit my essay.

When you login to this website you should see the "Authors" page which is only visible to paid members. You'll see instructions on submission in red. Click here to jump to that page. (If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to enter your logon ID and password.)

17. How do I confirm that my paper was uploaded/received?

To check your account balance, click the "Invoices and payments” tab.

18. How do I change information in my profile (email address, name, mailing address, misspellings, etc.).

Login, then click your name at the top of any page, then you can edit your information the Profile tab.

19. Is it necessary to create an account to submit? Yes, that is how we collect your fee and the information about you and your essay.

20. When I uploaded my essay, the system appended a number to the end of the file name [e.g. (2)], is this a problem?

No. Numbers added to the end of your filename by the system will not affect your submission and are perfectly fine.

21. Do I need to be a subscriber to TCR journal to submit a paper?

No. Just choose an Author membership from the choices on the submit page. Each Author membership includes a 1-year subscription to TCR, either eBook or Print, or both. Fees vary by type and your location (USA or international).

22. Is this an essay competition?

The Concord Review is not a contest. It is an international quarterly academic review for the history research papers of secondary students.

23. How do I withdraw my paper from consideration?   Please email us at [email protected] and we will gladly do so.

I still have questions

Please contact us .

Home | About | Contact Us |  FAQ | Links

The Concord Review is the most prestigious journal for high school students in the social sciences. As William Fitzsimmons, long-time Dean of Admissions at Harvard College, put it “A simple fact that an essay has been published by The Concord Review is something that’s impressive to the committee, just as the committee can be impressed when a scientist or mathematician does well in an international competition.”

The Concord’s Review’s prestige comes from its high level of selectivity (currently less than 5%), focus on quality, and long track record of winners going on to top universities. In 2010,  10% of all students published in the journal had gone to Harvard College . As the  Concord Review describes , many authors will attach their Concord Review in their application. Of students who have been published, they have “gone on to Brown(35), University of Chicago(36), Columbia(31), Cornell(21), Dartmouth(24), Harvard(152), Oxford(17), Pennsylvania(30), Princeton(76), Stanford(86), Yale(123).”

So, what is the Concord Review and how can you build a paper that is accepted? In this guide, we’re going to go through what the Concord Review is, what it looks for in papers, and what you need to do to stand a chance.

What is the Concord Review | A brief history

The Concord Review was  founded in 1987 by Will Fitzugh  when he was a teacher at Concord-Carlisle High School in Massachusetts. The goal of the journal was to introduce more students to long-form history writing. At the time, he reached out to a few thousand high schools in the United States and their respective history teachers and requested submissions to the journal. Papers began to come in and Fitzugh launched the first journal.

Since then, the journal has grown in its scale and number of submissions. Though the Concord Review does not report exact numbers of its submissions, in 2020, 44 student papers were published of an estimated 900 papers submitted. The journal is considered to be the most prestigious competition for students interested in history, equivalent, as Harvard’s Admission Dean Fitzsimmon’s noted, to a student in mathematics winning a national math competition.

How selective is the Concord Review?

The Concord Review is ranked as most selective by our team, due to its acceptance rate of around 5% in most recent years. The quality of the  papers that are published  is also very high, with the average length of papers in the past year at 9000 words. A qualitative assessment of the quality of the papers, also indicates significant time invested and a high level of writing.

Essay Requirements | What does the Concord Review look for in papers? The Concord Review gives somewhat broad requirements on their website. We’ll talk below about what else you’ll need to do.

Essay Requirements

• Paper must be written in secondary school.
• You must be the sole author
• The paper must be in English and may not have been previously published
• Essays should be in the 4,000-6,000 (or more) word range, with Turabian (Chicago) endnotes and bibliography. The longest paper we have published was 21,000 words (on the Mountain Meadows Massacre).
• Essays may be on any historical topic, ancient or modern, domestic or foreign, and must be submitted electronically.
• Essays should have the notes and bibliography placed at the end (Chicago Style).

More informally (but implicitly true), the essay must be:

• Thoroughly researched (e.g.,, aa minimum of 10 distinct sources)
• Well-written and clear
• Minimum of 6000 words, but on average 9000 is the average length published.

Submission Process:

As the website describes “The Concord Review is published quarterly, and issues arrive in September, December, March and June. Essays are eligible for at least the next four issues.” In general, you will hear back about a month before the publication.

In other words, after submitting to the Concord Review, the timeline for hearing back may be up to a year after submission, but is usually faster if you are accepted. To submit your paper, you have to  create an author member account , which costs $70 for the electronic fee. This also gives you access to the past year’s essays.

10 Tips to Create An Essay That Gets In | Concord Review

1. pick a topic that you can go deep in.

The Concord Review is not only interested in quality, but also in quantity (i.e., length of paper, amount of research done, etc.). That means that you are going to have to spend dozens of hours reading about a single historical event or area.

If that’s the case, choose something that you actually enjoy and could read about. The Concord Review accepts all types of historical areas – from ancient Chinese dynasties, to Enlightenment Era Europe, to World War II USA. So, choose something that you find truly interesting and go deep.

2. Make your topic specific & your thesis clear

Think about your paper as trying to make a contribution to the historical field. To do that, you’ll need to pick something specific. To give some example of past TCR papers, these have included an analysis of John Law and his effect on the French Monetary system, a look at the Iconoclasm of the Taiping Rebellion (Iconoclasm means the destruction of icons/monuments/idols of another religion.), or a look at the persecution of Buddhists in the Tang Dynasty from the perspective of a single Japanese monk (Ennin).

Note how these topics often focus on a single individual, historical event, or phenomena. John Law was a revolutionary economist who helped shape our modern thinking about the concept of money. He also shaped French monetary policy in the 18th century. A paper on the French economy in the 18th century probably would be too large, but a paper on John Law and his influence can be a great fit.

Here is an example thesis statement from the 2020 winner, “ Buddhism in Tang China ” by Jiwon Lee.

Thus, the paper aims to develop the argument that the personal records of the foreign monk Ennin contain invaluable information on how the persecution impacted the general Buddhist clergy; without him, these descriptions might have never been known to contemporary historians.”

3. Write a lot – length matters (And so does depth!)

Throughout the Concord Review website there are references to the length of student papers. The past year’s essays have all hovered closer to 9000 words (one was over 20,000 words!). The Concord Review was founded by Will Fitzhugh, in part, to encourage students to write long-form historical work. So, this journal looks positively on longer length papers.

The key is not simply to “write a lot,” but rather to build up a deep insight into a topic and field that you can write about at length. This requires reading broadly about the topic and developing your own unique thesis.

4. Reference other historians & extend on their work

When you are writing, it’s important to show that you understand what other historians have approached this topic and what they have said. By noting what other historians have written, you’ll be able to show what the current state of knowledge is in the field. You can then add on your own distinct perspective.

One great example of how to do this is in  Jingxuan Lin’s 2020 Concord Review essay  “Iconoclasm in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom”.

Fortunately, over the past two decades, historical works such as the monographs by Thomas Reilly, Carl Kilcourse and Xia Chuntao have begun to shed light on the religious culture of the Taiping. However, many critical components of Taiping religion still lack sufficient attention. In particular, while almost every account of the Taiping Kingdom touches on its aggressive iconoclasm, Xia Chuntao remains the only scholar to have specifically and systematically analyzed Taiping iconoclasm and traced its development through the history of the movement.9 However, Xia’s work was primarily descriptive rather than analytic, and many of its assertions, which will be explored in this paper, appear to be insufficiently supported by the available evidence.

Note how Lin shows a command of the other historians, then describes how their work will respond to this gap in the current literature. To do this, you need to read widely on the topic. In most winning essays, there are a minimum of ten distinct historical works cited and usually more than 15.

5. Have a thesis

It’s important that you have a point of view. Usually, the structure of Concord Review papers follows an abstract, introduction, main section, and then conclusion. In many papers, the thesis statement comes at the end of the introduction. Here’s an example from the same paper that came at the end of the introduction section.

Therefore, this paper will explore Taiping iconoclasm through the following question: With what significance did the Taiping Kingdom’s iconoclasm enhance or hinder its ability to garner and consolidate political support? To answer this question, this paper will trace the development of Taiping iconoclastic policy and evaluate the reactions of various affected social groups.

Note how this thesis statement sets out an agenda for the paper “What was the importance of iconoclasm in the Taiping Kingdom’s.” The thesis then outlines how it is going to address that question “By looking at the development of Taiping’s iconoclast policies and how other social groups reacted.”

6. Read Examples of Past Winning Essays

The best way to see what is expected of Concord Review winning essays is to see what past winning essays have done. The website has  some example essays  which you can see by signing up for the newsletter. Unfortunately, these essays are primarily from the early 2000s and so don’t really reflect the level or rigor of the most recent few years. A better bet is to first  sign up to be an Author Membe r to see the past essays and to submit one of your own. The cost for this is $70, but gives you access to past essays from the last year.

7. Use a wide variety of historical sources for the essays

When writing your paper, first begin by reading historical perspectives on this issue. One good way to start is to find a book on the topic of your interest. Then while you are reading the book, note what research papers or other books they are citing. Put those other books on a list and identify the ones that come up the most often. That’s your next set of resources.

In total, most winning essays in the past year have had about 15 distinct historical sources in their bibliography. This probably does  not  mean that all 15 of those sources were fully read, it probably does imply that the author has read deeply at least 3 or 4 of these sources on the topic and has used those to find an additional 10 sources to cite throughout the paper.

8. Follow the abstract, introduction, main content, conclusion format

Most of the papers in the Concord Review follow the same format. They start with either an introduction or an abstract and then an introduction. The introduction frames the main topic and sets the scene for the rest of the paper. At the end of the introduction, usually a thesis statement is introduced that then guides the rest of the paper.

From there, the main section involves the primary analysis of the paper. This is usually broken into a number of smaller chunks to keep the reader engaged and following the broader argument. Sometimes this also involves a narrative description of the historical figure in question. The paper then usually ends with a short conclusion. You should try to innovate on the analysis and the writing quality (more on that next), not as much on the structure.

9. Write, write, and rewrite

All of the Concord Review essays that are selected showcase a level of writing that is difficult to accomplish at first try. Instead, each of these papers clearly show a significant amount of time writing and rewriting. As you work on your essay, make sure to allocate time to rewriting your essay and getting feedback from others.

This will be critical for you to successfully write an essay that gets accepted!

As an example of thoughtful writing, here is the introductory paragraph of Jack Tae Hyun Yoon’s 2016 winning essay “John Law: Murderer, Economist, Statesman.”  Louis XIV’s (1643-1715) absolutist France was an authoritarian paradise: “L’etat, c’est moi,” declared the so-called Sun King as he consolidated France’s place as the leading power of Europe. Indeed, the state—with all its various wars and monuments—was the personification of Louis XIV’s towering ego. Yet by the King’s death in 1715, the vast expenses of financing wars such as the costly War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) and building massive construction projects such as the palace at Versailles had left behind a staggering national debt of 2,800 million livres... Nevertheless, while economic turmoil meant hardship for the vast majority of the nation, in the eyes of daring speculators, it signified opportunity, and France met its very own daredevil financier in the form of a mysterious Scotsman named John Law (1671-1729). While Law’s economic system foreshadowed several modern economic policies, its decline served as an early reminder that money is not physical wealth, but rather human confidence in an idea.

10. Prepare alternative publications and competitions to submit to

Ultimately, the Concord Review is prestigious because it is hard to get in. Even with all of the above preparation, it’s very possible that you won’t be accepted to the journal. In that case, be prepared and think of proactive ways to use your essay. After you’ve spent dozens of hours on the project, you shouldn’t let it go to waste. You can identify other history essay competitions, other student journals, or local places for you to publish your work (note that you can’t submit the same article to the Concord Review and another journal. But, you could adapt that piece and submit it somewhere else!). The key is that you don’t let the time you spent on the project go to waste!

One extra tip: Find a mentor

For a long project like this, it’s important to have someone to push your thinking and writing. A history teacher could be a great mentor here or you could identify a history researcher, who can give you the researcher perspective. You want this person to give you direct feedback and to help you shape your thesis, writing, and research process.

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

Stephen Turban,  Lumiere Education

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Why Educational Planners Choose CounselMore

Aspiring IECs and College Counselors

Don't Miss This Chance

Post your article on the CounselMore Blog

CounselMore members enjoy more benefits

Slide title

How to Become an IEC Referral-Generating Machine!

Early Decision 1 vs. 2 - Which One to Choose?

Early Decision vs Early Action Series

The Four-Year Academic Plan as an IEC Business Gamechanger

Becoming an Educational Consultant - Series Wrap-Up

Connecticut's Bold Move: Towards Ending Legacy Admissions in Higher Education

Unlocking Success: Maximizing Benefits with College Counseling Software

5 Easy Steps on How to Find Your Niche in Education

Networking Mastery: How to Cultivate and Grow Your College Counseling Network

Navigating the Maze of College Planning Software: A Mostly Unbiased Review

Terms & Conditions • Privacy Policy

Short Story Marketing

Business Enquiries

Finished Papers

Estelle Gallagher

Earl M. Kinkade

Final Paper

What's the minimum time you need to complete my order?