IMPORTANT NOTE: E-International Relations is not an essay bank. We publish a small number of carefully selected student papers alongside our expert articles, features and books as a way to give students, who have demonstrated excellence, an opportunity to experience publication.

The highest graded student papers are often said to be ‘of publishable quality’. Yet, every year, tens of thousands of excellent papers written by students are only read by one or two people and then never seen again. E-International Relations seeks to remedy this by offering the chance of publication to current and former undergraduate and Master’s students who would like to share their best essays and dissertations for the benefit of their global peer group, and to get published on a reputable platform.

Student essays are obviously not professional works of original research, and we do not expect them to be so. But, to catch our eye, work submitted to our students section should be of undeniable academic utility to other students who are doing their own research on similar questions and want high quality examples/reference points to compare their own work to. We measure this by assessing how the author addresses the subject in an engaging way that impresses us (e.g. by using pertinent case studies/examples to apply/analyse concepts, engaging with complex literature and ideas effortlessly, addressing real-world issues in an insightful and up-to-date way etc.).

We receive hundreds of essays every year, but only a small number of them are chosen for publication. So, before going forward, ask yourself (1) if the work you intend to submit fits into the general outline above and (2) that it fits our entry criteria and you are able to format the work in line with the guidance below.

Entry Criteria

1. Submissions must be assessed and have been awarded the highest grade category in your relevant university system. Typically this will be a High First Class or an A / A+ grade / Distinction for UK-based systems – or a 4.0 or higher GPA (or equivalent) for US and international based systems.
2. Submissions must be between 1500 and 10,000 words, excluding references. You are welcome to edit down longer pieces, such as dissertations, to fit the upper word limit.
3. English language/grammar must be of a publishable standard and free of structural errors and typos.
4. Reference to academic standards with a full bibliographic reference for each source (any format is fine).
5. You can make only one submission at a time. When we respond, you are welcome to submit a different essay.
6. We seek work written by a single author that has been assessed as part of a university degree. We do not accept presentations, group-authored work, reports, or any other type of formative work.
7. We expect that you will have addressed any issues pointed out by your lecturer/professor in your feedback before submitting.

You must reformat your script and present it as follows

• Shape a catchy title that clearly describes the content. It must be 80 characters or less and in Title Case. Put this on a cover/first page of your document together with your name as you would like it credited on publication.
• Bold-set and left-align first level (main) headings. Italicise any subheadings / second level headings.
• Remove any custom heading scripts or header formatting, such as those in MS word.
• If you have used chapters in addition to headings, mark these out clearly in capitals, e.g. CHAPTER ONE.
• Do not indent the first sentences of paragraphs. Leave one clear line of space between each paragraph.
• Place all quotations in standard quotation marks and indent longer quotes. Do not italicise any quotations.
• Your essay should not start with an indented / separate quote at the top. Please remove these if applicable.
• You must remove all contents pages, declarations, abstracts, custom templates, cover pages, etc.
• Any images in your essay that originate from sources that are subject to copyright must be removed.
• If you have used figures/tables, compile these at the bottom of your text. Any images must be removed as these are typically copyrighted and cannot be published.

Our Publishing Agreement is available here. The basics are that copyright remains with you, the author. Please read this agreement in full as it applies the moment you submit your work.

► When ready, send your essay to essayseditors@gmail.com with the email subject/title ‘ESSAY SUBMISSION’. It must be attached in word format (.docx). Make sure to put your name (as you would like it to appear on publication) and your essay title at the top of your document. If your essay reaches us, you will receive an email confirming receipt (check spam if you don’t see it).

We try to email every author with our decision within 12 weeks, but at busy times it can take a little longer. Please keep an eye on your spam folder in case our email ends up there. If you don’t hear back from us in 12 weeks or so, we welcome your email to chase up.