Sunway Oxbridge Essay Competition 2017

Reported by ELC

        We would like to extend our warm congratulations to Kuan Kwok Yong and Wang Jia En, both from J3 Adelaide on winning the Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition 2017. The former was awarded the 3rd prize while the latter won a consolation prize. They walked away with a certificate and a cash prize, accompanied by a bursary and a trophy, awarded by Sunway University and the Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia respectively.

        Climate change has become a big concern among people across the globe. Malaysians are also debating heatedly on how to tackle the issue as seriously as possible. Understanding how important this topic is to the young generation, Sunway University and Cambridge Society of Malaysia decided to choose it as the theme of this year’s Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition. According to Sunway Education Group senior executive director Elizabeth Lee, participants would get the opportunity to share their ideas and thoughts on the issue and, at the same time, demonstrate their command of English.

        There were two categories- Category A was for Forms One to Three. They were to write 200 to 350 words on “What could you do as an individual to reduce the impact of climate change?” Category B was for Forms Four and Five on “Who is really responsible for the seasonal air pollution, also known as the haze, in Malaysia?” with a word count of 500-650 words.

      To be eligible for the essay competition, participants had to send in one essay each. The shortlisted finalists were then required to take part in a sit-down essay writing competition held on June 10 at Sunway University. This year, other than the two winners, six students from our school emerged as the finalists. They were Let Ern Chi, Chiew Jian Shiun, Chee Zheng Yu (all from J3 Adelaide), Chin Yen Fei, Chieng Herng Yu (both from J3 Canberra) and Lee Mei Chie (from S2 Melbourne). We would like to congratulate the finalists and winners wholeheartedly on their achievements. We hope that their excellent performance can bring positive impact on the other writers and encourage more participants to take part in the similar essay-writing competitions in the near future.

Wang Jia En  (J3 Adelaide)

       At first, I didn’t even expect to get into the finals, but surprisingly, I did. During the on-site finals, I performed just as usual. I thought I wouldn’t stand a chance to win at all. When I knew I got a consolation prize, I was so shocked and happy. I would like to dedicate this prize to my teachers, family and friends, and to all those books I’ve read that widened my vision.

Kuan Kwok Yong  (J3 Adelaide)

       It was Ms Chua  who introduced me (specifically, my class) to this competition. Since it was a competition, I was obliged to write it carefully and pour my heart into my essay. I had never thought I would be chosen to participate in the on-site finals, let alone winning third place! Although the prize giving ceremony took a very long time (mind you, we had to wait for an hour for the ceremony to start),  when I set my hands on the trophy and certificate, I felt a sense of accomplishment and relief! I was nearly interviewed by the mass media, but they did not (what a relief!). From my point of view, to write good factual essays, we need to have some knowledge of other subjects such as History, Geography and Science. That way, we can elaborate more on our main points and improve our essay writing skills.