Beaulieu College learners made their school proud following their wonderful achievements in the Royal Society of South Africa essay-writing competition,
The Royal Society of South Africa was established in 1908 with the aim to further all aspects of science in South Africa.
Motheo Maitin won the top prize for the essay topic, South Africa has a wealth of medicinal plants. How should the government and research scientists balance the need to develop new medicines with the need to protect these resources?
Erin Pullinger won the third prize for the essay topic, Is there scientific evidence to support (or refute) Greta Thunberg’s assertion that humanity is facing a climate-induced emergency?
The topic, Have social media platforms (such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram) benefited science and society? earned Kathato Motsisi a third place.
Kathato shared how she prepared her essay, “After jotting everything down, I’d choose the ideas that I felt were the best and also those that would work well together.
“I ended up making a rough draft to make sure that I had not repeated anything. I included enough research and made sure that it would be interesting to the reader.”
She added, “What I mostly struggled with was having writer’s block because I would go from having so many ideas to absolutely nothing. Another struggle was that because the essay had to include research, it was sometimes hard balancing that research with my own opinions and ideas.”
She added that they were told the school would choose the top three essays in their grade to be entered into the competition.
At the time, the topic she chose was the most common topic among her friends. She was shocked to find out she came third. “A term later, when the time came for the results of the competition itself I was beyond shocked because I was honestly not expecting to make it that far but I must say that I am proud of myself for that.”
Kathato concluded that as a representative for the school she felt that she and her two peers made the school proud with their achievements.
Amy Naicker, who helped the learners journey through the competition, added that she had developed a training program on how to write scientific essays. “This programme focuses on teaching learners to use the correct structure for their essays as well as creating powerful written arguments.
“We are always very proud of our learners at Beaulieu College. They are incredibly hard working and intelligent young men and women. It is wonderful to see their excellence recognised on a national platform.”
