Reading note · CLSA / ACDS
Roderick A. Macdonald Essay Prize — 2025–2026 call documents an award description, nomination route or recognition statement. Distinguish eligibility rules from the committee’s explanation of a particular winning work. A citation is a useful way into the research, not a substitute for the book or article.
Make a reading card
Record the author, exact title, year and publication details. Note which contribution the committee recognises, then read the original work and identify its evidence and argument. If using the rules for a nomination, confirm the applicable year, language, publication window and destination with the Association.
Reading card template
Author: __. Work: __. Publication: __. Award year: __. Source page: __. Committee’s stated reason: __. Question to investigate in the work itself: __.
Count the whole essay, not just its main text
This call defines a word limit that includes the title, abstract, notes, appendices and bibliography. Its 17 April 2026 deadline is closed. The counting worksheet remains a useful way to prepare for an appropriately verified future call.
- Eligibility required enrolment in a graduate programme at a Canadian university; the essay could not be published or under publication consideration at submission.Source page 1
- The 5,000–10,000-word range included footnotes, abstract, title, appendices and bibliography. The file format was .doc or .docx.Source page 1
- The abstract was limited to 250 words. GenAI was strongly discouraged and had to be properly referenced if used.Source page 1
- 01Main text
- 02+ notes
- 03+ all other parts
- 048,210 total
This invented counting example lies within the call’s total range and abstract ceiling. It is not a real submission or an assessment of scholarly quality; publication status and enrolment remain independent checks.
Example: a complete word-count ledger
- Check enrolment and publication status before formatting.
- Count every listed component, then check the abstract separately.
- Save a Word document and verify the applicable new deadline rather than reusing the 2026 submission address.
Example: a complete word-count ledger
| Main text and notes | 7,000 + 600 = 7,600 words. |
|---|---|
| Other components | Abstract 200 + bibliography 300 + appendix 100 + title 10 = 610. |
| Total | 8,210 words; abstract 200 words. |
This invented counting example lies within the call’s total range and abstract ceiling. It is not a real submission or an assessment of scholarly quality; publication status and enrolment remain independent checks.
2 pages of text
Source-language text, including both languages where the original is bilingual. Page numbering follows the obtained document.
Page 1
Call for Submissions Roderick A. Macdonald Graduate Student Essay Prize (2025-2026) The Canadian Law and Society Association (CLSA) invites students to participate in the 2025-2026 Roderick A. Macdonald Graduate Student Essay Prize! This prize is awarded annually for the best essay on a topic in law and society written by a graduate student at a Canadian university. Previous winners are listed on the CLSA website. Candidatures will be accepted until 11:59pm EST on April 17, 2026. The winning submission will receive detailed feedback from the Prize Committee, and promotion through CLSA channels. Eligibility: • Participants must be graduate students enrolled in a graduate program at a Canadian university. • Papers should not be published, or under consideration for publication, at the time of submission for the prize. The use of GenAI is strongly discouraged and must be properly referenced if used. Application and Guidelines: • Papers can be submitted in either English or French and the content should concern socio- legal issues, past, present, and/or future. • Papers should be no less than 5,000 words and no more than 10,000 words long (including footnotes, abstract, title, appendices, and bibliography), and should be submitted in .doc or .docx format. • Submissions should include an abstract of no more than 250 words that establishes the main arguments and contributions of the paper. • Please submit your best work to the attention of Neela Hassan, Chair of the 2025-2026 Roderick A. Macdonald Graduate Student Essay Prize Committee, by 11:59pm EST on April 17, 2026, at neela.hassan@uwaterloo.ca. The winning submission will be announced at the annual CLSA meeting in June 2026. We look forward to your submissions!
Page 2
Appel à candidatures Prix Roderick A. Macdonald pour meilleur essai étudiant (2025-2026) L'Association canadienne droit et société (ACDS) invite les étudiant.es aux cycles supérieurs à participer au concours 2025-2026 du prix Roderick A. Macdonald pour le meilleur essai étudiant! Ce prix est attribué chaque année à un essai portant sur les études sociojuridiques et est rédigé par une étudiante ou un étudiant d’un programme d’études supérieurs au Canada. La liste des récipiendaires précédent.es se trouve sur le site internet de l'ACDS. Les candidatures seront acceptées jusqu'à 23 h 59 HNE le 17 avril 2026. La ou le récipiendaire recevra des commentaires détaillés de la part du comité de sélection. L'ACDS fera également la promotion de son travail au sein de son réseau. Admissibilité: • Les candidat.es doivent être inscrit(e)s à un programme aux cycles supérieurs d'une université canadienne. • Le texte soumis ne devra pas avoir été publié ou soumis en vue d'une publication au moment de l'envoi au comité de sélection. L'utilisation de GenAI est fortement déconseillée et doit être correctement référencée si elle est utilisée. Candidature et lignes directrices: • Les textes peuvent être rédigés soit en anglais, soit en français, et doivent aborder des enjeux sociojuridiques du passé, du présent ou du futur. • Leur longueur doit être comprise entre 5 000 et 10 000 mots, incluant les notes de bas de page, le résumé, le titre, les annexes et la bibliographie. • Les textes doivent être soumis en format .doc ou .docx. • Les textes doivent inclure un résumé d'au plus 250 mots, précisant les principaux arguments et apports à l’avancement des connaissances du texte soumis. • Veuillez soumettre votre meilleur travail à l'attention de Neela Hassan, présidente du comité du prix Roderick A. Macdonald 2025-2026 pour les essais des étudiants diplômés, avant le 17 avril 2026 à 23 h 59 (HNE), à l'adresse suivante : neela.hassan@uwaterloo.ca. Le projet gagnant sera annoncé lors de la réunion annuelle de l’ACDS en juin 2026. Nous attendons vos soumissions avec intérêt!