CJAL’s Best Paper Award

The CJAL’s Best Paper Award recognizes exceptional research contributions in the field of applied linguistics by current graduate students (master's or doctoral level) or recent graduates (maximum 3 years post-graduation). All accepted manuscripts, empirical or theoretical in nature, with a student or recent graduate as first author are eligible for this award.   

In January of each calendar year, eligible authors who published an article in the previous calendar year will be contacted by the CJAL’s Managing Editor. To confirm eligibility and interest in the award, authors who are contacted by the Managing Editor will be asked to submit 1) proof of enrollment or degree conferred*, and 2) a self-nomination letter (written in either English or French, maximum one page, double-spaced, 12-point font) that explains how their published article meets the criteria for the award. The deadline to submit these documents will be in February of each year. 
 
In early spring (March-April), all submissions will be evaluated by an adjudication committee composed of select members of the CJAL Editorial Board. Submissions will be assessed in accordance with the following evaluation criteria:  

• Significance and Originality of the Topic 

• Strength of Research Design 

• Potential Contribution to the Field 

Two cash prizes of 500 Canadian dollars will be awarded to the highest-ranking manuscripts written in English and French, respectively. These awards will be presented during the annual ACLA/CAAL conference in late spring.  
 
Any questions about eligibility may be directed to the Managing Editor, Alex Ross, at cjal-rcla@carleton.ca 

*Examples of proof of enrollment or graduation date include but are not limited to official or unofficial transcripts, confirmation of enrollment letter, link to dissertation. If you have any questions or concerns about how to meet this requirement, please contact the Managing Editor.