Judges Ring Essay Competition Certificate

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Essay Competition Award Badge Template, Judge's Ring: badge preview

Essay Writing Competition Portrait Certificate Template, Judge's Ring: portrait certificate preview

Award the winning essay with a landscape certificate set like an anthology page: the placing ringed in red, judging criteria, notes, two signatures and a QR.

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Add your logo and wording, then send it to everyone at once, each with a link anyone can verify.

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Free for up to 20 recipients a year

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A4 and US Letter, composed for each
Your logo, colours and wording
A QR code on every copy that proves it is real
Matching digital badge in the same design

Updated 30 October 2026 · Designed by the Hyperstack studio

What is on it

A complete record, not just a name

You write once

The same for everyone. Keep the template’s words or change them.

Title: Certificate of Achievement
Statement: A line of thanks or achievement, written for this topic
Skills: Original argument, Clear structure, Use of evidence and Language and style
Details: the entry and the judging
Signatures: Chair of Judges and Competition Director

Filled in for each person

Hyperstack fills these from your list when you send.

Recipient name
Program or award name
Issue date
Credential ID
QR code to the verification page

Specifications

Sizes, fonts and colours

Sizes

A4: 297 × 210 mm · 11.69 × 8.27 in
US Letter: 11 × 8.5 in · 279 × 216 mm

Fonts

EB Garamond: Title, Text, Labels, Recipient name
Mrs Saint Delafield: Signatures

Google Fonts, free for commercial use.

Colours

Paper#fbf7ee
Ink#1e2433
Accent#a8322a
Second accent#2c3f63
Muted text#6b6457

Change any colour in the studio.

Design notes

The landscape layout reads like the opening page of the competition's anthology of prize essays. A running head carries the organisation and the series, the program is set as the essay's title in italic, and the name stands as the byline above a drop-capped statement and the criteria the judges used. A side column holds numbered notes on the entry and the blind judging, then the issue date and the credential ID. The placing, First Prize by default, is circled once in red, and two judges sign beside the QR code. It suits a formal, literary award.

About

Essay Competition Certificate Template, Judge's Ring

An essay competition asks writers to argue a set question within a word limit, and a panel judges the entries on ideas, structure, use of evidence and style. Many contests read entries blind, with names removed, and name first, second and third prizes plus highly commended essays. Schools, colleges, libraries, literary societies, foundations and professional bodies present this certificate at a prize evening, or send it when the shortlist and the results are announced.

Wording on the template“The judges award this prize for the winning essay: an original argument, built with care and written with clarity and style, chosen from every entry received this year.”

More wording ideas for essay competition certificates

Words that go with it

The email and the post, written for you

Email to send with it

Subject: Your essay competition certificate, name

Dear name,

Congratulations. The judges read every entry to this year's essay competition with care, and your essay stood out for the strength of its argument and the clarity of its writing.

Your certificate is ready. Open it to see the full record of your award, then download a copy to print or share it with your family, your teachers and your friends online.

Thank you for writing for us, and we hope to read your next essay.

Hyperstack fills in each person’s name and link when it sends.

Post for the recipient to share

I am happy to share that my essay won a prize in this year's essay writing competition. Writing to a strict word limit taught me to build an argument with care and to choose my evidence well. Thank you to my teachers for their feedback and to the judges for reading every entry. #EssayWriting #Writing #Education

Recipients share it with one click from their credential page, with the badge attached.

Printing

Printing it well

Print at actual size

Choose “Actual size” or 100% in the print dialog, not “Fit to page”, so the margins and the QR code keep their size.

Use card, not paper

A matte or silk card of 200–300 gsm (about 80–110 lb cover) feels like an award and does not curl in a frame.

Frame it

A4 fits a standard 21 × 29.7 cm frame; US Letter fits an 8.5 × 11 in frame, or an 11 × 14 in frame with a mat. Hang it on its side, as designed.

Mind the edges

Most home printers leave a thin white border. For a design that runs to the edge, use a print shop or your printer’s borderless setting.

Certificate or badge?

Send both. They do different jobs.

Certificate

A full record: name, statement, skills, dates and signatures
Printed and framed, or kept as a PDF
Opens to a page anyone can verify

Digital badge

A small image people put on LinkedIn and in email signatures
Carries the verified details inside it (Open Badges 2.0)
One click shows who earned it and who issued it

See the matching digital badge →

How to send it

From template to everyone’s inbox

01
Make it yours
Open the template, add your logo and change any colour or word.
02
Add your people
Upload a spreadsheet, or connect your LMS, HR tool or form.
03
Send it
Each person gets an email and their own credential page, in one go.
04
They share it
Recipients add it to LinkedIn; anyone can verify it from the QR code.