How to Write a Stockholm Junior Water Prize Research Paper

By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair

Write it to the U.S. National Paper Guidelines from your first draft: a PDF of no more than 20 pages, an abstract of no more than 180 words, the standard scientific sections, a Discussion that ties your results to a real water problem, and short numbered conclusions. Just as important, the paper has to explain cause and effect and make it plain that you did the research and the writing yourself.

The rest of this post walks through each part in the order a judge reads it.

Why the paper carries so much weight

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize is a paper competition first. The Water Environment Federation, which runs the U.S. competition, says it weighs the research paper much more heavily than the poster, which sets it apart from most science competitions.

At the national level, judges look at the paper together with a video presentation, and they are watching for how well you know and own the project.

State rules are loose, so write to the national standard anyway

At the state level there are no specific paper guidelines. The file just has to be 2MB or smaller, and on a team, one member submits for both.

State winners move on to nationals, though, and there the paper must meet the National Paper Guidelines. In the 2026 cycle, state entries were due April 15 and state winners went straight into a virtual judging round in the first two weeks of May. That leaves no room to reformat. Build the paper to the national rules from the start. (The 2027 dates are not posted yet.)

The format rules

• English, saved as a PDF no larger than 2MB
• 12-point Times New Roman, 1.5 line spacing
• 1 inch margins at the top and bottom, .75 inch on the sides
• no more than 20 pages, counting figures, tables and annexes (the title page does not count)
• page numbers at the bottom center

Because annexes count toward the 20 pages, an appendix is not a place to park extra material. Every page has to earn its spot.

The front matter

Title page. It reads “Entry to the Stockholm Junior Water Prize [year],” followed by your title, your name or names, and your state.

Abstract. No more than 180 words, and the guidelines say to write it last. If you are adapting a science fair abstract, which ISEF caps at 250 words, expect to cut.

Then, in order: a table of contents, key words, abbreviations, acknowledgements, and a short biography of no more than half a page.

Acknowledgements deserve real care. The guidelines ask you to state clearly how much outside help you had. Be specific: who helped, and with what.

The body

The sections are Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions and References, with an optional Bibliography and Annexes.

Your methods should be ones scientists accept for experiments, monitoring and reporting, and that includes statistical analysis. A project with real measurements and honest statistics reads very differently from one with a few observations.

The Discussion is where judges look hardest

The guidelines call the Discussion “an extremely important section which the judges pay close attention to.” It should answer four questions:

• How do your results matter to the water problem you chose?
• What is new about them?
• How do they compare with what others have found?
• Could a local or national agency, or the people living with the problem, actually use them?

This lines up with the judging criteria. Relevance, meaning whether the project targets an important water challenge and could improve the environment or quality of life, carries the heaviest weight of the six criteria.

Numbered conclusions

Number each conclusion and keep it to one to three short sentences. The whole section fits on two pages or fewer.

A good test: each numbered point should name one finding, and a judge should be able to find the data behind it in your Results.

Cause and effect

The judges’ advice in the guidelines comes back to this again and again. Describing a problem is not enough. Their example is a survey of an overgrown, nutrient-loaded lake: on its own it ranks low, but adding what is causing the problem and how better monitoring would improve management makes it much stronger.

A few other points from the same advice:

• Explain how your project moves toward a solution, not only what the problem is.
• If you are testing an applied solution, refer to earlier work and say what gap you fill.
• If your project is about raising awareness, back it with numbers, such as survey results. If that survey is also going to a science fair, it needs review before you collect any responses.

Show what you did

The guidelines tell students to show clearly that they did the research and the writing, and that they read the existing literature. Plagiarism can lead to disqualification.

The judging criteria back this up. Practical Skills asks what help parents, teachers and professionals gave, and whether you took the measurements yourself.

In practice:

• Say which measurements you took, and how.
• Write in your own words, and cite every source you drew on.
• Make the acknowledgements honest about who helped and how much.

A mentor or teacher can help you sharpen the question, check the statistics and push on the Discussion. You still run the work and write the paper, and you should be able to explain every choice in it on video without a script.

If you are on a team of two

Teams of up to two students may enter. Both of you should know the whole project, not just your half. The national video is judged partly on ownership, and it shows quickly when one partner only knows one section.

Already have a science fair paper on water?

You may have most of an entry already. Water covers a lot: water quality, treatment, runoff, algae, drought, stormwater, sensors and computer models of water systems all fit, as long as they use real data and statistics.

To adapt it, trim the abstract to 180 words, add the title page, biography and acknowledgements, rebuild the Discussion around the water problem, and turn your conclusions into a numbered list. You do not need to have entered a science fair to compete, since any student in grades 9 to 12 who will be 15 by August 1 can nominate themselves for their state competition.

Our mentors guide the question, the statistics and the Discussion while the student does the research and writes the paper. See our science fair and research mentorship, or read how to turn lab research into an STS paper.

FAQ

How long can a Stockholm Junior Water Prize paper be?

Under the national guidelines, no more than 20 pages, including figures, tables and annexes. The title page does not count toward the limit.

How long should the abstract be for SJWP?

No more than 180 words. Write it after the rest of the paper is done, so it reflects your actual results.

Does my paper have to follow the national guidelines for the state round?

There are no specific paper guidelines at the state level beyond the 2MB file limit. State winners have to meet the national guidelines, though, so it is smart to write to them from the start.

Can a teacher or mentor help my child with the paper?

Yes, as guidance. Judges ask what help parents, teachers and professionals provided, and the acknowledgements should say how much help there was. The student takes the measurements and writes the paper.

Does my child need to be in a science fair to enter?

No. Any eligible student can nominate themselves for their state competition and submit the paper online.