Ladder progress
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How the ladder works
- Read in order — the books get harder on purpose. About one a month.
- Check it off here when you finish.
- Rate it — use ➕ Share a book on my shelf: honest stars, honest review, plus one line on what this book says about the world.
- Turn it into an article — each book is a candidate topic for my monthly 500-word practice article.
The 7-book ladder
Inventions and world affairs — the exact shape of the contest's Junior topic.
📰 Weekly articles (20 minutes, pick one)
- Harvard International Review — one article a week; start with the examples on the contest page.
- CFR Backgrounders — one-page explainers of world issues.
- BBC World or AP World — skim headlines, read one story properly.
- Our World in Data — find one chart and explain it in two sentences.
After each article, answer out loud: What's the main point? What's the evidence? Why is it analysis, not opinion?