First-Year Writing Awards
The First-Year Writing Awards recognize outstanding student writing produced in ENGL 110: Introduction to Academic Writing and HONS 110: Introduction to Academic Writing. Winners will receive a monetary prize and publication on the program’s website.
The are two award categories:
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Outstanding First-Year Essay Award, which honors exemplary student essays produced for a first-year writing course. Submissions may include research essays, analysis papers, literacy narrative essays, and other essay genres.
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Outstanding First-Year Multimodal Writing Award, which honors exemplary multimodal writing produced for a first-year writing course. Submissions may include webtexts, videos, object- or performance-texts, and other examples of multimodal writing.
Eligibility
- Authors must be undergraduate students enrolled in ENGL 110 or HONS 110 during the Summer 2021, Fall 2021, or Spring 2022 semesters.
- Submissions must be original work written in response to an assignment in ENGL 110 or HONS 110.
- Authors may self-nominate and submit either one essay or one piece of multimodal writing.
Submission Guidelines
- For students enrolled in Summer 2021 or Fall 2021 sections: Fill out the electronic application form by Friday, January 7th.
- For students enrolled in Spring 2022 sections: Fill out the electronic application form by Friday, April 29th.
- Please contact Meg Scott Copses with any questions.
2021-2022 Award Winners
Outstanding First-Year Essay Awards:
- "A Story of Sound", by Joshua Watford
- "Billie Eilish 2021 Vogue Cover", by Izzy Adler
- "Rhetorically Analyzing the John C. Calhoun Memorial", by Chloe Jackson
- "How to Make Your Soul Grow", by Meghan Lord
- "The Weight of My Mother Tongue", by Maya Pai
- "Native Tongue", by Paulina Rosa Pernitsch
- "Why Code-Switching is a Valuable Tool for Cultural Identity", by Alani Boyd
- "Thank You for Seeing What I Did Not", by William Helfgott
- "Disobedient Rhetoric: The Challenge of Pinning Down the Rhetorical Situation in Civil Disobedience", by Ava Gansrow,
- "Nikky Finney's Writerly Goals", by Emily Kodolitsch
- "Learning Literacy Through Games", by Morgan Kelly
- "Слава Україні! Glory to Ukraine", by Abigail Moorer website
- "Poema de hijos de immigrantes", by Dafne Santos
- "Pathway to Daca and Loteria", by Marisol Garcia
- "Travel Guide to Washington D.C.", by Elizabeth Clark
2020-2021 Award Winners
Outstanding First-Year Essay Awards:
- "Death and Cartoons: A Literacy Journey Through Art" by Allie Crawley
- "The Butterfly Effect" by Maddie Smith
- "The Great DeBACHle" by Reed Kurtz
- "A Negro and an American" by Brandon Alston
- "President Andrew Hsu of College of Charleston: Exploring the Effectiveness of His Speech Regarding Combating Racial Inequalities on Campus" by Zaria Killingsworth
- "My Mental Sanity" by Chelsie Turk
Outstanding First-Year Multimodal Writing Awards:
- "A Look at Sustainable Fashion" by Gabrielle Nazari
- "American Pie" by Anna Deason
- "Justice for Marvin D. Scott III" by Jonah Wexler
- "An Epictetus Quote a Day Keeps the Anxiety Away" by Darby Watford
2019-2020 Award Winners
Outstanding First-Year Essay Awards:
· "How Some Chick in Debate Club Turned Me into a Tree Hugger" by Kayla Humphries
· "Iraqi Refugees and The Rhetorical Situation" by Taylor McElwain
· "What Does it Mean to Be Literate" by Patrick Seyfried
· "The Right Moment" by Savannah Tew
Outstanding First-Year Multimodal Writing Awards:
· "Addressing the Future of the Human Race Through Art" by Jody Bell
· "Safety Glasses On: Genre Remediation of Bill Nye's Rant" by Hannah Giblin
· "Genre Remix for Brain Issues" by Justin Le
2018-2019 Award Winners
- Outstanding First-Year Essay Award:
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Lily Dutton, “I Didn’t Realize I Was Sick of Reading the Stories of Dead White Men Until I Stopped”
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Shem Navarro, “Social Justice”
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Emma Parisi, “Repressed”
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Janneke Morin, “Mrs. B. and the Reading Boycott”
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Danielle Silvestr, “Advice from an Actor”
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- Outstanding First-Year Multimodal Writing Award:
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Caley Liptak, “Rhetoric on Felon Disenfranchisement: Comedy to Cartoon”
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Brenna Grant, “Visualizing Evidence Across the Page”
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2018 Award Winner
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Outstanding Essay: Corley Frierson, “The Church”
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Outstanding Multimodal Writing: Catherine Payne, “Go Inclusivity!”
2017 Award Winner
● Lauren Cellucci, “Pre-Roll Video Ads”
● Kenya Gadsden, “Love and Hip Hop: The Modern Black Minstrel Show”
● Marin Grant, “Understanding Linguistics of American Politics”
● Chandler Lawing, “The Real You Is Beautiful”
2016 Award Winners
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Joshua Petro, "A Fable of Love: Life Is Beautfiul"
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Stefan Schwinn, "On the Lookout for Escapists: How Firewatch Sheds Light on American Escapism"
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Raegan Whiteside, "Has Our Culture Really Changed? Advertisements Say No"
2015 Award Winners
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Tara Burress, “The Dark Knight Dilemma”
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Amy Fnine, “Hoodoo: Black Magic or Healing Art?”
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Winn Meyers, “Generation of Social Avatars: Closing the Gap”
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Patrick Spoon, “Hey Mr. Tambourine Man, Sell a Song to Me"
