Eligibility
Instructors may nominate the research-based, MLA formatted essays of students in their
English C1000 and English C1000+28 sections. All variations of these courses (8-week,
16-week, etc.) and all modalities of English C1000 and English C1000+28 are eligible.
Prizes
- 1st Place $300.00
- 2nd Place $200.00
- 3rd Place $100.00
- Hon. Mention: $50.00, awarded at panel's discretion
Prizewinners will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the first fall meeting
after the winners have been decided. Award-winning essays will also be archived permanently
in the department’s Canvas Homeroom as a faculty and student resource.
Contest Calendar & Deadlines
The contest draws entries from the full academic year, beginning in summer and concluding
for that year at the close of the following spring semester. Winners are announced
in late August and prizes are awarded annually at an informal ceremony, typically
during the inaugural fall department meeting.
Instructors must submit student entries (electronically). Typically, the submission
due date is approximately 2 weeks after the faculty’s grade submission deadline for that semester (but it's wise to have your student complete the consent form before the semester
ends). Winter, spring, summer, and fall sessions all follow the same protocol. Check your email for flyers and announcements calling for submissions and offering deadline reminders
each semester.
Essay Criteria
A submitted essay should be original work. Except for minor proofreading/polishing,
it should be the same version that was submitted for grading. That is, there should
be no substantive revision of content after the paper has been graded. It must be
a clean copy (no instructor comments or other mark-ups) typed and formatted appropriately,
with an accompanying Works Cited. Essays are submitted electronically by instructors.
The essay should represent a student’s semester-long efforts in developing the skills
and habits of thinking as described in the English C1000 official course outline of
record. With a minimum page count of seven pages, including the Works Cited, we seek argumentative, thesis-driven essays that make effective use of research materials
and assigned readings. Noteworthy papers integrate information and ideas from scholarly
sources as well as a creative and lively mix of useful non-academic sources.
Specifically, we will look for essays that demonstrate the student’s ability to:
- formulate a focused and properly limited topic
- offer a strong, clear, argumentative thesis statement
- avoid reflexive ideological bias and thought-stopping clichés
- engage in meaningful counterargument when contextually appropriate
- select appropriate and effective materials from any combination of academic, popular,
personal, visual, audio sources
- summarize and/or paraphrase source material thoughtfully
- integrate quotations from sources clearly and seamlessly
- organize information effectively
- provide accurate documentation of source material in MLA format
- write an essay relatively free of major errors in syntax, spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Beyond the above, a prize-worthy essay will have qualities that lift and distinguish
it from simply meeting the stated criteria. It may demonstrate the writer's pleasure
in exploring the topic, and/or the writer’s attentiveness to the reading audience.
It will have subjective but important qualities such as a notable level of intellectual
ambition or passion, nuanced argument, complexity in or artfulness with language.
In short, it will distinguish itself from other essays not only through its competence
in following protocols but also through its creativity, strong voice, engagement,
individual approach, style, and command of the material.
Submissions are Blind
Two components are necessary for entry into the contest. The instructor submits both:
- The essay, submitted electronically (see link for instructions). Students should retain a copy;
entries will not be returned. Paper essay submissions will not be considered.
-
The Submission Form (see link at the top). It should be completed and signed by the student and returned
to his/her instructor separately from the essay itself. Provide students with the
sample completed Submission Form as an example. Only essays that are accompanied by
a completed Submission Form are eligible.
When the annual submission period closes, the essay entries will be prepared as blind
submissions to the prize committee by removing the names of the students and their
instructors, leaving only the semester and course section number. The committee will
not know who wrote the essay or which instructor submitted it for consideration.
