Upper-Division Writing Awards
2023–2024 Upper-Division Writing Awards
The Office of the Campus Writing & Communication Coordinator has announced five writing awards that recognize excellence in student writing in upper-division courses (numbered 100 and above). Prizes will be awarded to students enrolled in Spring 2023, Fall 2023, and Winter 2024. Only one submission per student will be accepted. Winners will be announced campus-wide and will be honored in a Writing Awards Ceremony (co-sponsored by the Office of the Campus Writing & Communication Coordinator, the Composition Program, the Department of English, and the Humanities Core Course) in the spring quarter.
DEADLINE: Submissions in all categories are due by noon on Thursday, April 4, 2024. Please send all submission materials to icruse@uci.edu.
- Awards for Excellent Upper-Division Academic Writing
The submission should include the instructor’s assignment, the student’s paper, and a brief evaluative statement from the instructor pointing out the strengths of the writing in discipline-specific terms (e.g., why it succeeds as a writing in biology, sociology, philosophy, etc.). This is a joint submission by the student and the instructor—both the paper and the prompt will be evaluated. Papers should be submitted in one of the following categories:
- Humanities and Arts
- Social Sciences and Social Ecology
- Science and Technology
Writings submitted for this award are not restricted to “W” course papers and should be between 1,200 and 4,000 words of finished work, excluding extra material
CRITERIA FOR JUDGMENT
Mastery of writing abilities demanded by the discipline, especially as articulated in the assignment and evaluated in the instructor’s statement.
AWARD: $150
- Award for Best Public or Professional Writing
This award honors classroom-initiated writing that is oriented toward either the civic or professional arena. The submission should include the instructor’s assignment, the student’s work, and a brief evaluative statement from the instructor pointing out the strengths of the work.
CRITERIA FOR JUDGMENT
Mastery of writing abilities demanded by the civic or professional arena, especially as articulated in the assignment and evaluated in the instructor’s statement.
AWARD: $150
- Award for Best Writing Portfolio
This award honors a student’s achievement in writing drawn from a variety of courses. Showcasing a range of styles, forms, and disciplinary areas, the portfolio should be introduced by a statement of 240–480 words, in which the writer describes the papers enclosed, discusses their criteria for selection, and reflects on the development of their writing over the course of undergraduate study. The portfolio should include a minimum of three selections, emphasizing work in upper-division courses; the maximum length is up to 12,000 words, including the statement.
CRITERIA FOR JUDGMENT
Interesting range of writings; variety in genre and style or evidence of a development of abilities within a single genre; effective statement; strong general writing abilities.
AWARD: $150
FORM
Writings should be submitted without any instructor’s comments. The student’s name and the student’s ID number should not appear anywhere in the text or on a title page. Submissions should be typed, and the pages should be numbered. In the case of researched writing, papers should follow appropriate style and format conventions.
SUBMISSION FORM
Each entry should be accompanied by a submission form. For writing submitted in all categories, an email confirmation or an electronic signature of an instructor familiar with the student’s writing is required. Please submit your entries to Iveta Cruse at icruse@uci.edu.
COLLABORATION
Collaborative writing is acceptable in all categories. Collaborators should include a brief statement describing their process of composition.