Writing Contests and Awards
PWR Writing Contests Are on Hold for the 2026 Academic Year
We are revamping our writing awards and contests. Please withhold submissions until April to be considered for 2027.Ìý
If you have already submitted, we will be reaching out to you directly, via email.
Writing Contest Award Winners
Awards submission periods runÌýfrom February of the previous year to March of the awarding year.
1st Place: Charles Deutser
1st Place: Grace OltersdorfÌý
2nd Place: Luke Ahern
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1st Place: Jacob Johnson
2nd Place: Aimee Kennedy
3rd Place: Sophie Whipple
1st Place: Sophie Whipple
2nd Place: Isabelle Entin
HM: Grace Atencio
1st Place: Olivia Bianchi
2nd Place:ÌýChloe Els
3rd Place: Eva Basa
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1st Place: Chloe Arroyo
2nd Place: Molly Dever
3rd Place: Luke Tracy
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Fall 2024: Quinten Krikava “The Irreversible Nature of All Thingsâ€Ìý
Spring 2025: Tristan Hueniken “Motorsport Sustainabilityâ€
1st Place: Riley LafreniereÌý
1st Place: Zoe Katres
1st Place: Daniel Sagasti
1st Place: Sophie Whipple
2nd Place: Patrick Pethybridge
3rd Place: Analycia Smith
1st Place: Macy MohlenkampÌý- A Family of Withering Bodies - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
2nd Place: Madeline FlanaganÌý- The Stigma Surrounding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
Honorable Mention:ÌýJackson Evanow - Animators or Animals? Working Conditions in Japan's Animation Studios - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
1st Place: Maya MertaÌý- Please return to Ms. Smile - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
2nd Place: Alan KerdmanÌý- Framing for Electability - Instructor: Eric Burger
1st Place: Jake WarneckeÌý- Not My Emergency - Instructor: Eric Burger
2nd Place: Andrew HillyerÌý- Introspective Lessons of an Infantry Squad Leader - Instructor: Jason Lagapa
3rd Place: Henry HessÌý- Cracked Helmets and College Applications - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
1st Place: Chloe WolframÌý- - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
2nd Place: Jonah SchwartzÌý- UFC Fighter Pay, Is it Fair? - Instructor: Nathan Pieplow
1st Place: Molly Egan - The Oxymoronic Authenticity of Performativity in Wilderness Travel - Instructor: Christine Macdonald
2nd Place:ÌýEmy Gunn - Is ItÌýReally Making You Feel Better? An Examination of Cognitive Dissonance Among College Students - Instructor: Christine Macdonald
3rd Place: Sebastion MelanconÌý- Speaking with the Leaves - Instructor: Christine Macdonald
1st Place: James "Turner" LandÌý- Cigarettes - Instructor: Eric Burger
2nd Place: Cade Yoshioka - Walk the Margins - Instructor: Eric Burger
3rd Place: Cecilia RosedaleÌý- News, the Workplace, and Women - Instructor: Eric Burger
Summer 2023: Joanna Parker “The Rhetorical Life of Beethovenâ€
Fall 2023: Luke CalvinÌý- From Sport to Concern - Instructor: Christine Macdonald
Spring 2024: Mackenzie Davis "The Doomsday Clockâ€
1st Place: Alex BarryÌý- Dry Dock and Bus to Show Collaboration Proposal
1st Place: Isabella BrownÌý- Do You Want to Start a Bakery?
1st Place: Meghan Robertson -
1st Place: Nathaniel SteinÌý- Public Enemy - Instructor: Tracy Ferrell
2nd Place: AnonymousÌý- Equality in our Schools - Instructor: Andrea Feldman
3rd Place: Macy BakerÌý- The oneÌýAbout Gender Stereotyping and Lack of Diversity: Gender and Diversity Portrayals in Sitcoms in the 1990s and 2000s - Instructor: Tracy Ferrell
1st Place: Mohamad Eiman Mohamad RezwanÌý- Assessing the Sustainability of Folktales in Malaysia in the 21st Century - Instructor: Andrea Feldman
1st Place: Nico HaBa - No Longer My Story: The College Essay and Privilege
2nd Place: Finn CruitÌý- Pseudoscience in My Life: How It's Affecting Our Response to Climate Change
3rd Place: Alexander Ashby - The First of Many
1st Place: Deelia Sherman - Painting the Town: How Graffiti Gives a Voice to the Voiceless
2nd Place: Casey Brengan - Whose Culture is it Anyway? Museum Artifact Repatriation and the Academic Spiral Over Cultural Property
3rd Place: Annika SchonÌý- The Dire Need for the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
1st Place: Matthew Labay - Getting Some Air
2nd Place: Megan McLemore - The Show About Nothing
3rd Place: Leah Abrahamsson- Uneasiness, Dread and a Rapid Heartbeat
1st Place: Jacob BeauprezÌý- The Assay: Psilocybin Legalization in Colorado
2nd Place: Benjamin Lau - Faith and Diabetes: My Journey
3rd Place: Josh Taylor- Find Your Why
1st Place: Jasmine Blustein - So Long, CD's Wings - Instructor: Christine Macdonald
2nd Place: Jennifer Bockius - The Influence of Microgravity on Muscles in the Human Body - Instructor: Christine Macdonald
3rd Place: Miarabelle Riley - Unwriting a Myth: Wild Horses in the United States
1st Place (TIE): Camille LaRocca - A Mirror I Refuse to Look Into
1st Place(TIE): Emily Colgan - What is Megargel?
3rd Place: Vivian Luckiw - Are you better?
Summer 2022: Ethan Miles “Relinquishing the Grip of Copyright on Creative Growthâ€Ìý
Fall 2022: Jim GradyÌý- The Effect of Scientific Popularizations on Polyps
Spring 2023: Sophie Woods “Unintended Effects: The Ethics of Implementing Energy Projects in Developing Countriesâ€
1st Place: Jim Grady, Regan Fenske, Josh Miller, & Kevin PipichÌý- Assessment of Academic Services for Mechanical Engineering Student
1st Place: Benjamin ChastainÌý- Access for the Everyman | Unlocking Private Closures of America's Public Lands
1st Place: MarÃa Correa González
2nd Place: Taylor Henderson
1st Place:Anonymous - Becoming a "Straightforward Case": Transgender Assimilation and the False Self
2nd Place:Anonymous - Women, Life, Freedom: Women of Iran's Protests for a Life of Freedom
3rd Place:Emily Miller - Malcom the Movement
1st Place:ÌýXyon ZhangÌý- Graduation: International Parenthood and Education
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Writing Contest Categories and Forms
2-6 page piece, based on an inquiry, analysis, and/or argument assignment. May contain research and its proper documentation.
7-15 page essay, based on an inquiry, analysis, and/or argument assignment. Must incorporate research and its proper documentation.
Personal narrative/memoir, lyric essay, creative argument, literary journalism, and the like
Compositions presented in digital form that include some combination of visual, aural, and textual rhetoric.
Traditional or multi-modal essays written for any PWR class in any genre that pertains to diversity. Submissions may address diversity in the broadest sense, including such topics as social class, gender, sexuality, age, race, ability, mental health, ethnicity, or cultural difference.
We welcome submissions that address diversity in its broadest sense, including such topics as: social class, gender, sexuality, age, race, ability, ethnicity or cultural differences. The award is offered for outstanding traditional or multimodal essays in any genre on topics pertaining to diversity. The multilingual prize is awarded to students writing on a diversity-related topic using or incorporating multiple varieties of English, including students writing English as a Second Language. ESL students are especially encouraged to submit.
Research-based projects completed by students in WRTG 3020 Topics in Writing, WRTG 3007 Writing in the Visual Arts, or majors other than Engineering in WRTG 3030 Writing on Science and Society. For personal essays or creative non- fiction, please submit to the CNF Prize. For Engineering majors, please submit to the Mackison Prize.
Personal narrative/memoir, lyric essay, creative argument, literary journalism, and the like -- as well as digital multimodal creative nonfiction (for example, photo essay or digital storytelling video).
Exclusive to College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS) majors in WRTG 3030 Writing on Science and Society and WRTG 3035 Technical Communication and Design. Only CEAS majors writing on an engineering-related topic are eligible. Entries must be documents. No videos or other primarily digital forms (e.g. digital storytelling or web pages) are accepted. Awarded each semester (separate form).
Team project completed for client/community parter in upper-divison courses, such as WRTG 3025. Only one team member should submit on behalf of the entire team.
Research-based projects completed by students in WRTG 3040 Writing on Business and Society.