Last May, the UMR Writing Center presented awards to the winners of its annual student writing contest. Prizes were awarded in Short Story (General Topic), Short Story (Science Fiction/Fantasy), Analytical Essay, Research, Autobiographical/Personal Essay, Technical Writing, and Freshman Composition, with first, second, and third prizes in each category. This year was the sixth writing contest conducted by the Writing Center.
The majors of students who won awards in the contest range from English to Biochemical Engineering to Geology to Information Science and Technology. This list doesn’t include all the majors, but it should dispel the common notion that only English majors can (or will) write. While our English majors do write well, so do students in other majors. And students in majors other than English can excel in writing outside technical or scientific topics. For example, the first place in fiction, general topic, went to Anna Clausen, a junior in Geology and Geophysics.
The Writing Center is part of UMR’s Writing Across the Curriculum program. Why am I writing about it here? It’s pertinent in this blog because many—not all—of the winning entries were written for classes taught by the English and Technical Communication faculty and because the Writing Center Director, Dr. Kate Drowne, is a member of the English and Technical Communication faculty.
We are proud of all the students, English majors and others, who write so well, of Dr. Drowne, and of the Writing Center and its associated services and programs.
"And the Winner Is . . . "
July 18, 2007 by