What is the WCI Writing Contest?
The Writing & Critical Inquiry (WCI) Program holds a writing contest for current WCI students each semester to encourage independent thinking, collective reflection and meaningful engagement.
Our collaborative judging process makes the contest unique: WCI faculty members read all submissions and select a small batch of promising essays to bring into their classes. Students act as the final judges by discussing and then voting on the selected submissions.
Reading student work from other WCI course sections allows instructors to reflect on varying pedagogical approaches with their colleagues, while encouraging students to engage in critical discussions of their peers’ writing.
Together, we determine what effective writing looks like and how it’s used to deepen inquiry — and honor the idea that there is no one way to write.
Winners are invited to read and discuss their work at a celebration attended by WCI faculty and students, including those who participated as judges.
Submission Instructions
Submissions are collected from September 15 to December 31 for fall semester courses and from January 15 to May 31 for spring semester courses.
Students may only submit during the semester they are enrolled in a WCI course.
Students may submit one piece of writing per category (personal essay, analysis and argument/conversation). A separate entry must be made for each submission.
Entries are read anonymously. Therefore, do not include your name anywhere on or in the essay itself. Please include the title on the first page and use a .doc, .docx, .rtf or .pdf file format.
By entering the contest, you agree to have your work read and discussed by WCI students in the following semester’s class sections, to have your work available publicly on the WCI website and to have your work used in future WCI classes.
Please email Dr. Sarah Giragosian ([email protected]) and/or Ryan Orr ([email protected]) with any questions. We look forward to reading your work!
Past Writing Contest Winners & Finalists
Personal Inquiry Essay
- Winner: Brandon Dor, "A Blind Mind's Eye"
- Finalists:
- Ashley Crandall, "I Am Just Like Him"
- Mmedo Etor, "My Fascinating Hair"
Analysis Inquiry Essay
- Winner: Atkia Nazifa, "Shadows of Surveillance"
- Finalists:
- Ethan San Pedro, "The Lobster Dilemma"
- Oscar Umana, "Universal Access to Knowledge"
Conversation Inquiry Essay
- Jovanie Williams, "How Has Contemporary Redlining Contributed to the Depleted Mental Health and the ‘Strong Black Women’ Ideal That is Held in Black Communities?”
- Anastasiia Kurenkova, "Factors That Led to Lead Poisoning in Children Aged 0-5 Years From the Past and Present”
- Ethan San Pedro, "Zonings Place in Modern Sustainability"
Personal Inquiry Essay
- Winner: Laurens Dunham, "Insert Fitting Title Here"
- Finalists:
- Eliza Walker, "Finding Community"
- Bathya Natanova, "Untitled"
Analysis Inquiry Essay
- Winner: Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, "The Extrinsic Impact of Sociopolitical Factors on Child Language Brokering"
- Finalists:
- Laurens Dunham, "Tennessee Transphobia"
- Kenzie Koster, "Oh, Bats!"
Conversation Inquiry Essay
- Winner: Arely Gonzalez Hernandez, "Child translators at the doctor’s office? The Controversial Use of Child Language Brokers in the Medical Setting"
- Finalists:
- Ethan Gish, "Gun Violence, How Could a Developed Country Look Like This?"
- Meagan Leung, "The Impact Exposure to Nature has on the Immune System: The Misconceptions, False Narratives, and Negative Impact of Poor Public Health Education"
Winner: Sharie Rhea, “Upside Down”
Finalists:
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Alisha Lai, “Neurodivergent in a Neurotypical World”
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Abigail Lee, “Missing the Old Her”
Winner: Allison Quaranto, “An Analysis on the Psychological Effects on Children of Alcoholic Parents”
Finalists:
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Isabella Yaghy, “Coinciding Dangerous Themes in the Porn Industry and 'The Husband Stitch'”
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Hayley Moskowitz, “The Inner Workings of ALS Research”
Winner: Julie Hong, "A Time of Revolution in Iran"
Finalists:
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Isabella Yaghy, “The Relationship Between Mainstream Porn and Nonconsensual Porn in Domestic Abuse and How It Relates to ‘The Husband Stitch’”
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Sharie Rhea, “Destigmatizing Divorce: Why Divorce Can Be the Best Option for the Health of Adolescent Relationships”
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Hayley Moskowitz, “How the FDA is Hindering ALS Treatment”
Winner: Emma Rumney, “That Which We Hold and That Which Holds Us”
Finalists:
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Ashley Badger, “Trials of a Perfectionist”
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Brianna Broome, “A Strange Memory”
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Kelsey Classen, “Fear of the Known”
Winner: Kate Bucek, “Lost in Translation: The Impact of Translation Theory on Literature Translations”
Finalists:
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J.T. Stone, “Romantic Competence”
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Seamus Mooney, “Why Parentally Bereaved Youth Face Unique Challenges”
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Ashley Badger, “An Unconscious Paradox: Examining the Ironic Parallel between Perfectionism and a Damaging, Deficient Self-Construct”
Winner: Kelsey Classen, “Fairy Tales, Cultural Diffusion, and Childhood Development”
Finalists:
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Taina K. Stevens, “Staying in the Family: Familism and Formal Support Systems of Latina Mothers with Children with Intellectual Disorders”
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J.T. Stone, “Know Thyself”
Winner: Grace Wright, "The Spider and the Web"
Finalists:
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Alyssa Kamara, “Self Reflection from a Communal Dorm Bathroom”
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Bhumika Devkota, “A Decade of Questioning”
Winner: Alyssa Kamara, "Violence through Silence"
Finalists:
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Owen Hebert, “Missing Information: Analyzing Content Analyses of U.S. History Textbooks”
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Andy Dong, “Predicting Impact of Gentrification Sunset Park”
Winner: Deborah Hoyte, "The Lasting Effects of Black Movies"
Finalists:
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Bhumika Devkota, “The Recognition and Implementation of Intersectionality in the Medical Field”
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Axelle LaBaw, “Flattening the Curve in New York: Correctional Health is Public Health”
Winner: MacKenzie Brown, “But We Didn’t”
Finalists:
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Leah Gardner, “Who Am I?”
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Caroline Sherwin, “Playing the Game”
Winner: Danielle Modica, “Young Career Decision-Making in Modern America”
Finalists:
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Sarah Hudi, “Concussions and Symptoms”
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Victoria Doherty, “Behind Barred Doors”
Winner: MacKenzie Brown, “Modern United States Police Interrogation Techniques: Effective or Cruel?”
Finalists:
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Sarah Hudi, “Baseline Testing”
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Pavel Fedarynau, “Fairytale Therapy in the Modern World”
Winner: Astrid Marz, “Shame”
Finalists:
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William Besterman, "Rain on the Fairgrounds"
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Kavipriya (Kavi) Kovai Palanivel, "The Theory Behind a Vacuum"
Winner: Monica Alexander, “Exposing Racial Injustice with Poetry"
Finalists:
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Michael Caggianelli, "Civil Court Rulings on Child Custody"
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Kavipriya (Kavi) Kovai Palanivel, "Metaphors: The Key to Representing the Intersectional Nature and Causes of Oppression"
Winner: Gianna Gjelaj, “Louisiana’s Teen Pregnancies”
Finalists:
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Monica Alexander, “An Alternative Definition of “Black”: Challenging Hollywood’s Attempt at Inclusion”
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Madeleine Wadeson, “An Argument for Modern Media in Politics”
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Kavipriya (Kavi) Kovai Palanivel, “The Vitality of an Intersectional Perspective When Considering the Social Identity and Oppression of African American Women”
Winner: Sumaiya Nasir, “I am a Woman of Color and That is Something to be Celebrated”
Finalists:
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Youssef Jalwaj-Soubai, “New Beginnings”
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Karishma Persuad, “The ‘Right’ Way”
Winner: Mehr Sharma, “The Roots of Schizophrenia: The Effects of Growing Up with a Schizophrenic Parent”
Finalists:
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Nazafat Jarrin, “US Foreign Policy on Religious Persecution”
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Justina Moczulski, “A Conversation with the World”
Winner: Karishma Persaud, “Children and Nature – There’s a Connection”
Finalists:
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Justice June, “On How We May Prevent Recidivism in the United States”
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Jasmine Buenaventura, “Acculturation: Dominant and Ethnic Relationship Formation Scale”
Winner: Milani Hendrickson, “Black Girl Identified”
Finalists:
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Thomas Cantrell, “Thank You, Bloodborne”
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Caitlyn Zon, “I Couldn't Even Decide on a Title”
Winner: Olivia Thomas, “An Analysis of the Research on Prevalence and Perpetuation of Emotional Abuse in Relationships”
Finalists:
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Barbara Boutin, “Vaccines and the Return of Measles”
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Ashley Perry, “How Personal Experience Can Alter Perception”
Winner: Thu Hoang, “Immigration in the Long Run: A Mutually Beneficial Process”
Finalists:
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Ashley Perry, “Defying Traditions of the Epistolary Form"
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Caitlyn Zon, “The Relationship Between Anxiety and Eating Disorders: Finding the Connection”