Have you read any impressive undergraduate papers lately? Your students might be eligible for a prize and publication!
Through publishing student work beyond the classroom, supporting undergraduate scholarship across disciplines, uplifting multilingual writing, and enabling students to develop skills and experience to prepare them for the workplace or graduate school, the Undergraduate Writing Contest offers unique opportunities for SFU students to grow and succeed.
Showcasing undergraduate writing since 2017
Launched in 2017, the SFU Library Student Learning Commons’ annual Writing Contest recognizes and celebrates SFU undergraduate writing from across disciplines.
When the contest opens in late November, students can submit works from that calendar year in four categories, including First Year, Middle Years, and Fourth Year +, as well as the Plurilingual Prize category which focuses on multilingual and plurilingual writing. First and second place winners and honourable mentions are awarded in each category by a panel of judges made up of SFU faculty members, with first and second place receiving cash prizes.
In addition, papers that win a pize or receive an honourable mention are published online in the contest’s open access journal, where they constitute a repository of strong undergraduate student writing across disciplines and year of study.
Students share work they’re proud of with new audiences
Many students invest significant time and effort on written assignments that are only ready by their professor and/or TA. This contest offers an opportunity for students to share work and ideas they’re proud of beyond the classroom.
Audrey Heath, a recent graduate from the School of Communication, won an Honourable Mention in 2022, and second prize in the Plurlingual Prize category in 2023. She was excited by the unique opportunity the contest offered to share her work with new readers.
A unique category that recognizes multilingual writing
Created in 2021, the Plurilingual Prize celebrates multilingual voices, linguistic strategies, and writing styles that are often overlooked or undervalued in the western education system. Examples of multi/plurilingual techniques include using multiple languages or styles/dialects of English in writing, writing outside of standard academic conventions, and engaging with the relationship between language, knowledge, and culture.
Judy Yae Young Kim, an MA student in the School of Communication, described how a TA encouraged her to submit a paper that incorporated elements of Korean to the Plurilingual Prize during her undergraduate degree.
For Judy, winning second prize in the 2022 Plurilingual Prize category was validating and affirming: “I was never taught that Korean, being able to speak Korean, was a strength of mine,” she explained. “So when I was able to enter this contest and I won one of the prizes ... it really reaffirmed, you know, that my Korean is very useful. ... It became a plus in this anglo-centered education system.”
Preparing for grad school, the workforce, and beyond
In addition to the cash prize and publication of their work, student winners find participating in the contest offers benefits to prepare them for next steps after their undergraduate degrees.
For example, Nat Begg, a student in Anthropology who won first place in the Plurilingual Prize category in 2023, found the experience invaluable for their plans to continue beyond their undergraduate degree: “Planning for graduate studies, I'm always looking for ways to take my work further and develop on ideas from class, so this was a wonderful opportunity for me,” they said.
Similarly, Mireta Strandberg-Salmon, a graduate from School of Resource and Environmental Management, described her pride and accomplishment at the feedback she received on her paper (which won first prize in 2021 in the Fourth Year+ category), and the way it offered a boost of confidence in her writing skills:
“This paper meant a lot to me (it was my last-ever undergrad paper) and I am so pleased that it resonated with a wider audience,” she shared. “I am excited to go and apply my writing skills to real-world solutions, and will do so now with an extra bounce in my step.”
Encouragement to submit from instructors brings long-lasting effects
Similarly to Judy, who submitted her paper on the recommendation of her TA, other contest winners also noted an encouraging push from a trusted professor or TA as a reason for submitting.
“Students often feel very vulnerable about their writing and their skills as writers,” shared Julia Lane, SLC Writing Services Coordinator and organizer of the annual writing contest. “These feelings make sense because we are so often judged on our writing, especially in academic environments. Even when we feel proud of the work we’ve put into a writing assignment, it can feel scary to put our work out there for more people to read.”
For example, Venus, a student in Psychology, won an honourable mention in 2022 after her professor encouraged her to submit to the contest in her first year. “The whole experience has been very encouraging,” she shared.
As a bonus, Venus was inspired to continue to support her fellow students’ writing as well: “Earning an honourable mention in the contest led me to volunteer with the SLC as a Writing and Learning Peer.”
Empowering undergraduate scholarship and engagement
The SLC Writing Contest enables students to showcase their work and develop increased confidence in themselves as writers and scholars. It also contributes to the vibrancy of SFU as a scholarly community that includes undergraduate student writers.
As first prize winner in 2020, Melissa Theon, who at the time was a student in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, shared: “I love writing and watching my ideas come together on paper, but it is hard work. Putting together a paper I am proud of takes a lot of time and effort for me, so being able to give one of my papers a second life, so to speak, was immediately appealing to me.”
As a student at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Melissa also found that participating in the contest helped her to feel part of the SFU community. She added: “[It] has encouraged me to seek out more opportunities for involvement in the future.”