The 7th Annual SLC Undergraduate Writing Contest is OPEN for submissions

A pencil that looks like a rocket, blasting off

The Student Learning Commons invites all undergraduate students to enter the 7th annual writing contest. 

 Update December 7th: Submissions are open in all categories!

 You are invited to submit a paper you wrote for an SFU undergraduate course during the 2023 calendar year (January-December). Although papers must have originally been written for a course, they can be revised for the writing contest to ensure they meet the contest criteria. 

Plurilingual Prize Category: For the Plurilingual Prize category only, you can choose to submit a paper you already wrote, or write a paper specifically for the contest.  The Plurilingual Prize is designed to celebrate excellent writing that engages with multiple languages, multiple Englishes, and a variety of plurilingual rhetorical strategies. 

  Cash prizes will be awarded to the first and second place winners in each category.

 All contest winners and honourable mentions will be published in an open access writing contest journal. 

 Co-authored papers can be submitted to the contest. In such cases, one author will complete the submission process, however, all co-authors must agree to the submission. In the case where a co-authored paper wins, the prize money will be divided equally among all co-authors. 

How to enter and other details

For more, including all contest details, the submission page, and past winners, see the SLC Writing Contest journal Contest Information page.  

Spotlight on last year's contest winners 

Venus Nakahara won an Honourable Mention for the paper: "Panhandling or Policy: Are anti-panhandling laws effective or a pseudo-solution?"

Here is what Venus had to say about the contest: 

I was enrolled in the Foundations of Academic Literacy course in my first term at SFU. My professor, Dr. MacLean encouraged me to enter my term paper in the SLC writing contest. Earning an honourable mention in the contest led me to volunteer with the SLC as a Writing and Learning Peer. The whole experience has been very encouraging.

Venus Nakahara

Hannah Kazemi won an Honourable Mention in the 2021 contest for the paper: "Using Tradition to Inform Perspective and Explore Worldview" and a Second Place prize last year for the paper: "Physicality and Emotional Impacts of Sex Work in Hustling Verse: An Anthology of Sex Workers’ Poetry." 

Here is what Hannah had to say about the contest:

I learned about the SLC Writing Contest from an English professor, and I decided to submit to the contest in 2021 to challenge myself. The submission process was really straightforward and I had a wonderful experience working with the Writing Contest team after receiving an honourable mention; so, I decided to submit the following year as well just to see what would come of it. I was proud of the paper I submitted, and was pleasantly surprised to have received second prize in the Upper Years category! The SLC writing contest taught me lots about editing for the purpose of publishing. I’ve submitted my work to various other contests and publications since then to continue challenging myself, and I look back on the whole experience quite fondly.

Hannah Kazemi

Audrey Heath won an Honourable Mention for the paper: "Differing Viewpoints: Cultural Perspectives on Canis lupus"

Here is what Audrey had to say about the contest: 

I never considered myself a particularly great writer, but writing about topics I am passionate about helped me to get excited about writing, and want to share my work. The SLC Undergraduate Writing Contest was a great opportunity for me to step outside of my comfort zone, while getting to share my story with the community.

Audrey Heath

 

Date(s)
November 27 - January 7
Contact for further information
slc-writing-contest@sfu.ca