The MU English Department Composition Program seeks candidates for the Mahan First-Year Writing Award. We invite first-year students enrolled in English 1000 for any 2023 or 2024 semester to submit writing projects completed in ENG 1000. We're seeking well-crafted writing that demonstrates an insightful response to the rhetorical expectations of the assignment and engages in interesting ways with the topic. All papers from first-year students in ENG 1000 are eligible. A $300 first prize and a $200 second prize will be awarded. 

To enter, submit your paper as a Word document via Scholarship Universe. If you have any questions, please contact Director of Composition Cheryl Hall at hallch@missouri.edu.  

Only one submission per student. Only winners will be notified.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: April 8, 2024

Previous Winners

2023

Liberty Stone: First prize for "Struggles of a Rural Woman: Feeding the Barbie to the Dinosaur"

Maria Silva: Second prize for "Love Language"

2022

First prize for “Pink Faux-Leather Journal (With a Magnet Clasp)”

Cole Krah: Second prize for “Problem-Solving: The Rights of Nature”

2021

Matt Bond: First prize for “They Belong Too: Increasing Accommodations to Combat Poor Mental Health in the Transgender Community”

Mike Aguirre: Second prize for “What's the Difference”  

2020

Jayda Moss: First prize for “Literacy’s Effect on Black Women: A Personal Narrative”

Michelle Gershkovich: Second prize for “Rushin to Learn English”

2019

Gabriella Salinas: First prize for “First”

Colby Thornton: Second prize for “The Best Men Can Be”

2018

Destiny Landsman: First prize for “Dialectical Issues In The Classroom”

Sara Marquardt: Second prize for “A Face Without a Page”

Fanya Sun: Honorable mention for “The Treasure of Chinese Civilization”

2017

N.F.: First prize for “El Chico de Aislado (The Boy of Isolation)”

Faramola Shonekan: Second prize for “Social Media and Activism”

2016

Catelyn Williams: First prize for “Why is my Black Culture Only Appreciated When a White Person Is Appropriating It?”

Clemency Neville: Second prize for “The 70s and Saturday Night Fever: The Limitations of Hollywood”

2015

Homer Gaidarski: First prize for “Learning Computer Science: A Secret Wall of Zeros and Ones”

Joseph Henke: Second prize for “Eradicating an Epidemic: How Universities Can Better Protect Women from Sexual Assault”

2014

Amy Brianne Schmiegelow: First prize for “The Word Weavers: A Reader’s Influence on Ever-Changing Definitions”

Derrick Lin: Second prize for “Bryson: Enlarging Vocabularies for a Fuller Language”

2012

Helena Kowalewski: First prize for “Abridging Speech vs. Abridging Lives”

McCullough Mischke: Second prize for “Society in Bell, Book, and Candle and Practical Magic"

Emily Rothove: Honorable mention for “What I Learned at the Kitchen Table”

2011

Kristine A. Kerns: First prize for "Misfortune: Creating Opportunity, or Impeding Happiness?"

Stephen M. Cady: Second prize for "Ramblin' Woman"

2010

Rebecca Taylor: First prize for "The Collapse of the Nuclear Family"

Hannah Spratt: Second prize for "The Dark Side of the Good Women"

The National Day on Writing (NDOW) was established by the National Council of Teachers of English ten years ago to celebrate writing and literacy. Every October, the MU English Department Composition Program, Writing Center, and Campus Writing Program celebrate Mizzou’s National Day on Writing (NDOW). We invite MU students, staff, faculty, and alumni to celebrate writing. Previous celebratory activities and events have included: 

• Social media: Tweet, Instagram, or post on other social media a short response to the prompt “Why I Write.” We share participants' stories and photos on social media to celebrate writing at Mizzou and highlight its role in our academic, professional, and civic lives.
• Writing Marathons: hour-long writing events to walk around campus, write, and share.
• Collaborative Writing: help our university community create a group piece of writing
• Language Origins: Where does language originate? How does it develop?
• Pizza for a Poem: Write a Mizzou Poem and Get a Slice of Pizza