Minnaar Writing Awards

The English Department is pleased to recognize excellent writing in English 101 through the Joseph and June Minnaar awards for English 101 essays. Annually, the English Department will make five awards: one for best essay in any genre, first and second place for short essays (3-5 pages), and first and second place for research essays. The winner of the overall award for the best essay from both categories will receive a letter of commendation from his or her instructor and a check for $100. Students who receive first and second place awards will receive letters of commendation from their instructors and checks for $75 and $50 respectively. The winning essays will be published in the Guide to the Teaching of English 101.

Because revision is an important part of the writing process, the English 101 committee encourages you to discuss revision ideas with your English 101 instructor. You may submit no more than two essays for the awards.

To submit an essay for consideration, submit the following to the Director of English 101 (Professor Elizabeth Vander Lei):

• One clean copy of the essay with no identifying information (student name, instructor name, section letter, etc.).
• A one-paragraph description of the essay assignment and the student's process for completing the assignment and a one-paragraph description of the revision process that the student followed in preparing the essay for the Minnaar Awards.
• A Minnaar Award cover sheet [link to printable Minnaar cover sheet] with the signature of the student's instructor.

Essays from fall semester English 101 classes due on November 30. Essays from spring semester English 101 classes are due April 20. You may submit essays only during the semester they are enrolled in English 101.

The English 101 committee will read the essays and rank them according to the following criteria:

• The focus of the essay: unity, clarity, significance, and insightfulness
• The structure of the essay: relationship of thesis or central idea to essay organization, use of supporting data, development of ideas throughout the essay, and use of detail
• The structure of the paragraphs and sentences: paragraph development, use of metaphor or analogy, sentence style, and word choice

For the research essay, the committee will also consider the following:

• Research sources: variety, number, and appropriateness
• Means of incorporating sources: method of integrating source material and form of source material (quote, block quote, paraphrase, summary)
• Documentation: presence and form

Cover form for Minnaar Award entry

Student Resources:

Rhetoric Center

English 101:

Course rationale, content and goals

Getting in and out of English 101:

Placement

C or better rule

AP credit

Transfer credit

Exemption exam

Research-based Writing

Minnaar Writing Awards

Grammar Exam

Resource links