Minnaar Awards for Writing in English 101

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 on the English 101 web site and in the Guide to the Teaching of English 101.

The English 101 Committee encourages instructors to introduce their students to the Minnaar Awards and to encourage English 101 writers to submit essays for consideration. Because revision is an important part of the writing process, the English 101 committee encourages instructors to discuss revision ideas with students who are considering an essay for the Minnaar Awards. Students may submit no more than two essays for the awards.

To submit an essay for consideration, a student must submit the following to the Director of English 101:

• 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 (see Appendix C) with the signature of the student's instructor. (Note: To print out the award sheet, right-click on the cover sheet link and then click print from the menu that pops up from the mouse cursor.)

Essays from fall semester English 101 students are due on November 30. Essays from spring semester English 101 students are due April 20. Students 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

Teacher Resources:

Crafting a Syllabus

Assigning Writing

Conferring With Students

Teaching Research in English 101

RIT-Research Information Technology Course

Supporting English 101 Students

Responding to Student Writing

Grading Essays in English 101

Teaching and Testing Grammar in English 101

Encouraging Inclusive Language

Minnaar Awards for Writing in English 101

Handling Plagiarism

Teaching in FAC 221

Resource Links:

Textbook Supplements

Teaching Writing to ESL Students

Research on the Teaching of College Writing

Conversations about the Teaching of Writing

Teaching in a Computer Classroom

Teaching Tips

Background on Classical Rhetoric