Don Rothman Endowed Award in First-Year Writing

Don Rothman, 39 year member of Oakes College and Writing Program faculty, founded this award to honor the achievements of one or more first-year students in the genre of nonfiction, academic, analytic writing, and to recognize excellence in writing pedagogy.

Purpose

To honor the achievements of one or more first-year students in the genre of nonfiction, academic, analytic writing, and to recognize excellence in writing pedagogy.

Awards

Acknowledgments and monetary awards totaling up to $2,000 will be presented to winners during a virtual awards ceremony in fall 2023.

Guidelines

Projects must have originated in a first-year writing course during 2022 Summer Session and the 2022-23 academic year and should demonstrate serious engagement with issues raised in the class, including the importance and impact of other writers' ideas. Length should be commensurate with the project's purpose. If the project is a traditional essay, it should be no more than 2500 words. If it is a video, it should be closed captioned.

Submit an essay written in a first-year course; WRIT 1, WRIT 1E, WRIT 2, WRIT 2H, WRIT 25, WRIT 26.

Application

For the 2022-23, submissions will be accepted online only. Submissions are accepted beginning summer 2022 and until June 20, 2023.

2022-23 Application Form

Submission DEADLINE June 20, 2023

Judging

Over the summer a team of Writing Program faculty will determine the winning submissions, including honorable mentions.

Awards Ceremony

Students whose essays are selected for the award as well as faculty in whose classes the essays originated will be recognized at an awards ceremony during the 2022-23 academic year.

For more information:

Writing Program
University of California Santa Cruz
writingprogram@ucsc.edu