Tips for Submitting a Prize-winning Paper for Writing in the Sciences, Social Sciences, or Arts & Humanities
In the past, prizes have been awarded both to highly technical papers and to papers written for a general audience. The judges are interested in the wide range of writing that is done in all academic disciplines.
- The judges look for a paper that reads well on its own and makes a strong and strongly visible argument, well-supported by evidence.
- Most prize-winning papers have been revised for submission. For example, we suggest that you revise the introduction so it orients readers to your topic and prepares them to understand the significance of your argument.
- We also urge students to consult with their instructors to determine whether a paper is worthy of submission for a prize.
- Prize-winning papers in the sciences and social sciences should demonstrate the writer's ability to present evidence in well-produced graphic form, as necessary. Prize-winning papers in the arts should include visual documentation of the object(s) written about.
- Papers must reference sources fully and in a correct form for the discipline.
- A paper with multiple spelling errors, typos, or grammatical errors cannot win a prize.
If you have questions about the Writing Program prizes, contact Lizzie Krontiris, Coordinator of the Writing Competitions, at ek3@wellesley.edu.