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Oregon State University
Writing Intensive Curriculum

WIC Culture of Writing Award in the Disciplines

In order to recognize and value excellence in student writing at OSU, each spring the Writing Intensive Curriculum program offers the WIC Culture of Writing Awards in the Disciplines, with $50 matching funds from WIC to any department that wishes to offer an undergraduate writing prize.

The awards are administered and awarded within each participating department, with the department selecting the best student paper written in their undergraduate courses. The award may be given to a paper written in a Writing Intensive course or in another undergraduate course in the department. The name of the award is department- specific, for example, the WIC Culture of Writing Award in Forest Engineering or the WIC Culture of Writing Award in Political Science.

Why give writing awards in the disciplines? This recognition sends a message to undergraduates and to the university community that excellence in writing matters in the department, that excellence in writing is recognized by the faculty, and that excellence in writing is rewarded. For many students, even knowing that a professor has nominated their paper for a departmental writing award is a significant form of recognition and a source of pride.

Awardees are selected by the faculty within each discipline because the qualities of excellent writing are discipline-specific. As departments assess the best writing by their undergraduates, faculty have an opportunity to more clearly articulate what aspects of writing are highly valued in their field. The WIC Culture of Writing Awards are designed to help create a Culture of Writing in the university, where good writing is taught, practiced, modeled, valued, and recognized both within classes and in the university as a whole. The WIC program promotes the goal of OSU becoming a Culture of Writing as a university, and the goal of each department creating a Culture of Writing for their students.

Culture of Writing Award Recipients

Culture of Writing Award Information