The UMass Writing Program is pleased to announce the winners of the Charles Moran Best Text Contest for 2021.

The Best Text awards honor Charles Moran, the founding director of the Writing Program, who served in that capacity from 1982 to 1990. He created the program around many of the principles that guide it still today. He was particularly dedicated to student writing being the primary text of a writing course and ensuring that students have an audience beyond just the teacher. To that end, he firmly believed in publishing and celebrating outstanding student work. In that tradition, the Writing Program highlights student essays in both the Student Writing Anthology (SWA, used in College Writing courses) and the Best Text Contest awards given in his name.

Writing, Power, & Identity – Englwrit 111

First Place: Sullivan Sears, "The Power of Storytelling"

Second Place: Huiwen Zong, "How Can I Adapt to the New Environment"

Third Place: Aleksandra Lakis, "Public Education Funding"

College Writing – ENGLWRIT112/112H

First Place: Grace Lee, “Lessons from the Central Tower”

Second Place: Aneri Patel, “Mental Health Within Rap”

Third Place: Hengie Patricia Isidore, “We Are Hurt but We are Not Surprised”

Honorable Mention:

• Andrea Tchesnovsky, "Love at Half-Mast"
• Caitlin Connors, "Psychology: Yet Another System Built for Men"

College Writing (Multimodal) – ENGLWRIT112/112H

First Place: Naomi Boyd, “How Body Language Can Affect & Be Affected by the Power Imbalance by Males & Females”

Second Place:

• Jennifer Buras, “Building a Sustainable Campus One Student at a Time”
• Del Cen, "The Mental Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Workers"

Third Place: Jonathan Dees, "A Hate Train Born from a Virus"

Honorable Mention: Diana Ishutina, "Okjökull"

Junior Year Writing

Best Short: Sarah Balian, “The Effect of Intersectionality on Romantic Interest”

Best Long: Allysa Cayabyab, “The Space Between White Lines”

First Place: Aviva Palencia, “Why Haven’t I Heard of Voseo”

Thank you to all who submitted, and congratulations to this year's winners.