The UMass Writing Program is pleased to announce the winners of the Best Text Contest for 2022.

The Marcia Curtis Best Text Contest for Writing, Identity, and Power (Englwrit 111) honors Marcia Curtis’ contributions to the Writing Program and its Englwrit 111 course. Curtis served as a teacher and administrator in the Writing Program for more than two decades, leading the Program as Director from 2000 to 2003 and making essential contributions to the Program that are still seen today. During her time in the Writing Program, Curtis, along with Anne Herrington, was instrumental in the development of Englwrit 111. In 1990, Curtis helped redesign Englwrit 111 in order to better represent the diversity of students at UMass and allow students to share their voices.

The Charles Moran Best Text Contest for College Writing (Englwrit 112/112H) and Junior Year Writing courses honors 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 still guide it 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 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.

Marcia Curtis Best Text Award for Writing, Power, & Identity – ENGLWRIT 111

First Place: Sayali Bhalerao, "Marathi and the Maharashtrian Community"

Second Place: Rose Cusack, "A Rejection of Identity"

Third Place: Thanh Mai Xuan Tran, "My Vietnamese"

Honorable Mention:

• Kelli Jarvoja, "Is It Wrong Not to Speak Standard American English?"
  
• Adam Lachapelle, "Experience Versus Understanding"

Charles Moran Best Text Award for College Writing – ENGLWRIT112/112H

First Place: Jenny Ly, "American Tamed Tongues"

Second Place:

• Ruby DiGregorio, "Out in STEM"
• Manu Hegde, "Artificial Intelligence Art: The End of Creativity or the Start of Something New?"

Third Place: Christmaelle Vernet, "Affordable Housing Crisis: In Amherst and America"

Honorable Mention:

• Jokaira Diaz, "Mi Idioma Y Cultura"
• Dana Trifunovic, "How to End the Housing Crisis, Together"

Charles Moran Best Text Award for College Writing (Multimodal) – ENGLWRIT112/112H

First Place: Aryan Sajith, "The Darker Sides of Modern Self Help and What We Can Do About It"

Second Place: Jahnavi Anand Modi, "From Crop to Cup: The Bitter Origins of Brazil's Coffee"

Third Place: Avantika Manikandan, "Teaching- a Declining Profession?"

Honorable Mention:

• Jessica Zhang, "Oh My Geese!"
• Thamar L. Pierre - Louis, "Fighting Anti-Black Discrimination in Real Estate"

Charles Moran Best Text Award for Junior Year Writing

Best Short: Ryan Welsh, "Accepting the Past While Emphasizing the Future"

Best Long: Sarah Connors, "Separating Debussy from Impressionism: How Non-Western Scale Patterns, Parallel Harmony, and Heterophonic Orchestration Truly Create the Unique Sound of Debussy"

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