Best Text 2024 Winners

The UMass Writing Program is pleased to announce the winners of the Best Text Contest for 2024. The winning texts can be accessed in the UMass Best Text Collection.

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.

Learn more about the Best Text Contest (as well as how to submit your work for the 2025 contest) on our Best Text page.

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

First Place:

• Devin Maroney, “I Have No Words”
• Dariel Sandiko, “Playing the Bilingual Game”

Second Place: Shaila Khan, "The Intimacy of Imperfection"

Third Place:  Helen Loc, "Writing's Power in Preserving Culture"

Honorable Mention: Brandon Nguyen, "A Brother's Literacy"

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

First Place: Kate Zarski, “Accepting My Older Brother; The Roller Coaster Journey”

Second Place: Anupama Sriram, “Shiva Has Arms Enough to Hold Us All”

Third Place: Daniel Bendersky, “Speakers that Bump Hearts”

Honorable Mention:

• Elizabeth Kim, “Untold Stories”
• Hayun Jung, “Digital Literacy in the Age of Information”
• Tiara Jones, “Hair Deep: The Cultural Appropriation of Black Hair”

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

First Place: Daniel Bendersky, “Speakers that Bump Hearts”

Second Place: Andrew Chen, “Language and Personality”

Third Place: Daniela Novoa, “Protecting Endangered Species”

Honorable Mention: Jenna D'Antona, “How Factors of Different Environments Affect ADHD”

Charles Moran Best Text Award for Junior Year Writing

Best Short: Marina O'Callaghan, “A Glass, Darkly”

Honorable Mention Short: Iain Gillespie, “Growing Pains Won't Go Away: The Trouble with Sustainable Development”

Best Long: Anna Brittan, “Food Deserts and Food Sovereignty: Conditions on Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota”

Honorable Mention Long: Jade Shum, "'Something Wicked This Way Comes': Women, Illness, and Anglo-Indian Orientalism of Late 19th Century England"

Best Multimodal: Daniel Distefano, “Loneliness as a Social Issue”

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