Call for Jessie O'Kelly Freshman Essay Award Contest

The Rhetoric and Composition Office invites students to submit essays to the Jessie O'Kelly Freshman Essay Award, which recognizes University of Arkansas undergraduate students for writing exemplary essays in Composition courses. The award's monetary prize is $500.

The criteria for essay submission are as follows:

• Students who submit essays must have been freshmen or sophomores at the time they took the Composition course.
• Students must have taken the Composition course in spring, summer, or fall 2019.
• Essays must have been written for Composition 1 or 2, or Honors Composition 1 or 2.
• Essays must be at least 3 pages long, be in Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA) or other recognized academic format, incorporate outside sources, and demonstrate skills in originality, organization, argumentation, and language.
• Students should be an undergraduate currently enrolled full-time at the University of Arkansas.
• Students should include their University ID number with each submission.

Students should submit essays to Katherine K. Lam-Bellacero, Curriculum & Teaching Specialist for the Rhetoric & Composition Office, via email at rhetcomp@uark.edu by noon on Friday, March 13. 

Essays will be judged by Rhetoric and Composition Office teaching staff, who will select the winner.