OU honors winners of 2010 Writing Excellence Awards contest

Seventeen Oakland University students, recommended by their teachers, have won awards in the school's 2010 Writing Excellence contest. The winning entries were submitted by students in academic disciplines from across the university.

Submissions included research and non-research papers from many courses in writing and rhetoric, as well as courses in the social sciences and humanities. The contest is sponsored by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric with support from Oakland University Vice President of Student Affairs Mary Beth Snyder.

"This awards program highlights Oakland's conviction that developing strong writing skills is a critical component of a distinctive undergraduate education," Snyder said.

Prizes for the honorees include $100 for first place, $75 for second place and $50 for third place in each category. The winners and their teachers also were invited to attend a luncheon in their honor.

Writing From or About Sources (First Year)

• First Place: April Moses – Sterling Heights
"Rites under Rome: Two Ethnic Rites of the Catholic Church" – Composition II
• Second Place: Jennifer Hildebrand – New Baltimore
"Considering Students' Learning Styles When Adopting Online Courses" – Composition II
• Third Place: Allison Uhazie – Oakland Twp.
"Public Life versus Private Life: Social Networking Sites Blur the Line" – Composition II

Writing From or About Sources (Non-first Year)

• First Place: Lynne Beaghan – Farmington
"'Lolly Pops': A Vintage Photograph by Gertrude Käsabier" – History of Photography
• Second Place: Jason Storms – Interlochen
"The Functions and Maintenance of the Holocaust as Europe's Other." – Honors College 204
• Third Place: Lauren Kenaan – Oakland Twp.
"Glycemic Control: Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion vs. Multiple Daily Injections" – Scientific Inquiry 2

Original Research

• First Place: Jessica Tess (Lapeer) and Enrique Paz (Shelby Twp.)
"Japanese ESL in the Writing Center: "Applying Contrastive Rhetoric" – Peer Tutoring in Composition
• Second Place: David Smith – Sterling Heights
"Analyzing the Promise of Music in Medicine" – Composition II
• Third Place: Jason Carabelli – Shelby Township
"Digital Literacy: The Access Motivation Dynamic" – Literacy, Technology and Civic Engagement

Visual and/or Auditory Composition

• First Place: Rachel Deratany – Macomb
"Pocahontas: Her Real Story" – Composition II
• Second Place: Philip Piasecki – Clarkston
"Alternative Fuels: A Step for the Future" – Composition II
• Third Place: Aaron Delvillano – Fraser
"Through the Fog and Branches" – Workshop in Fiction
• Honorable Mention: Samantha McDade – Dearborn
"The Classroom" – Composition II

Creative Fiction and Non-Fiction

• Elizabeth DeFour – Grosse Pointe Woods
"Marky" – Composition I
• Grant Hagman – Rochester Hills
"A Non-Parent Talks About Children" – Creative Nonfiction Workshop
• John Katona – Rochester
"45 North or Cabernet on a Cedar Bench" – Creative Nonfiction

Poster and Newsletter

• First Place: Lauren LaCourse – Pinkney
"Au bien de l'homme: Self-Sacrifice in French Romanticism" – French Literature 419
• Second Place: Jenelle Dembsey – Sterling Heights
"Grammar and Diagramming: An Essential Part of the Grade-School Classroom" – Peer Tutoring in Composition
• Third Place: Christopher Kellogg – Clarkston
"Marceline Desbordes-Valmore: Sarah" – French Literature 419
• Honorable Mention: Jenna Barnes – Swartz Creek
"Emile Zola the Romantic?" – French Literature 419