OU students demonstrate writing excellence in host of topic areas

Three dozen Oakland University students, recommended by their faculty, have won awards in the school's 2011 Writing Excellence contest.

Submissions included secondary and primary research, videos, narratives and posters for courses from several academic disciplines. The contest is sponsored by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric with support from Oakland University Vice President of Student Affairs Mary Beth Snyder and the Oakland University Writing Center.

"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 were invited to attend a luncheon in their honor.

Writing From/About Sources (First Year Writing)

• First Place: Katie Malone – Sparta        
  "Self-Injury: A Way to Cope"
• Second Place: Kevin Stephens – Macomb
  "A Look at Animals in Captivity: The Gap between Environmental Messages and Conservation"
• Third Place: Nicole Jarrett – Lake Orion
  "From Failure to Fabulous: Reframing the Societal Stigma of Divorce in American Culture"

Writing From/About Sources (Critiques and Reviews)

• First Place: Lynne Beaghan – Farmington
  "A Comparison of How Childbirth is portrayed in Mass Media Today with Artwork that Depicts Women Giving Birth from the Past"
• Second Place: Stephanie Erdodi – Ferndale
  "When Life Gives You a Lemon, Put Lipstick on It"
• Third Place: Elizabeth Frazier – Rochester Hills
  "Women of Letters: The Unspoken Words of Women Writers"
• Honorable Mention: Jamison Knudsen – Millington
  "God is Dead and You Better Believe It: Exploring a Post-Metaphysical Christianity without God"
• Honorable Mention: Sunny Rish – Troy
  "Tomatsu Shomei's Nagasaki: A Spectacle in Nuclear Photography"

Writing From/About Sources (Other)

• First Place: Taryn Myke Coetzee – Rochester Hills
  "Anxiety and Memory: The Moderation Effect of Interviewing"
• Second Place: Jenelle Dembsey – Sterling Heights
  "Women and Literacy: The Need for Feminine Focus in Literacy Campaigns"
• Third Place: Lesley Sleeman – Rochester Hills
  "Gender Differences in Knee Biomechanics Focusing on ACL Injuries in Females"
• Honorable Mention: Stephanie Letterson – Madison Heights
  "What is Wrong with American Lawns?"
• Honorable Mention: Jessica Dalton – Rochester
  "Inadequacies of Emotivism"

Original Research

• First Place: Elizabeth Wandrei – Shelby Township
  "Congress and Trade: What Drives Legislative Decisions?"
• Second Place: Jessica Tess – Auburn Hills
  "Attitudes on Academic Writing: Perspectives in Japan"
• Third Place: Kelsey Walsh – Sterling Heights
  "The Post Rape Examination: A More Comfortable Approach"

Visual and/or Auditory Composition

• First Place: Rachel Zachar – Oxford, and Julie Mysinger – Sterling Heights
  "An Inside Look at Detroit's Illiteracy Crisis"
• Second Place: Luke LaFountain – White Lake
  "Michigan Skateboarding"
• Third Place: Sandra El-Haj-Ali-Ahmad – Attica
  "My Journey With Skype"
• Honorable Mention: Nicole Warden – White Lake
  Nicole Warden's Voicethread

Fiction/Creative Nonfiction

• First Place: Seth Clarke – Oxford
  "Bathsheba"
• Second Place: Aaron Perry – Grand Rapids
  "In Praise of Hazelnut Spread"
• Third Place: Kelsey Hanna – Saint Clair Shores
  "Joe Shmoe"
• Honorable Mention: Jacqueline Van Skiver – Rochester Hills
  "Dark Appearances"

Poster Presentation

• First Place: Jessica Zacharias – Troy, Helen Mishreky – Troy, Ashley Makedonsky – Imlay City, Brittany Murphy – Shelby Township and Chelsea Bistue – Shelby Township
  "Presidential Debates via Twitter"
• Second Place: Kyle Anderson – Macomb, Dominick London – Pontiac, Ciara Shoebottom – Waterford, Kellie Sullivan – Royal Oak, Lauren Kucyk – Macomb, April Migliorati – Warren and Raya Hollis – Lathrop Village
  "What the Health Sciences?"
• Third Place: Crystal Ajja – Sterling Heights
  "Obesity"