Writing Contest
Students taking a WR course are invited to submit a paper to the annual Poorvu Center Writing Contest, which celebrates writing from all courses that fulfill the writing requirement—courses marked WR in the Yale College Programs of Study. Winners will receive a prize and have their winning essays published on the Poorvu Center website as model papers. Go here to see the most recent winners.
All students enrolled in WR courses are eligible to submit. There are more than 200 WR courses in 45 departments. If you don’t know whether your course fulfills the WR requirement, you can check by using the Yale Course Search site. You may submit one paper from each WR course you’re enrolled in.
The deadline for spring term submissions is Friday, May 24, 2025. Details for submitting your essay are listed below. Please contact us at writing@yale.edu if you have any questions.
Eligibility: You may submit one paper from each WR course you take in 2024-25.
Submission format: Papers must be submitted as Microsoft Word or RTF documents, sent as attachments, to writing@yale.edu.
Please use this file name: “LastName-CourseNumber.” (You may add “2” or “3” if you submit essays from more than one course.) For example, an English 114 paper from Sam Jones would be named “Jones-ENGL114.”
Include a first page that has all of the following information:
- Name
- Year (2028, 2027, 2026, 2025)
- Email Address
- WR Course Name and Number
- Professor (and teaching fellow if it’s a lecture course)
- A 2-3 sentence summary of the assignment
- Paper title (a title is required; be sure to also include the title on page 2)
Your submission must include this statement, followed by your name:
“By submitting this essay, I attest that it is my own work, completed in accordance with University regulations. I also give permission for the Writing Center to publish all or part of my essay as an example of good writing in a particular course or discipline, or to provide models of specific writing techniques for use in teaching. This permission applies whether or not I win a prize, and includes publication on the Poorvu Center website or in a booklet prepared for Yale College students or faculty.”
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Thank you and good luck!
