The University of Kansas offers an annual writing prize for an outstanding piece of technical documentation created for an English class at the University of Kansas. All KU students - English or other majors, traditional or non-traditional, from either campus - are eligible to submit a work they wrote that year. Teachers and others may submit a piece for a student, as well, but be sure to get permission from your students.

Rules and prizes are listed below.

You might be a student in English 362, English 562, English 563, English 564, or another English class where you wrote an original technical document or performed a significant edit to one. What is technical writing? Check out McKitterick's definition of technical communication to help identify if what you've written is appropriate to submit for the Award.

The Award consists of a $100 check funded by a donation from program director Chris McKitterick. McKitterick is the primary instructor of KU's Technical Communication courses, and McKitterick acts as liaison for technical writing and editing at the University of Kansas.

Each year's winner is announced during the English Department Awards Ceremony in mid-May. Below is the list of Award winners:

2007
         Jen Humphrey for her proposal to redesign the KU Technical Communication website (this site).

2006
         no award

2005
         Karl Michelbach for his paper, "Record an Album at Home for a Thousand Bucks or Less."

Rules

• Submission deadline varies; check with the KU English Department for details and to get a submission form. Usually the middle of Spring semester.
  
• The submission must be a technical document, not a traditional essay. For ideas, check out McKitterick's definition of technical communication.
  
• The submission must have been written for an English class at the University of Kansas during the 12 months prior to the Award's promotion. For example, to win the 2008 Technical Writing Award, the submitted work must have been turned in to a KU English Department class during the Summer 2007, Fall 2007, or Spring 2008 semesters (the Award is announced at the end of the Spring semester). Work turned in to a class after the submission deadline is eligible for the next year's Award.
  
• All KU students - English or other majors, traditional or non-traditional, Kansas residents or non-residents, from either campus - are eligible to submit their work as long as it conforms to the previous rules.
  
• Teachers and others are encouraged to submit a work for a student, as well, with student permission.
  
• No word limit.
  
• Previously published work is okay! Encouraged, even, as long as it meets the above rules.

Prizes

• A check for $100.
  
• Your name and work's title posted here for all to see. If you want to publish it here, as well, we will be happy to do so; however, we always encourage writers to try to sell their work before posting it to the internet.
  
  

Last updated 4/2/2008. Check back for more updates.