Table of Contents: 2023

Locating the Conversation

Early in the process, writers engage with other perspectives, “listening to” sources and seeking connections to their own ideas—and thus creating new meaning and knowledge. In this section, writers reveal how they engage in the important work of rhetorical invention by summarizing, synthesizing, and responding to others’ ideas.

“Food Apartheid: Race and Health Collide”

Morgan Davidson

“Social Media’s Influence on Adolescent Minds and Mental Health”

Sarah Fares

“Is Title IX Actually Effective in Preventing or Resolving Instances of Sexual Assault in Schools?”

Emilia Fischer

“The Romance Novel: Rubbish or Revolution?”

Emme Richards

“Fight the Good Fight: Assessment of Gender Roles and Identity in the Mixed Martial Arts Community”

Samuel Watkins

Responding to Experiences

Our experiences shape how we react to the world around us. When responding to these experiences as academics, we broaden the definition of texts to “anything that conveys a set of meanings to the person who examines it,” including personal experiences, films, works of art, etc. In this section, these essays move beyond initial, gut-level responses to texts to investigate them in new, meaningful ways.

“Female Discrimination in Healthcare and the ‘Myth’ of the Weaker Sex”

Sarai Batallas

“I Never Liked Buckingham Palace. But It’s Somebody’s Shrine.”

Radhika Bhargava
Writer as Witness Essay Competition Winner

“Big Tech is Threatening Our Democratic System”

Sachi Carlyn Lozano

“Protecting Korean Language: Hangul in South Korea During Globalization”

Yuri Na

“Drinking is the Devil: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Evangelical Christianity and Alcoholism”

Kayla Joy Millheim

“Di-Vest-Ing Fashion of Gender: In-vest-ing in Creativity”

Walker Whalen

Reframing Understanding

In the writing process readers question what they read and research, interrogating a work’s meanings, its claims, and the quality of its evidence. In this section, these writers make the important moves of acknowledging other ways of looking at their ideas, even going so far as to entertaining objections.

“A Stay in Mateszalka”

Haley Cass

“Corsetry in History and Modern Media”

Catherine Carroll

“From Talkie to Scorchie: the Fenchurch Controversy”

Aidan Dowell

“Sex Sells: The Psychobiological Link Between Sex and Music”

Avery Hudson

“Photographing Glory and Tragedy: Larrabee & Zelma’s Documentation of World War II”

Nicolas Montenegro

Following the Research

In following the research these essays go beyond established ideas, engaging in inquiry that brings a new understanding of existing evidence. These writers raise meaningful questions about their world, and through the discovery of insight, come to new conclusions.

“From the ABC Diet to ‘What I Eat in a Day’ Videos: Using Constructivism to Understand the Persistence of Eating Disorder Culture”

Thea Bassett

“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Public Library Book Collections”

Penelope Cleo Grapsas

“Addressing the Pessimistic and Optimistic Views Within African American Literature Regarding the Harlem Renaissance”

Nicholas Holmes

“A Systematic Reset: How TikTok is Changing the Path to Musical Fame”

Yvette Nau
Winner, University Library Prize for Best College Writing Research Paper

Adapting to Context

Writers make rhetorical choices to best present their ideas to specific audiences. In this section, writers demonstrate their audience awareness by taking the same topic for more than one project and adapting the genre and form of their research and ideas to fit a specific rhetorical situation.