February 7, 2020

Knights Write, an annual event presented by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, celebrated its 10th anniversary on January 30. Knights Write recognizes student writers for exemplary work and commemorates the writing opportunities in which they partake.

For the past decade, students and faculty have gathered to celebrate writing and writing excellence at Knights Write. Students are encouraged to express their passions for topics about which they love writing. This year’s showcase featured numerous faculty-moderated student panels, including: Identity & Development in Writing, Reflecting on Writing for Social Change, The Transformative Nature of Writing and Researching, Writing and Making Across Boundaries.

Along with student panels, the showcase holds an awards ceremony to highlight the best poster displays and essays published by the Department of Writing & Rhetoric. Congratulations to the winners of the 10th annual showcase!

Knights Write 2020. Photos by Heaven Keller.

First Year Poster Winners:

  • First place: Camila Swanson – Entertainment Industry Misogyny
  • Second place: Rikka Mae Ciriaco – Intricate Inscriptions: An Analysis on the Complexity of Bullet Journals
  • Third place: Brianna Snowdon – Next on CSI: Effect
  • Honorable mention: Alexus Forshee – Nursing Documentation
  • People’s choice: Brianna Snowdon – Next on CSI: Effect

Stylus, UCF’s journal of first-year writing, originated in 2010, with the goal to provide a forum for the exemplary writing and research produced by students enrolled in the university’s first-year composition courses. Publication is highly competitive, with an acceptance rate of about 8 percent. Today, over 100 students have been featured among the 20+ issues that have been published. Stylus celebrates writing that demonstrates an inquiring mind, compelling prose and original thought.

The Hitt Prize, named for former UCF President John C. Hitt, recognizes the talent and hard work of one student published in the journal that year. The Hitt Prize is a prestigious honor recognized by UCF faculty and administration as well as the larger academic community.

First-Year Stylus Awards:

  • First place – Hitt Prize:
    • Natali Barakat –With Love, For Love, Through Love: A Literacy Confession of a Middle Eastern Writer
    • Alexus Forshee –A Genre Analysis of Patient Notes and Documentation Practices in the ICU
  • Runner-up: Savannah Dugger –The Personal and Professional Process of Writing a Technical Instructions Manual

Upper-Division Poster Winners:

  • Mandisa Greene – Caricaturization & Rhetorical Simulation
  • Duncan Woods –Learning Pathways
  • People’s choice: Lessie Farriss – Developing Agency through a Vertical Curriculum

Upper-Division: Convergence V2

  • Irimar Garcia Sanchez –Secretive Writing

Upper-Division: Imprint

  • Pamela Gores – Kelsey Rodriguez: Shining Example of Excellence

Students in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric receive a comprehensive education in writing and rhetoric that enables them to communicate effectively, persuasively, and ethically across a range of civic, professional, and educational contexts. Learn more about their mission and goals.