Academic Writing Awards

Saint Mary's Academic Writing Awards

The Writing Centre has announced that the deadline for this year’s Saint Mary's University Undergraduate Academic Writing Awards will be Monday, May 30, 2022 at 4:00pm AST.

This annual competition recognizes the best in undergraduate academic writing at Saint Mary's University. Awards are available in four categories: Humanities, Social Science, Science, and Business. There are also two levels of awards—lower (students with 60 or less total credit hours from any institution) and upper (students with more than 60 total credit hours from any institution). Papers at the upper level will be judged at a higher standard.

Submissions must be:

  • Written by an undergraduate student

  • Written entirely by the student making the submission

  • Individually written; group assignments are not eligible

  • From either Fall 2021 or Winter 2022 courses, but cannot be an undergraduate thesis

  • Accompanied by the original assignment description from the course

  • Accompanied by the submission form, digitally signed by the instructor of the course

  • Submitted via email (writing@smu.ca) as a Microsoft Word document, unless the submission is in an alternative digital medium (e.g. .mp3, .mp4, .mov)

  • Submitted before the deadline.

Students must agree to participate in the publishing process to be published.

Students may submit a paper from any course from September to April, regardless of whether it is related to their primary discipline. For example, a student in Science may submit an English paper.


For more information, please visit the Writing Awards website.

2021 Undergraduate Academic Writing Awards Announced

The winners of the 2021 Saint Mary’s University Undergraduate Academic Writing Awards have been announced.

This annual competition recognizes the best in undergraduate academic writing at Saint Mary’s University. Awards are available in four categories: Humanities, Social Science, Science, and Business. There are also two levels of awards—lower (students with 60 or less total credit hours from any institution) and upper (students with more than 60 total credit hours from any institution).

"Once again, the adjudication committee received a remarkable selection of submissions for consideration, and as you’ll see from the list, the range of topics was diverse and engaging,” says Emma Sylvester, Coordinator, Writing Centre and Academic Communication.

 Best Overall Paper - Chloe Champion

Paper: “Literature Review on Forensic Interviewing of Children”

Prize: $300, transcript notation, publication in Afficio

Humanities Upper Level

Winner - Julien Sheppard

Paper: “‘Afraid Neither of a Little Fatigue nor of a Little Exertion’: Victorian Sportswomen, Women’s Rights, and the Normalization of Physical Activity” 

Prize: $100, transcript notation, publication in Afficio

Runner Up - Madison Kieffer

Paper: “Forging a Colonial Middle Ground: Evidence for Metalworking and Metal Artefacts at Pithekoussai”

Prize: transcript notation, publication in Afficio

Humanities Lower Level

Winner - Merren Russell

Paper: “Creating the Cosmological: A Critique of Groarke”

Prize: $100, transcript notation, publication in Afficio

Social Science Upper Level

Winner - Chloe Champion

Paper: “Literature Review on Forensic Interviewing of Children”

Prize: $100, transcript notation, publication in Afficio

Honourable Mention - Mary Landry

Paper: “Third Space and Official Bilingualism in Canada”

Prize: transcript notation

Social Science Lower Level

Winner - Kristen Snow

Paper: “Love in the Community Project”

Prize: $100, transcript notation, publication in Afficio

Science Upper Level

Honourable Mention - Kelsey Benoit

Paper: "The Distinction between Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism regarding Theory of Mind"

Prize: transcript notation

Business Lower Level

Winner - April Thompson

Paper: “Introducing a Pet Care Service”

Prize: $100, transcript notation, publication in Afficio