Each year, University of Michigan faculty are invited to nominate outstanding written work produced by students in their First-Year and Upper-Level writing courses for consideration for Undergraduate Writing Prizes. Once nominated, winners are then selected by the Writing Prize committee consisting of the English Department Writing Program (EDWP) Sweetland Center for Writing, and U-M ULWR faculty. This exceptional winning work is compiled and released on our Writing Prize web pages.

Read the 2026 Writing Prize Essays

2026 Writing Prize Winners

First-Year Writing Prizes

Matt Kelley Prize for Excellence in First-Year Writing

Ruby McKillips, "Arthro-Pod(cast)"
Written for WRITING 160, Instructor: Cat Cassel

Ruotong (Riesle) Zhao, "The Cultural Interaction between Refined Cuisine and Aesthetic Space in the Jiangnan Region from the Mid-Qing to the Republican Era:  An Archival Study of Suzhou Gardens, Huizhou Architecture, and Regional Cuisines"
Written for COMPLIT 122, Instructor: Srimati Ghosal

Upper-Level Writing Prizes

Excellence in Upper-Level Writing (Social Sciences)

María García-Murguía, "Violence and its environmental impact: the nexus between organized crime and environmental degradation in Michoacan through the lens of avocados, limes, and monarch butterflies"
Written for AAS 322/ENVIRON 335, Instructor: Wenliang Han

Scott Gilbert, "Nouns that Appear to Modify Nouns"
Written for LING 315, Instructor: Doug Merchant

Excellence in Upper-Level Writing (Natural Sciences)

Sonia Schmidt, "Washoe, Koko, Kanzi: Who Wins?"
Written for ANTHRBIO 368, Instructor: Annie Santamaria

Excellence in Upper-Level Writing (Humanities)

Mecca Durhal, "Artist Statement"
Written for WRITING 400, Instructor: Angie Berkley

Darrin Zhou, "The New Wave"
Written for ENG 425, Instructor: Jeremiah Chamberlin