Each academic year, the Freshman Composition Program within the USA English Department hosts a best paper contest for all Composition I and II students. The essays below are the winners and honorable mentions. Recipients receive a cash award, a certificate of honor, and a banquet is held to reward them for their exemplary essays. All submissions are assessed by the Freshman English Committee, based on USA’s “Shared Criteria for Evaluating Writing” (see p. 639FF of LB Brief With resources for Composition at the University of South Alabama, 4th ed.).

Here is a copy of our 2009-2010 Contest Release Form for Students.

2008-2009 winners
EH 101 winner: Sarah Suhr's "A Good Deed"
EH 101 runner-up: Amanda Bolding's "A Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge"
EH 102 winner: Cody Salter's "Unethixs: The Truth about Pharmaceutical Ethics"
EH 102 winner (tie score): Melanie Lubitz's "Homosexuals: They're Americans Too, You Know"

2007-2008 winners
EH 101 winner: Katie Bates's "Angle of Vision"
EH 101 runner-up: Chris Donalson’s "Homeowner Specialists"
EH 102 winner: Vanessa Quintana's "The Need for Genetic Enhancement"
EH 102 runner-up: Kimberly Miller's "A Look at the Reliability and Validity of the MBTI"

2006-2007 winners
EH 101 winner: Joylyn Reese's "The Strain of Music"
EH 101 runner-up: Allison Driskell's "Work at Hollister"
EH 102 winner: Stephanie Brown's "InFEMtry or Infantry?"
EH 102 runner-up: Quinton Vines's "New Orleans Levees: Cause of Destruction and Plans to Rebuild after Katrina"

2005-2006 winners
EH 101 winner: Katie Finnegan's "An Intimate View"
EH 101 runner-up: Michael Housley's "Pharmacy Technicians: Laborer or Specialist"
EH 102 winner: Whitney Lee's "Color in the Classroom"
EH 102 runner-up: Patricia Hudson’s, "Is Freud’s Mind Structure Theory Provable?"

2004-2005 winners
Cole Osburn, EH 101 Winner
Waritta Klinpinij, EH 101 Runner-up
Breezy Schimmer, EH 102 Winner
Celeste Rhodes, EH 102 Runner-up

2003-2004 winners
Beau Hagler, EH 101 Winner
Jennifer Powell, EH 101 Runner-up
Brandon Taylor, EH 102 Winner
Kristy Frederick, EH 102 Runner-up

2002-2003 winners
Catherine Hensarling, EH 102 Winner
Weston Abernathy, EH 101 Winner
Charles Matthew Thomas, EH 101 Honorable Mention

2001-2002 winners
Leslie Vial, EH 101 Winner
Li Gao, EH 101 Honorable Mention
Shae Toups, EH 102 Winner
Lisa Gaines, EH 102 Honorable Mention