In its 8th year at UCF, the Knights Write Showcase offers the opportunity to first- and second-year students in ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 to submit their writing for panels, awards, and discussions. The Department of Writing & Rhetoric’s mission in organizing the event is to showcase the importance of writing and communicating across a broader audience and across any major or career path. “It’s rewarding to have so many people gather to converse about writing: a skill that we all need to truly be successful in the 21st century economy,” President Hitt said at the 2017 showcase. “No matter which profession we choose or medium we use to communicate on the job, the ability to write clearly is a key to success and job satisfaction.” Family, friends, fellow students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.
The nationally-recognized and award-winning First-Year Writing Program offers ENC 1101: Composition I and ENC 1102: Composition II, the two writing and composition General Education Program courses that the majority of first-time-in-college students take. As a foundation in writing and rhetoric, the course serves as a springboard for the more advanced courses in a student’s junior or senior years. The Knights Write Showcase is also a springboard for those students selected to participate, as it might be their earliest experience in conference-style presentations, researching, creating posters, and being on a panel. Students are encouraged to research and write about what they are interested in, creating the showcase’s diversified environment.
The showcase is comprised of judged student poster displays, student panels and faculty panels, and the Stylus Awards Ceremony. The students, selected to be in the showcase through a rigorous process by faculty committees, work with faculty and staff one-on-one and through workshops to prepare for their concurrent segment of the event. The judges for the student posters are faculty and staff from around the university.
In his last year as UCF’s president, President Hitt will present the winners of the John C. Hitt Prize for Excellence in First-Year Writing, a part of the Knights Write Showcase Awards ceremony. The John C. Hitt Prize recognizes the talent and hard work of one student published in either of the preceding winter or spring issues of Stylus: A Journal of First-Year Writing. This $500 award includes a $250 book scholarship provided by the President.
At-a-glance
The 8th Annual Knights Write Showcase
Wednesday, February 7, 2018 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Union, Pegasus Ballroom
The Knights Write Showcase provides a chance for students and faculty from across campus to get a glimpse of the exciting work currently going on in our First-Year Writing Program. Activities include student displays, three student panels, and an awards ceremony.
Student Posters: 10:00 a.m.
Poster Presenters:
- Trysten Altamirano
- Joseph Aquino
- Bradley Atwood
- Lucy Barbisch
- Nicole Fairfoot
- William Hodges
- Nicole Johnson
- Leah Johnson
- Megan Kuczajda
- Chloe LaRochelle
- Taylor Perri
- Luis Reyes
- Ethan Sherlock
- Hannah Singer
- Taphatchot Suhirankornwit
- Kailyn Thomas
- Sean Touros
- Jorge Ugan
- Hannah Wieselthier
- Kenneth Troy Williams III
- Iris Wiseman
- Karin Wu
Awards Ceremony: 11:00 a.m.
Student Panels: 11:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 1:45 p.m.
11:45-12:30 | Student Panel: Revealing Rhetorics of Everyday Life
Moderator: Allison Pinkerton
- Paula Campo, “Orlando Strong: How a Tragedy Can Bring a Community Closer Together”
- Rachel Boone, “A Fatal Divide: Understanding the Rhetorical Disconnect Between Information and Fatalistic Beliefs about Nutrition-Based Cancer Prevention”
- Hannah West, “What Was Old Is the New Fad: Examining the Rhetoric of the Paleo Diet”
- Brian Hutchingson, “Michael Vick’s Legal Defense: I was Battling Pokémon”
12:45-1:30 | Student Panel: How Writing Matters Across Multiple Contexts
Moderator: Stuart Dees
- Kristen Wong, “The Lack of Diversity in Video Games: A Forum Post”
- Catherine Abbruzzese, “Changing Perceptions: A Look into the Female Undergraduates’ Thoughts on Engineering”
- Linh Tran, “Flashcards: Meaning Making for Student Success”
- Clayton White, “Essence of Technical Writing: Communication between Non-Experts and Experts in a Constrained Genre”
1:45-2:30 | Student panel: Reflections on Being Published: The Student Perspective
Moderator: Komysha Hassan
- Madeline Halvey, “Simple Forms of Dance and Movement Literacy,” published in Stylus1 and UCF Writes
- Priscilla Samayoa, “Writing Processes of Musical Theater Writers,” published in Stylus 1, and “The Extent of Influence that Genre Conventions have on TED Talks,” published in Stylus 8.2
- Amber Steward, “Learning to Loosen the Ties,” published in Stylus 2
- Shravan Yandra, “Note-Taking Involving Native and Modern Languages: A Detailed Analysis of My Code-Meshing,” published in Stylus 2
For more information about the First-Year Writing Program or the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, visit http://writingandrhetoric.cah.ucf.edu.
Related: Inaugural Knights Write showcase features first-year students’ work