The OSSIP Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Writing

Cash prizes are awarded for winning entries in the categories of Research Writing and Critical Writing.

• The Research Writing category includes projects that present the student writer’s independent research, with substantial analysis of primary sources or data.
  
  
• The Critical Writing category includes pieces that present the student writer’s own critical analysis of a text, artifact, problem, issue, or experience (with or without the use of secondary sources).

At the end of the Spring semester, students may submit pieces they have written for courses taken at the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh campus) during the previous two academic years (Fall, Spring, or Summer Terms).  Winners are announced during the following Fall term.

The College Writing Board judges submissions according to these criteria:

• Content: writing that demonstrates depth and breadth of understanding, provides accurate information, and conveys quality analysis.
  
  
• Coherence: writing that shows clear purpose, logical organization, and sentence fluency.
  
• Style: writing that is precise, clear, and compelling within the context of disciplinary conventions.