If you have a piece of work that you're especially proud of, please consider submitting it for consideration for one of these awards.
The Margaret Powell Esmonde Memorial Award, which comes with a prize of $250, is given to the most distinguished scholarly or critical essay written by a graduate student in a Villanova English course within the last 12 months.
The Jerome J. Fischer Memorial Awards, which come with a prize of $250, are given to the most distinguished scholarly or critical essays written by undergraduate students at Villanova within the last 12 months.
Submissions for the Fischer Award must have been written either for a Villanova English course (all except ENG 1975) or for a Villanova Honors course (2000 level or higher) taught by a member of the Villanova English faculty. It is permissible to revise or expand papers beyond what was submitted for the course. Submissions may be excerpted from a senior Honors thesis.
The Core Literature and Writing Seminar Essay Award, which also comes with a prize of $250, is given to the most distinguished critical essay written for a Villanova Core Literature and Writing Seminar (ENG 1975) in the previous calendar year (i.e. in Spring or Fall 2021).
Format
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In addition to their essay, students should include a cover page including the course and professor for which the paper was written, as well as their email and a local mailing address
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Students should also submit the essay assignment or an approximation of the assignment.
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Essays should be formatted in Times New Roman 12 (or equivalent font) and double-spaced.
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For the Fischer Award, papers up to 6 pages will be considered separately from papers that are 6-15 pages. Longer papers are expected to engage scholarly sources.
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Essays should be formatted in MLA or Chicago Style.
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Only one submission per award is allowed.
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Judges are looking for argumentative originality and rigor, elegance of writing,
and interpretive incisiveness. Submissions should be carefully proofread.
The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 8, 2022. Submissions should be emailed as an attachment to joseph.drury@villanova.edu.
For previous winners, as well as information about Jerome J. Fischer, see our department Awards page.
