Showcasing Students' Composition Projects
Final Draft is our annual Composition Program text, which serves several purposes. One of these is that it acts as a guide to our composition courses and student learning objectives, even including useful information about our campus Writing Center as well as our “Write on Target” program that is only open to composition students. Another purpose is to feature and publish student writing, which is selected every year by our First-Year Writing Advisory Committee. Those student essays then become model essays for other students to enjoy in their composition classes. Final Draft includes three award-winning essays: the Best ENG 101/101E Essay Award, the Best ENG 102 Essay Award, and the McCrimmon Award, which is the most prestigious award offered to the best paper written in any composition course. In addition, the committee selects a number of essays that showcases strong student writing across a number of different genres.
Submission Guidelines
We invite you to submit your essays from ENG101, 101E, and 102 to be considered for a composition award and for inclusion in Final Draft.
To submit your work, follow the steps below:
- Talk with your instructor to share your intentions
- Review instructor and peer feedback, making appropriate revisions to your essay
- Finalize your essay, correcting grammar and citation errors
- Obtain a “Student Writing Release Form” here or from your instructor or the composition coordinator
- Complete the “Student Writing Release Form” and submit it to the composition coordinator
- Submit an electronic .doc or .docx file of your essay to the composition coordinator by emailing the attached file to comp@fmarion.edu
Remember: When you email your submission, you want to put your best professional foot forward. In your email, please have a brief message, explaining the purpose of your message and including an appropriate subject line for that message.
Submissions are accepted during any point of the spring and fall semesters; decisions are typically made early in the spring semester.
Recent Award Recipients and Featured Students
2024-2025
“The Astonishing World of Anime” by Jasmin Marsh
“Comparative Analysis of Web Source Reliability between Two Websites” by Ivan Kurt Mangadang
“My Struggle with Learning to Read” by Ryan Fleming
“Analysis of Conspiracy Theories: ‘It’s All Connected, Man: Conspiracy Theories’” by Kara Elizabeth Grace Northrop
“Stay Away from Self-Destruction” by Jaliyah Black
“The Perception of Masculinity” by Karen Gamble
“Escaping Reality to Gain Comfort” by Arlon Avant
“Life Is Not as Sweet as Peach Cobbler” by Polina Gontaryk
“The Canceling Feud” by Ella McDaniel
2023-2024
“Why the Coulter Memorial Academy Complex Should Be Registered as a Historic Place” by J. Alan Wallace
“A Dream Turned into Reality” by Calina Floyd
“Dehumanization of the Healthcare Industry” by Haley Poston
“The Glorification of Athletes in Society” by Matthew Gardner
“‘Permission to Dance’: How BTS Emotionally Connects with Their Audience” by Luke Poston
“A Tribute to 09/11” by Kay Stewart
“Who is Jack the Ripper” by Anna MacKenzie
“Self-Driving Cars: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” by Barrett Jordan
“The Continued Fight for Equitable Education” by James Parker
“How Transhumanism Dehumanizes” by Ian Simpson
“The Internet Is Making Humans Shallow” by Anna Claire Tarlton
“The Death Penalty: Our Enemy or Our Friend?” by Luke Poston
2022-2023
“Ableism in Technology: More Than Meets the Eye?” by Tabitha Modrell
“Deforestation in South Carolina” by Kinley Dempsey
“Authors Use Graphic Novels to Deliver a Message” by Eleanor Rosenberry
“What Cancer Taught Me” by Zachary Dutton
“Love Is Blind and so Is Rage” by Jake Lee
“Hunting and Fishing: Why Paying the Fee Matters” by Blake Rogers
“Apostle” by Brailey Sloan
“Maybelline Proposal” by Shilpa Rao
“The Negative Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health” by Savannah Lee
“Fear of the Freeway: Learning to Drive through English 101” by Tyra Gainey