Center for Research & Writing

Excellence in First & Second Year

Research & Writing

The Excellence in First & Second Year Research & Writing award honors students' growth as researchers and writers during their first two years at Keene State College.

Faculty are invited to nominate excellent work by students (with an expected graduation 2027 or 2028) from any 100- or 200-level course. Three students will be selected to present their work on a featured panel at the Academic Excellence Conference in April 2025 and receive a monetary prize of $200 each.

THE NOMINATED PAPER 

• Must be written by a first- or second-year student (expected graduation 2027 or 2028) for a 100- or 200-level Keene State College course completed during the spring 2024 or fall 2024 semesters.
• May be on any topic but must include the use of library resources to support the author’s main ideas.
• Must be written by one author.
• Should be a minimum of 1500 words.
• Must include a bibliography or works cited list.

HOW TO NOMINATE A STUDENT'S PAPER

• Faculty nominations are an important consideration when selecting winning papers. The award committee is most interested in the student's growth as a researcher and writer. See judging criteria here.
• Students who are nominated will be contacted by the Center for Research & Writing and invited to submit their work in application for the award.
• Please nominate a student and their work by filling out the: NOMINATION FORM
• Nominating by February 12th is recommended so students have enough time to write the Reflective Essay and submit their work.

HOW A STUDENT SUBMITS THEIR WORK 

• Nominated students will receive an email from the Center for Research & Writing with a link to an online form where they may submit their work.
• Students must also submit a Reflective Essay (roughly 500 words) describing their research and writing process. While the content and quality of the paper submission is important, the award committee is most interested in the student's growth as a researcher and writer. See specific criteria for the Reflective Essay and paper here.
• Students who have been nominated may submit their work by March 15th by filling out the: STUDENT WORK SUBMISSION FORM

REVIEW PROCESS

• Papers and Reflective Essays will be judged by a three-person committee, including at least one individual from the Center for Research & Writing/Mason Library.
• See the criteria used by the committee here.

ABOUT THE AWARD

This award is generously funded by Credo, an Infobase Company. Credo is a research database company that promotes the development of information literacy skills necessary for knowledge-building, problem-solving, and critical thinking across academic and professional contexts.

The three winning papers and reflective essays will be shared with Credo so that they may evaluate them to better understand the research processes of excellent early career college students.

PREVIOUS WINNING SUBMISSIONS

 Please visit the collection to see previous winning submissions. https://library.keene.edu/c.php?g=841079&p=9663690

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AWARD

Email Elizabeth Dolinger, Information Literacy Librarian, Center for Research & Writing, Mason Library edolinger@keene.edu