Students revise essays and attempt to win cash prizes

An essay-editing contest returns to the University of Toledo Feb. 23-26. The best 15 students will walk away from the 26th-Annual Shapiro Essay Revision Contest with a cash prize of up to $500.

“Students arrive at one of the eight location sessions and are presented with a badly-written essay, which they have two hours to edit and revise,” said Deborah Coulter-Harris, associate lecturer for the Department of English Language and Literature, and the contest director.

All undergraduate students are invited to attend, and there are eight separate sessions to ensure as many students as possible can participate.

“Dr. Shapiro donated this money to recognize and reward future UT students in what he regarded as the craft of good writing,” Coulter-Harris said.

According to Coulter-Harris, Edward Shapiro, who was a professor emeritus in economics and at UT for 22 years, donated the funds to award students with excellent writing skills with scholarships.

“Shapiro was a professor in economics, a profession that seems overtly writing-intensive, but what he understood was that writing is actually foundational for everything everybody does, regardless of profession or discipline,” said Elliot Adams, a writing professor at UT and a judge for this year’s revision contest.

Judging will take place a week after the competition and the winners will be immediately notified. The winners of this year’s contest are also invited to a gala called the Shapiro Festival in April.

Savannah Xaver, a third-year pre-psychology major, was a student winner at last year’s revision contest. She said she highly encourages students to participate.

“This is a wonderful contest to enter because it not only gives you the opportunity to win prizes, but it is also a valuable skill to be able to proofread your papers and create something better from it,” Xaver said.

According to Coulter-Harris, the contest gives students of any major the opportunity to improve their revision and writing skills.

“Students are able to display their good writing skills learned in writing and literature classes, and they engage in an intellectual competition that reflects the very best of our wonderful students,” Coulter-Harris said.

Coulter-Harris said the contest is about applying individual creative skills in order to make an essay more interesting.

“It’s pretty exciting to see that range of talent and capability, but also the range of approaches that people revise these essays,” Adams said. “There are a number of ways that any of them could be made better.”

This will be Adams’ fourth year judging the contest. Adams said she strongly encourages all of her students to participate in the contest, because there is nothing to lose, but a lot to win.

“I think that the more writing students can do, the better you get…it’s kind of fun to test yourself in a different way. This is a no-risk situation,” Adams said.

Adams also said that she stresses the importance of this event to her students, because writing is something that is a truly important skill.

“There are a number of ways that any of them could be made better. People choose the way that makes the most sense to them. There is really quite a variety of writing styles and approaches,” Adams said.

Xaver said there are important tips participants could use to help in the competition.

“My advice is to bring a dictionary or thesaurus with you — it helps a lot,” Xaver said. “The most important thing, though, is to not be nervous and focus on the topic that is given to you.”

The competition runs from Feb. 23-26 in Memorial Field House Room 2420. Email [email protected] for more information.