UW First-Year English Writing Students Create Works for Peer-Reviewed Journal

Nine University of Wyoming students’ works were selected for the Department of English’s in-house peer-reviewed journal.

Inside English 1010, the department’s journal of first-year writing, is the third volume of the publication of UW student writing.

Students selected for published works in the journal, listed by hometowns and majors, are:

-- Lucy Bennett, Evergreen, Colo., business management.

-- Chris Denis, Jackson, undeclared.

-- Kayla Griffith, Thornton, Colo., physiology.

-- Olivia Lyle, Rapid City, S.D., business and sustainability.

-- Anna Platt, Cheyenne, undeclared.

-- Natalie Smyth, Centennial, Colo., business management.

-- Ryan Tucker, Colorado Springs, Colo., communications major, with a focus on journalism.

-- Conner Whitman, Laramie, pre-nursing.

-- Sophie Williams, San Jose, Calif., secondary education and history.

To view all three volumes of published writing, click here.

“Inside English 1010 highlights first-year student talent through three genres -- or types of writing -- in our foundational communication course,” says Department of English Assistant Professor Nancy Small, the faculty adviser of this year’s journal.

The three types of writing are:

-- The “expos,” which centers on expository writing used to explain complex ideas to a broad readership. The assignment asks students to learn deep-reading strategies and to develop skills for ethically summarizing, paraphrasing and quoting other sources.

-- The researched argument is a traditional persuasive essay written for an academic readership. Students practice identifying an issue, narrowing their focus into a position, finding their own scholarly support evidence and structuring an argument.

-- The op-ed assignment shifts attention to public audiences, challenging students to write an opinion piece regarding an issue that is timely and discussion-worthy for readers. While building off the other two types of writing, the op-ed creates a “space where students use their voices while also remembering that good civic discourse requires careful rhetorical negotiation,” Small says.

“Our third volume includes a great range of topics within these three genres, which demonstrates that our students bring a variety of perspectives to UW,” Small says.

Two of the latest journal pieces summarize scholarly work on ecotourism and on the representation of race in movies. In commemoration of the 20-year anniversary of Matthew Shepard's murder, a third writing explains how UW reacted to and sought to improve itself as a result of the tragedy.

Researched arguments address questions such as the ethics of xenotransplantation, the sustainability of palm oil and the effects of media coverage of mass shootings. Two op-ed submissions argue in favor of co-ed integrated sports as well as marching band as a physical education credit, while one argues against the use of PowerBait by anglers.

“We are so proud of the smart ideas and cogent arguments UW students develop in our first-year writing course,” Small says. “Our students teach us about new ideas and perspectives through their writing, and as instructors, we are motivated by their work.”

The lead editor of the latest journal was Mary Hill, from Modesto, Calif. She earned an English master’s degree (2019), with a concentration in rhetoric and composition. The production editor was Heather Holland, of Tooele, Utah. She earned an MFA (2018), with concentrations in poetry and nonfiction, and with a minor in gender and women’s studies. Holland is an assistant professor of English and philosophy at Snow College.

Also, Kyle Moore, of Carlsbad, Calif., was the editorial intern. He graduated in May with an English bachelor’s degree. The journal’s cover photo was by Alyssa Canepa, from Casper. She currently is a student in the English master’s program, with a concentration in literature.

“We had almost 70 submissions for the latest journal, which demonstrates the enthusiasm our students and instructors have for the publication,” Small says. “The high number of submissions also meant our acceptance rate was less than 15 percent. We are excited to highlight the chosen student work, but also know that many excellent projects also did not make it into this volume.”