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English Essay Prizes

The Villanova English department gives out two essay awards each year:

The Jerome J. Fischer Memorial Award

The Margaret Powell Esmonde Memorial Award

The Jerome J. Fischer Memorial Award is given to the most distinguished scholarly or critical essay written by an undergraduate student at Villanova.

The Margaret Powell Esmonde Memorial Award is  given to the most distinguished scholarly or critical essay written by a graduate student at Villanova.

Each award comes with a prize of $100, and the two prize-winning essays will be published.  For previous winners, as well as information about Jerome J. Fischer and Margaret Powell Esmonde, see our Awards page.

Eligibility

Both competitions are open only to students taking courses at Villanova University, including night school courses. To be eligible, essays must have been

(1) written within a year preceding the deadline;

(2) written either for a Villanova English course (2000 level or higher) or for a Villanova Honors course (2000 level or higher) that was taught by a member of the Villanova English faculty. Work submitted for a senior Honors thesis or an M. A. thesis is not eligible.

Format

The essay should be typed/printed, double-spaced, and no more than 20 pages long. Notes should be organized in the parenthetical form recommended by the third edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. The first page should include the course and professor for which the paper was written, as well as the writer's local address, email address, and telephone number. If the writer wishes an essay returned, he or she should include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Submission information

The deadline for submissions has been extended to April 11, 2008.  They should be delivered to Susan Burns, English Department secretary, in SAC 402.