Writing Opportunities

Writing is one of the major "pillars" of the English discipline. NEHS hopes to be a resource to foster writing by all members, students and adults. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Position Statement on Writing provides this definition:

“Writing” refers to the act of creating composed knowledge . . . As composed knowledge, writing thus serves multiple purposes: to help writers develop and document their ideas for a range of purposes and audiences in a variety of contexts; to distribute ideas to other audiences so that they can be revised or re-circulated; to help an individual or a community to define, clarify, or even reify its ideas. As composed knowledge, "writing" ranges broadly from written language (such as that used in this statement), to graphics, to mathematical notation.

Various opportunities for writing have been crafted since the founding of NEHS to encourage and reward members for putting their thoughts to paper or screen. Our Intellectual Freedom Challenge asks members to argue for the inclusion or exclusion of texts that some might find objectionable. Additionally, while the purpose of the writing for both our Merit and Collegiate Scholarship offerings is to receive scholarship funding, students write strong literary analyses (Merit Awards) or detailed personal narratives (Collegiate Awards) in the process of application. Further, applicants for the Summer Study Awards present clear rationales explaining why NEHS should grant them funds to attend learning experiences during the summer months; upon their return, awardees must write blogs to explain their studies and to encourage other students to apply for future opportunities.

Most recently, NEHS has developed the Writing Contest for student members and Advisors, encouraging the poets among the Society ranks to share their creative endeavors.

This “Writing” space will continue to grow with writing resources, links to NEHS publications, and new opportunities to support all members.