#UMassDBelieves | Write for a Prize!

Take your UMassD Believes statement to the next level and submit it for a prize!

You’ve done all the hard work of formulating your belief statement,  so take advantage of this exciting opportunity to receive recognition from the Provost by developing your post into a personal “essay” of approximately 500 words to submit to the Provost’s Writing Contest! This project might take the format of a traditional essay, but feel free to be creative in the way you choose to put words on the page.

Contest Guidelines

Revise and expand your belief statement into an original and insightful 500-word project that creatively

  • Shares one of your core beliefs
  • Explains how that belief was formed (what life experience lead to this?)
  • Helps us understand why that belief matters 

(You do not need to respond to the prompts in any particular order.)

As a reminder, you want to vividly tell us about the belief that matters most to you. You may choose to reflect on just about anything, from experiences with family, friends, education, to adventures in foreign cities or your hometown, or perhaps a personal struggle that you’ve overcome– our values take root in an infinite number of ways. Visit National Public Radio’s Guidelines for New England’s This I Believe.

Next, spend some time revising. After the drafting phase, good writers lay their work to rest and return a short time later with a renewed sense of clarity and excitement. We encourage you to do the same to sharpen your ideas and polish your writing. Remember, this will be read by all of your new classmates!

Recognition & Awards

In an effort to recognize stand-out submissions in our First-Year Writing Project, we will select the top 3 and showcase them here on the blog. Stand-out submissions will be recognized with prizes from the Provost. Submissions are due by midnight 8/1. Late submissions are not accepted.

  • First Place: $250
  • Second Place: $150
  • Third Place: $100

Good luck writers and welcome to the Corsair Community!

Email Submissions To:
  1. TWB.Essay.Contest@umassd.edu as a Microsoft Word Doc, OneDrive Doc (Office 365)* or Google Doc*
    • *If using OneDrive or Google, you must give “sharing” permission to access your document
    • NO submissions using TextEdit, Pages or Pdf please
  2. Remove your name from your “essay” (in the file name and the “essay” itself); submissions are evaluated anonymously
  3. Email subject line: Your Name + Title of “Essay”
  4. In the body of the email, please identify your preferred email contact and your full name