The Boothe Prize for Excellence in First-Year Writing

Made possible by the generosity of the late D. Power Boothe Jr., his wife Catie, and their son Barry, Boothe Prizes recognize and reward outstanding examples of argumentative, analytical, and research-based writing produced by first-year students in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric and the Introduction to the Humanities program.

The award signifies a great honor, not only for the winning student but for the instructor. Both students and instructors are recognized at an annual award ceremony, held at the Faculty Club each May.

At the end of every quarter, instructors (rather than students) submit essays for the Prize. Since only one first place and one honorable mention prize are awarded each quarter, all nominated essays are judged together. Instructors should submit only the very strongest essay from each of their classes. Student winners receive a Boothe Prize certificate, a copy of The Riverside Shakespeare, and a check for $350; each honorable mention winner receives a certificate, a copy of The Riverside Shakespeare, and a check for $150. All winning essays are published in the annual Boothe Prize Essays: Excellence in First-Year Writing at Stanford. The names of all nominees are listed in the publication of the Boothe essay collection as well. Copies of the 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004editions are available in the PWR Resource Library. PDF files of the winning entries are also available on the PWR website.

There are plans in the works for a PWR 2 prize for Excellence in Oral and Multimedia Presentations. The program directors have been consulting with the Undergraduate Advisory Board about this exciting new initiative.