The University News

Issue date: 9/17/07 Section: Culture

It is not uncommon for a student to wonder, "who wrote this?" when perusing an assigned reading. In this case, it may have been the person who sat in his very desk the previous semester.

The Sosland Journal, a compilation of exceptional student writing, is published annually by the English department. The finished product finds its way into the hands of students each fall.

"Because we like student writing to be at the center of our composition instruction, [the journal] is a standard text for all of our 110 and 225 courses," said Dr. Jane Greer, associate professor of English Language and Literature.

Any student in a composition or writing intensive course is eligible to have his/her work published. The three winners of the Ilus W. Davis Writing Contest and six others had their essays printed in this year's journal.

The journal's roots are deeply embedded in the English Department. Rheta Sosland-Hurwitt, a former UMKC student, got the publication started through the establishment of an endowment fund.

According to Greer, Sosland-Hurwitt so enjoyed her introductory composition course and felt such an affinity for the Department of English that she took it upon herself to empower English professors and students through the endowment.

Sosland-Hurwitt's contributions also make available additional resources to English professors.

With each publication comes a healthy dose of variety.

Ann Marie Ballew's essay on the rhetorical work of Dorthia Dix is featured in this year's Sosland.

"I'm very honored," said Ballew, a senior psychology major. "I worked really hard on the paper, and my hard work paid off."

John Archuletta, junior in premed, chose to address the variations of speech within the English language. The distinction between those who use the term "soda" and those who say "pop" is a case study cited in his piece.

Although this marks Archuletta's second entry to make publication in the Sosland, it wasn't exactly easy, due largely in part to his choice of subject matter.

"The most difficult part of the process was trying to focus on a specific range of speech, because the English language itself is so diverse," he said.

For Archuletta, it was a rewarding experience to once again see the fruit of his labors make it into the hands of his fellow students.

"I feel it's very nice to be published," he said. "It takes a lot of hard work to write something, but then also write something that's going to be recognized as exemplary. It's a very satisfying feeling."

For those considering submission of their own work for publication, Archuletta offers some advice and encouragement.

"One of the hurdles of getting into Sosland is actually - it may sound crazy - but actually submitting your work," he said. "A lot of people think [their work] is not good enough to be submitted, but you'd be surprised at how good people's writing is. You surprise yourself at how good it is if you simply submit it. If you don't give yourself a chance, you'll never know if you would have done well or not."

jds8t2@umkc.edu

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