WordSmith Writing Olympics

Celebrating its 35th year at the University of Memphis, the 2012 WordSmith competition honored the University's Centennial with 100-year themed writing contests, or "dashes."  Approximately 200 middle and high school students from 30 area schools congregated in the University Center's ballroom to test their writing and creative thinking skills.

This year, the dashes included a 40-word dash that asked students to describe a penny without actually naming the object.  The 100-word dash asked students to create a narrative of events depicted in one of three pictures taken from the University's archive: an image of the Memphis State Eight, the late Larry Finch celebrating a basketball win, and the University premiere of the musical, Hair.  Students also participated in a 120-word dash that asked them to write a letter to the editor taking a stance on an issue referenced by a collection of recent news headlines. 

At the conclusion of the first three events, door prizes were given out and student winners of each dash and in each grade were announced. Each student winner was then invited to participate in the 400-word main event dash, a chance to write for 60 minutes on topics such as what to put in a time capsule to be opened in 100 years or how the next century will be different than the last.

The first three dashes were judged by area English teachers who also served as coaches for many of the teams. The final dash was judged by University of Memphis Department of English faculty members. Winning entries will be published and distributed to all participating schools. The event was sponsored by the University of Memphis Department of English and the Shelby- Memphis Council of Teachers of English.

The 2012 winners can be found by clicking on the link at the right. 

Look for our archive of past winners and our promotional video coming soon!

Wordsmith Forms

Registration Forms available in late fall.

Student Registration Form
School Entry Form
Volunteer Judge Form

WordSmith Dash Descriptions, Rules and Prizes

 Important Links
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
University of Memphis Campus Map

Contacts
Catherine Dice: cdice@memphis.edu 467 Patterson Hall (901) 678 4535

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