2013 UM Common
Reading Experience
Essay Contest
umreads.olemiss.edu
READ
Craig Mullaney’s The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier’s Education
WRITE
a short essay using one of these prompts:
^ Who are Mullaney’s most influential educators, both in and out of the classroom? What
lessons do they impart? How do they impact Mullaney? Compare this to someone who has
taught you and what was effective about your learning experience(s).
^ How does the study of literature and history inform Mullaney’s education? What roles do
language –reading and writing – and thorough examination of the past play in his
emerging sense of what it means to be a solder, leader, and public servant?
^ The book is titled The Unforgiving Minute. Over the course of the book, people offer and
withhold forgiveness, to and from one another, and to and from themselves. If applicable
to you, relate forgiven and unforgiving moments from the book to your own life.
SUBMIT
Original essays must be AT LEAST 800 WORDS and must be emailed to
cwr@olemiss.edu no later than Monday, 9/30/2013. In your email, please include
Note 1
the following: Name, phone number, mailing address, email, and campus location
(one only). Attach
your essay (at least 800 words) to your email and send to: cwr@olemiss.edu no later than Monday,
September 30, 2013. Winners will be announced on October 15, 2013.
PRIZES
Winning essays will be featured on the Center for Writing & Rhetoric website.
Note 2
Cash prize of $150 will be awarded to one winner in each category: Note 3
Lafayette County High School Student
Oxford High School Student
Booneville Campus UM Student
DeSoto Campus UM Student
Grenada Campus UM Student
Oxford Campus UM Student
Tupelo Campus UM Student
UMMC Student (Jackson Campus)
Note 1: Awards will be given only to students whose enrollment is verified with the specific campus selected at time of submission.
Note 2: All entries will be submitted to SafeAssign, an originality and resource verification tool. Writers are not required to cite to an outside source,
but if they cite an external source, they must use a citation system of their choice. Work submitted for this essay may not have won other awards.
Note 3: Winning entries may be published on the CWR website under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC-BY-NC) licensing
system; with submission the authors agree to that licensing. Further details are available on the Creative Commons website at
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/
Sponsors: The University of Mississippi’s Department of Outreach & Continuing Education, Center
for Writing & Rhetoric, Campus Writing Centers, and University Libraries