Submit Your Work for the Aetna Undergraduate Writing Awards in Social Justice and Multimodal Composition by March 25

Applicants may submit any unpublished work composed for a course or independently, from Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026 semesters. Find links to the online forms for both awards here.  Writing for social justice uses writing as a tool to explore, critique, and advocate for equity, inclusion, and systemic change. Such writing often aims for critical awareness, empowerment, or advocacy and activism. As a category, it can include such forms as: personal narrative or creative writing; research-based arguments; multimodal approaches (infographics, podcasts, videos, etc.); or public-facing writing such as letters to editors, policy proposals, or community-engaged writing. Multimodal writing encompasses composed works that do not necessarily conform to the structure of a traditional essay and that complicate or expand such structures by using additional modes of communication. Information and arguments are no longer shared solely through written text; visual, aural, spatial, and/or gestural elements might also be used. A few examples of multimodal writing in a college composition context include: digital storytelling; infographics or data visualizations; research posters; podcasts; videos and short-form content; websites or blogs; presentations using tools like Prezi, Canva, or PowerPoint; zines, etc. Winners receive a cash prize (up to $200) and are recognized at the annual Aetna Celebration of Student Writing on Friday, April 24th, 2026.