Writing for a Real World

Writing for a Real World (WRW), now celebrating its 23rd publication, is dedicated to providing a public forum for the finest undergraduate academic writing at the University of San Francisco.

Photo Credit: Prof. Pedro Lange Churión and Prof. Aránzazu Borrachero Mendívil.
Cover designed by Mara Lenza.
Thanks to Cristina Serrano Mesa featured in this photo, holding a photo of her missing sister. This image is part of an ongoing exhibition Duerma en ti.

Created in partnership between the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Rhetoric and Language, WRW publishes student writing with commentary from students and their instructors. We welcome not only essays and research papers, but also scientific, business, and technical reports. 

Writing for a Real World’s 23rd issue features the work of: Cecelia Baldwin, Francene Gabrielle “Cheena” Bendicion, Brooke Bethune, Catalina Do, Erika Dunagan, Bella Glastra Van Loon, Cornelius Green, Analicia Parish, and Paulina Pons Meyer. 

Writing for a Real World's 23rd Issue Book Launch
Thursday, 19 February 2026
6:30 to 7:30pm in Fromm Hall 120 - Xavier Room

Submissions Guidelines for 24th Issue

Deadline: May 20, 2026

Entries not conforming to the rules as specified here may be disqualified:

  • Submit entries in Gnosis
  • Please complete all information in the “My Info” and “Submit” fields online.
  • Deadline for submission is May 20, 2026.
  • IMPORTANT: The author's name must NOT appear anywhere on the manuscript or in the title of the file.
  • Entrants must be undergraduates whose work was written for a USF course during the 2025-2026 academic year (Fall 2025, Intersession 2026, Spring 2026)
  • Entries must be written primarily in English, double-spaced, in a standard font, with a title, page numbers, and a bibliography—all in one file. Entries without a bibliography may be disqualified.
  • Each entry must be no more than 25 pages (Abstract, bibliography, and appendices do not count toward your 25 page total, please feel free to include these items).
  • Entries must be the original work of the student. Co-authorship is acceptable as long as all authors are listed. Co-authors: please designate one primary contact.
  • Students can enter two submissions per academic year (although only one winning entry per student can be published; if two papers receive high scores, one will be published, the other will be listed as Honorable Mention).
  • Entries may be submitted by students or by their instructors with student consent.
  • Authors will be responsible for the accuracy of their work, their quotations, and their documentation.
  • If work is accepted for publication, author agrees to resolve queries from editors in a timely manner. Authors who do not respond to queries forfeit their right to publication. Please, then, provide us with the very best method of contacting you during summer and fall of 2026.
  • Winning entries will be copy edited in Fall 2026 by students in an editing workshop. Books will be released in Spring 2027 and published online via Gleeson Library’s Digital Collections. Back issues are available online.
  • Publication rights remain with the authors.

Winners and honorable mention recipients will be announced during Summer 2026.

The twenty-fourth issue will be released in mid-spring semester 2027.