Writing for a Real World

Writing for a Real World (WRW), now celebrating its 22nd publication, is dedicated to providing a public forum for the finest undergraduate academic writing at the University of San Francisco.


Photo credit: Mariam Diakite, USF student photographer

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 22nd Issue Book Launch
Thursday, 20 February 2025
6:30 to 7:30pm in Fromm Hall 120 - Xavier Room

Submissions Guidelines for 23rd Issue

Deadline: May 14, 2025

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 14, 2025.
  • 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 2024-2025 academic year (Fall 2024, Intersession 2025, Spring 2025)
  • 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 2025.
  • Winning entries will be copy edited in Fall 2025 by students in an editing workshop. Books will be released in Spring 2026 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 2025.

The twenty-third issue will be released in mid-spring semester 2026.