Analisa wrote her outstanding research paper while enrolled in a unique section of WR 150 called “Burning Questions”; this section offers students the opportunity to complete a semester-long research project on a topic of their choosing. Analisa knew from the beginning that she wanted to tackle a challenging, practical issue for her research paper. She decided to confront the sensitive issue of what happens to women who give birth in American prisons and the shockingly limited ways in which the incarcerating institutions facilitate bonds between these mothers and their newborns. Two main strengths of her paper are the measured tone of her argumentation and the credible, well-supported proposals she offers that take in to account the need for flexibility in the face of varying prison resources. Of particular note in this paper is her deft strategy of linking successful systemic change in public education, a complex institution deeply embedded in our society, with potential positive change in the prison system; this strategy humanizes the administrators and prisoners of concern in her paper, and it also makes the situation itself seem both recognizable and solvable. Analisa’s methodical, detail-focused research and writing processes allowed her to anticipate the objections of potential naysayers and respond to them with thoughtful consideration. By the end of the paper, it’s hard not to be convinced that the solutions she offers could be steps toward real change in the treatment of imprisoned mothers and their babies.
— SAMANTHA MYERS
WR 150: Burning Questions: Human Expression