The English Department at UW-Platteville has published their first ever anthology of freshman writing. “Stylus: An Anthology of Freshmen Writing,” is a collection of freshmen-written papers from the 2008-2009 academic school year.

“Our vision and goal for the anthology was to use it in place of the textbook in freshmen composition courses,” said Gary Kriewald, an editor of the anthology and lecturer at UW-P, said.

The anthology was funded by a Chancellor’s Opportunity Grant with additional funding provided by the Segregated University Fees Allocation Committee.

Kriewald said the search began when each freshmen composition professor sent out a notice to freshmen composition students about being a part of the anthology. If a student wrote a composition that impressed a teacher, the student was encouraged to submit the essay. An editorial board looked over 124 submissions before selecting 20 for the stylus.

Evelyn Martens, director of Writing and Tutoring Resources, said she commends UW-P for all the work that was put into the creation of the anthology.

Graphic designer Amy Kreul and photographer Andy McNeil from the UW-P Publications Office helped put the stylus design together.

“Diana Brunton and staff at the University Information and Communication Office were stellar people to work with,” Martens said.

After the design and editing, the anthology was bid out to printers, and by state law the lowest bid was taken.

Kriewald said he believes no other schools in the UW System have ever attempted a freshmen-written anthology and hopes that the anthology will be an annual publication.

“Most textbooks are written for freshmen composition courses but are written by professional writers and are way over the head of some of our writers; we were looking for something more at the peer level,” said Kriewald.

Not only has the anthology benefited professors and students who utilize it as a reference, but it has also has given confidence to the writers published in its pages.

“I hope that my story will show students that writing is definitely more of a process with its ups and downs and drama than just quickly putting some words on paper,” Dan Varholik, a general engineering major who was published in the anthology, said. “Overall, the publishing of my essay gave me the confidence that I could write at a college level and write something someone would read.”