2018-19 Best Paper Award

Best Paper Award Winner, Katherine L. Ward

We would like to thank our colleagues for encouraging students to submit their work for the 2018-2019 graduate student “Best Paper Award.” There were three papers submitted for consideration, with a $500 prize up for grabs:
The Future as Imperative in Ecuador
-Katherine L. Ward
Representaciones del amor no correspondido en la poesía cancioneril y Cárcel de Amor
-Jorge Cienfuegos
El nuevo orden de Caja de fractales (Rosa, 2017)
-M. Isabel Martín Sánchez

The submissions were evaluated according to the following criteria:
i) Contribution to knowledge either in terms of approach or subject matter
ii) Structure and presentation
iii) Quality of writing
iv) Rigor in terms of argument or analysis
v) Theoretical framework or references (latest/key works in the field have been cited)
vi) Depth of research

The three papers displayed high standards, which made the selection process enjoyable and the decision-making process difficult. Nevertheless, while the three papers displayed high levels in all criteria, the committee unanimously agreed that the paper that stood out above all was The Future as Imperative in Ecuador by Katherine L. Ward, mainly due to the depth of its research, contribution to knowledge, and potential it opens for further investigation. The objectives of the paper were clearly defined and the arguments were presented effectively and situated exceptionally within current theoretical research. The paper also used an extensive amount of original evidence that Katherine gathered from social media resources to reveal insightful patterns related to pragmatic subtleties and structural aspects connected with the use of the future as an imperative to express an attenuated command in Ecuadorian Spanish. In summary, the paper demonstrated outstanding originality in the approach and methodologies employed and excellent publication potential.

We would like to congratulate the authors of the three papers for their excellent work and to encourage them to continue producing high quality research in the courses they take and in their future academic endeavors.

Respectfully,

The Best Paper Award selection committee:
Kata Beilin, Professor
Fernando Tejedo, Associate Professor