Student Resources
The 2026 Essay Prize
Guidelines
Submission Details
What is the Essay Prize?
The Essay Prize is awarded once each academic year for a particularly well-argued, thoroughly researched, and eloquently written student paper. Students may submit their papers in the fall according to the guidelines below. (Lecturers are also encouraged to nominate students or invite them to submit their work.)
The winner will be notified by email and publicly announced and celebrated on our departmental website in December. The winner will receive a 25€ book voucher from buchbar Erfurt and will be featured on the University website.
We would like to thank our sponsors at buchbar Erfurt for their generous support!
How Do I Submit My Paper?
Papers eligible for the award include essays written in the fields of American and/or British literature during the academic year 2025/26 (October 2025 – September 2026). Submissions may take both traditional (textual analysis) and non-traditional forms (alternative methods or subjects). BA theses are also eligible. Each student may submit one essay under the terms described below:
- Please only submit clean copies (without comments, and without any further revision on your part).
- Include a cover page stating “2026 Essay Prize Competition,” the date of submission, the title of the course and the name of the instructor, your name, and your pledge.
- For the pledge on the cover page, please write out the following variation of the honor code and sign it (if submitting via email, please include a digital signature): “I pledge that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid during the completion of this work. I am submitting an identical copy of the original, with no changes except for this title page and, if they were missing from the original, page numbers in the upper right-hand corner and MLA documentation of all sources on a Works Cited page.”
To submit, please send a PDF copy of your paper to: verena.ferda@uni-erfurt.de
The deadline for submission is Sunday, November 15, 2026.
Past Winning Papers
Winning Papers
2025
Antonia Mitrenga.
“Regressive Perspectives in a Modern Story: How The Iliad Exposes Madeline Miller’s Adaptation, The Song of Achilles, as an Endorsement of Hegemonic Masculinity and Heteronormativity”
2024
Hannah Theuerkauf.
2023
Jessica König.
2022
Ciara Olzog.
2021
Anika Leonie Färber.
"The Oeuvre as the Result of the Identity Crisis."
2018
Maja-Felicia Kristan.
"A Graphic Memoir: The Perception of Authenticity in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home."
2017
Kaylie-Anne Ward.
"The Unfinished Project of Freedom in Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad."
2016
Janne Lilkendey.
Going Abroad
Partner Institutions: USA
United States of America
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Student exchange (undergraduate / graduate programs)
Beloit College
Beloit, Wisconsin
Student exchange (undergraduate programs)
Moravian College
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Student exchange (undergraduate programs)
Birmingham Southern College
Birmingham, Alabama
Student exchange (undergraduate programs)
University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Student exchange (undergraduate programs)
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington
Joint undergraduate "Summer Program in Communications Erfurt (SPICE)"
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, Oklamoma
Student exchange
Partner Institutions: Canada
Canada
Student exchange, (undergraduate, graduate, PhD programs), faculty exchange, shared research projects
Saint Paul University, Ottawa
Student exchange, (undergraduate, graduate, PhD programs), faculty exchange, shared research projects
Research and Writing
University Library Catalogs
University Library Catalogs
OPAC Library Catalog
GVK Interlibrary Loan - Library Catalog
EZBElectronic Journals Database
Librarial Advisors
Sabine Ziebarth
Library Building, Room 060
- +49(0)361/737-5703
- sabine.ziebarth@uni-erfurt.de
Kathrin Drechsel (substitute)
Library Building, Room 258
- +49(0)361/737-5514
- kathrin.drechsel@uni-erfurt.de
Online Databases
Online Databases
Guidelines: BA Theses - Term Papers - Exams
Guidelines
General Academic Writing Advice
Writing Advice
Leitfaden für literaturwissenschaftliche Hausarbeiten in Anglistik/AmerikanistikThis guide provides an overview of the requirements for term papers in British and American literature, including guidelines on structuring a paper, developing a thesis, formal requirements, and citation styles.
For more detailed information on formal guidelines and citation, please refer to the Style Sheetor the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
Sample papers: See winning papers of the Essay Prize above.
Medical Support
Psycho-Social Counselling Service
Psycho-Social Counselling Service provided by Studierendenwerk Thüringen
If you are going through a difficult time and feel that talking to someone might help, you can turn to the psycho-social counselling service offered by Studierendenwerk Thüringen.
Psycho-social counselling (PSB) is available free of charge to all students at universities in Thuringia who feel the need to talk about themselves, their situation, and their problems with a neutral person. We support you in finding solutions and rediscovering your abilities and strengths.
Our counselling is subject to confidentiality and takes place at individually agreed appointments.
For more information and contact details, please visit the Psycho-social Counselling (PSB) website.
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