2023 Editor's Introduction,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
2023 Editor's Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
No abstract provided.
Breaking Free From Gender Norms: Adolescent Constructions Of Femininity Through The Patriarchy And High School Musical,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Breaking Free From Gender Norms: Adolescent Constructions Of Femininity Through The Patriarchy And High School Musical, Ina Tolentino
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Ina is a double major in nursing and psychology from Elk Grove, CA. Ina “always had trouble embracing myself with the way masculinity and femininity are pitted against each other” and found meaning in writing this essay, as they believe “there’s so much value in painting ourselves however we want … regardless of the expectations of gendered roles.” As a non-binary individual, Ina feels that writing this piece was a healing experience and a reminder to embrace all aspects of who they are. They love reading and writing, which has led to a bedroom flooded with different kinds of books. …
Rage Against The Machine: How Screen Time Is Impairing Our Intelligence And What We Can Do About It,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Rage Against The Machine: How Screen Time Is Impairing Our Intelligence And What We Can Do About It, Jillian Steeves
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Jillian is a history major from Danvers, MA. Her essay was inspired by an article she read in her composition class about how screens could damage cognitive functioning, and she thinks that “for a lot of people, myself included, overindulgence in tech is increasingly affecting our quality of life.” Jillian noted the irony of a history major writing about a current topic, but she “found there to be a lot of overlap between my history studies and the topic of my essay,” and she was able to “take many of the skills I’ve picked up as a historian — research, …
The Brain, The Block, The Bummed Writer,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
The Brain, The Block, The Bummed Writer, Karina Silva
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Karina is a psychology major with a biology minor from Winthrop, MA. Karina says that writer’s block has “always been an obstacle for me, especially whenever I have to write papers for classes.” She notes that this paper was one of the first that she felt passionate about writing, and she feels that “researching the neurology behind writer’s block” enabled her to “further appreciate the wonders of the brain” and “develop an interest in research surrounding neuroscience and psychology.” Karina is a Brazilian-American who speaks Portuguese as well as English. Her hobbies include drawing, and she notes that art helps …
Fake News’ Negation Of A Useful Education,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Fake News’ Negation Of A Useful Education, Vance Naftal
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Vance is an international relations Major from Baltimore, MD. Vance chose to write about the negative effects that misleading/false news stories can have on an individual, especially when in college, because he “sees society moving farther and farther away from truth and leaning more into sentiments based on emotions — which is directly at odds with the point of a higher education.” Vance started college at 16 years old. At 17, he decided to take a gap year (which became a gap of 4 years) to enter the workforce. At 21, he found himself yearning to be a part of …
Your Teachers Are Bullshitting You,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Your Teachers Are Bullshitting You, Kylie Medeiros
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Kylie is a biology major from Fairhaven, MA. Because she was specifically told for this assignment that students “couldn’t bullshit this essay,” she was reminded of all the times throughout her academic career when other teachers said things of a similar nature. “Being short on time, and desperately in need of a research topic,” she found that it would be “incredibly ironic to bullshit my paper in the form of a research on the topic of BS itself.” While writing her essay Kylie found it interesting how much creative freedom she was given to research and write about something she …
Moral Punishment,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Moral Punishment, Anna Krasnoslobodtseva
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Anna is a biochemistry major from Milton, MA. She decided to write about the prison system and punishment because of conversations about morality during her Composition II class, and because she believes “the prison system in the United States is often discriminatory and does not work toward the rehabilitation of people like it should.” She felt that writing this was “more free than a traditional structured high school essay” and that it “involved a lot of learning, by means of stepping outside of what I am comfortable with writing and exploring new research methods, going to the library, and taking …
What’S In A Name?: A Discussion Of The Nature Of Bilingual Education In The United States,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
What’S In A Name?: A Discussion Of The Nature Of Bilingual Education In The United States, Emma Kennedy
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Emma is a Latin American and Iberian Studies major with a minor in Secondary Education from Ipswich, MA. She has always been intrigued by languages, language barriers, and language learning throughout her studies. She was intrigued to “read about people who have the opposite perspective, who oppose multilingual education, and want their children to focus on perfecting their English.” Emma wants to be a teacher, focusing on multilingual students. She feels that her paper’s connection to her career “made the researching and writing process feel more interesting and relevant to her real life.” Emma enjoys reading and uses it as …
Textism And The Shift In English Writing,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Textism And The Shift In English Writing, Alex Der-Kazaryan
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Alex is a management major with a concentration in accounting from Belmont, MA. While writing this essay, Alex wanted to investigate “how our writing has evolved over the last thirty years or so.” Noticing a “retraction of socialization from other people,” since we introduced ourselves to new technologies, Alex focused this essay on the common complaint that “texting has only done damage to formal writing.” Alex has also come to enjoy writing as a way of self-expression and writes that it “can now be used in a way that benefits me.” Alex is also a huge history buff and has …
Race And Rhetoric: Examining How The Audience’S Race Creates Rhetorical Constraints And Influences Rhetoric,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Race And Rhetoric: Examining How The Audience’S Race Creates Rhetorical Constraints And Influences Rhetoric, Quinn Gabrielle Cantor
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Quinn is a mathematics major living in Jamaica Plain, MA, but born in the Philippines. Quinn rhetorically analyzes Linda Villarosa’s essay from the 1619 Project by The New York Times by investigating how Villarosa’s “intended audience and purpose ultimately culminated into her published essay.” Quinn says her analysis is supported both by the rhetorical knowledge gained in her Composition I course and by a history class she took in high school that investigated race relations and discrimination. Quinn’s experiences as a student in both the Philippines and the United States has made her “deeply care about the importance of a …
2022 Editor's Introduction,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
2022 Editor's Introduction, Lauren M. Bowen
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
No abstract provided.
It's Your Voice: Why Not Use It?,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
It's Your Voice: Why Not Use It?, Tyler Tran
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Tyler is an Accounting and Finance major from Stoughton, MA. Tyler felt a personal connection to the topic of his essay as he “has always been conscious of my voice in previous writing assignments, but it wasn’t until English 101 and 102 that I purposefully used my own voice in my essays.” This made Tyler want to explore the topic of “self-censorship” of students when writing. He admits that “undergoing the writing process in a remote setting was very new, but I think it helped emphasize the importance of really writing with my own voice.” While writing this essay, Tyler …
Using A Narrative Approach To Cater To Multilingual Student Writers,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Using A Narrative Approach To Cater To Multilingual Student Writers, Hadassa Sossou
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Hadassa is a Biochemistry major from Brockton, MA. She is multilingual but does not consider herself a “multilingual student” since her primary language is English. She speaks four languages and is now learning Japanese. This semester, Hadassa met and befriended many international and ESL students at the university. She states that “after I met them, I realized that they had a lot of struggles with writing in the classroom that I never considered. So, during my research for this essay, I wanted to learn more about what could cause difficulty and how that could be resolved.” Hadassa also has learned …
Texts In Conflict,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Texts In Conflict, Adia Samba-Quee
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Adia is a Political Science Major with a Minor in Africana Studies from Springfield, MA. In writing this essay, Adia was able to “reflect on my relation with writing and how I am perceived as an individual through my writing. I consider letting go of my prideful and embarrassing ego a huge factor in my development.” Like many students, Adia felt the remote learning semesters to be “historically bad on my mental health.” Efforts and interest in school fluctuated wildly and “I didn’t think I’d made much of an impact on my professors this year.” But, Adia is “learning a …
Paradise Found? Orality In The Composition Process,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Paradise Found? Orality In The Composition Process, Alexander Quadros
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Alex is an undecided major from Chelmsford, MA, who is interested in International Relations, English, and Economics. Alex said this topic “thoroughly piqued my curiosity” and he “wondered whether my recurrent frustrations with procrastination of writing assignments was a symptom of ‘thinker’s block,’ or rather the usual culprit of ‘writer’s block.’ This distinction became important to him as he realized “utilizing orality could spur the composition process.” Alex is a very family-oriented person and is passionate about helping others. His ideal day would be hiking with friends while listening to the Rolling Stones and then playing basketball all night long. …
The Repurposing Of Biased Literature For Moral Development,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
The Repurposing Of Biased Literature For Moral Development, Hannah Ortiz
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Hannah Ortiz is an English major with a Professional & New Media Writing concentration, and is from Hartford, Connecticut. Because she is studying reading and writing, Hannah feels that the censorship of literature is an important topic. Hannah says “I love reading and I believe that people, especially children, should be able to read books that teach us about the world.” She states that we do not have to agree with every book we read, but that “literature can present different perspectives that can educate us about messages we don’t agree with.” Hannah believes that biased literature has been some …
Ethics In The Archives,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Ethics In The Archives, Sarah Islam
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Sarah is a Psychology major from Merrimack, NH. In her work with the archives, Sarah examined the work of archival storyteller Saidiya Hartman, who “points out a fundamental flaw in the development of the archive — the lack of narratives of the oppressed.” Sarah was very interested in discovering different solutions to this injustice, and “wanted to understand some of the ethical dilemmas that can arise when working with archival materials.” Though the idea of writing about such a heavy topic was daunting at first, Sarah found herself becoming increasingly passionate about the injustices in the archives and the various …
The Ignored Insights Of An International Student,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
The Ignored Insights Of An International Student, Anonymous ,
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
This anonymous student writer is a Political Science major and Philosophy and Law minor from Mumbai, India. As a freshman, her inspiration for writing this essay was her recent experience with the college application process. She says that “coming from a high school in India, multiple factors in the application process were not in my favor and would have been different if I had received my high school education from the United States.” This essay was special because she “learned how to inculcate the art of actively responding with my own voice in terms of academic writing rather than merely …
Becoming Bilingual: An Experience That Changed My Life,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
Becoming Bilingual: An Experience That Changed My Life, John Nobile Carvalho
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
John Nobile Carvalho is a Biochemistry major from Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. John’s inspiration for writing this paper was in finding the most significant and impactful moments of language learning. The reason he considers his essay important is “because during the writing process I was able to recall memories and think of the journey I’ve been on, and all the challenges I’ve faced while learning two languages.” He also credits remote learning with providing plenty of time to devote himself to his studies and this project: “I was aware that this factor could help me focus and write something interesting …
The Battle Of Science And The Public: How To Make Scientific Writing Friendly,
2026
University of Massachusetts Boston
The Battle Of Science And The Public: How To Make Scientific Writing Friendly, Maggie Buyuk
Undercurrents: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Composition
Maggie Buyuk is a Nursing major from Bolton, MA. She wanted to focus her essay on the scientific discourse community because she feels as though it is often unapproachable: “As a nursing major, I know that I want information to be easily accessible for both myself and my patients. Unfortunately, the scientific rhetoric is not publically friendly because of the jargon and format of the scientific paper standard.” Maggie believes that there is a middle ground where the scientific community and the public can meet in order to better understand each other. This essay is special to her because, as …
