The works below were written by first-year students in the Composition Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, selected for publication by Composition Program faculty serving on the Undercurrents editorial board. Please see our Editor’s Introduction to learn more about our 2018 issue, click About the Journal to learn more about Undercurrents, or click the links below to enjoy our 2018 selections.
Yasmim Alves da Silva’s The Insights of Literacy
“Since my mother was the closest person related to me that was literate, her continuous absence would contribute to the way I saw literacy, as something mysterious and hard to reach out to.”
Mark Ballou’s There And Back Again: A Writer’s Tale, by a Repeat Student
“Up until this point, I had only written the way I liked to write, and it had never failed me before. Now, I had to completely adjust my writing style based on the information given to me, and who I was submitting my paper to.”
Kamla Javier’s The Good Samaritan: The Role of Religion in One’s Morality
“However, if one does not associate himself with any religion –such as atheists, agnostics and those who are simply unaffiliated – does he then possess less morality than a theist?”
Elizabeth Lefrancois’ Profanity and Perceptions
“Although I do not swear, I find it fascinating that there are so many unseen (or maybe more accurately described as overlooked), benefits to using profane language.”
Ana Radonjic Sabbagh’s A Close Look at the Function of Slang
“I see no reason to believe that slang use entails laziness, stupidity, or for lack of a better term, uneducated. In fact, I believe individuals should be impressed with what slang can achieve.”
Eileen M. Riley’s It All Begins With a Dream
“While these ads fed women’s desires for the gender norm dictates of that post-war time in America: love, romance, fashion, and beauty, they went beyond these norms by depicting aspirational scenarios. “