Write the World

Global writing community: the Write the World ("wtw") global writing community reached 14,265 teenage members and 862 educators from 120 countries and all 50 us states in 2023. the top 5 countries were: us, india, australia, canada, and the united kingdom. the top 5 states were: California, Texas, new york, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Students published 8.5 million words, gave 2,262 peer reviews (a key learning tool), published 37,709 unique pieces across 35 genres, read 153,248 pieces, and published 250,274 comments. Top genres were free writing, poetry, fiction, flash fiction, and short story. the length of writing ranged from shorter pieces of a few words each, to our longest piece of 15,422 words. Students spent an estimated total of 31,783 hours engaging on wtw's website.global monthly writing competitions: writing competitions are an engaging form of "varsity academics." Students Write in a variety of genres, receive feedback, revise drafts, and are judged in 3 categories. In 2023, 3,258 students submitted 4,256 pieces for judging in 11 genre-based competitions. Top genres were poetry, flash fiction, and short story. Notable judges included: tomi adeyemi (time100, #1 new york times best-selling, award-winning novelist and screenwriter), craig santos perez (national book award-winning poet and essayist of the chamorro people), avanti nagral (indian pop singer and content creator), carolyn kuebler editor of the new england review), and malika booker (award-winning british-caribbean poet and artist). Wtw staff gave 433 expert reviews to competition entrants. 34 students received prizes in categories of winner, runner-up, and best peer review and about 100 students received honorable mentions. In 2023, seventh generation sponsored our climate awards competition.writing content moderation: wtw's trained team moderated 31,640 pieces and 2,262 peer reviews to insure the character and integrity of the site. Student writing journals: wtw published 2 online journals, named Write the World review, on the respective themes of: origins and observations. Journals featured work by 24 students from 12 countries and were digitally distributed to students, teachers, alumni, and parents worldwide.writing programs for educators: students need supportive teachers and 862 educators from 60 countries and 44 us states engaged 1,665 students in wtw's programming including: virtual classrooms, writing prompts, cross-genre competitions, peer review rubrics, lesson plans, assessment tools, and other resources. 1,729 educators subscribed to wtw's teacher-facing newsletter, which showcased additional educational resources.

Virtual summer writing workshops: in summer 2023, 104 students from 26 states and 7 countries participated in 8 weeklong (5 days/week) intensive interactive writing workshops in the genres of: intro to creative writing, poetry & spoken word, sci-fi/fantasy, writing across genres, the art of storytelling, begin your novel, and writing for publication. Workshops were conducted in small (10 - 20 students) zoom sessions moderated by trained educators/authors. Student satisfaction was high, with an average postsurvey rating of 9.25 out of 10.

College essay programs: wtw students are college aspirants. Wtw supported 130 students from 12 states and 6 countries in wtw's two part online college essay program that provided: (1) a 16 chapter asynchronous (on demand) course for writing authentic common application narratives, and (2) an expert review service giving prompt essay feedback. the program was offered directly to students and through lowell high school in Massachusetts - and especiallydesigned for students who lack access to school-based or private tutors. Each student received how-to video guides, prompts, checklists, office hours with trained staff, exemplar essays, and parent resource guides. To our knowledge, all students were accepted to at least one college, spanning over 40 different private and public colleges including: harvard, columbia, u chicago, northeastern, university of California san diego, university of Connecticut, umass amherst, dean college, and middlesex community college. Based on student survey results, the program received an average recommendation score of 9/10, indicating strong overall satisfaction. Students reported a 60% increase in confidence in their ability to Write college essays, highlighting significant improvement in this key area.

Afterschool programs: wtw created and piloted a "writing as changemaking" program to engage youth in advocating for social change through writing. the program was designed for implementation in afterschool settings. In spring 2023, 26 students in an afterschool program in greater dallas participated in a 6-week long pilot of the program. Wtw trained facilitators,provided curricula, and supported program implementation.youth leadership & community ambassador program: 13 young writers, ages 13 to 18, participated in wtw's 35 week community ambassador program. the ambassadors wrote 105 peer reviews on wtw's website, assisting other young writers in their craft. They developed writing prompts and exemplar texts for wtw's broad writing community.internship program: wtw's internship program provided 8 wtw alumni with the opportunity to gain practical experience while supporting key organizational functions. Each intern participated in two semester-long projects assisting on the following: marketing, education, technology, community ambassador program, and writing journals.alumni program: the alumni program provided 9,808 alumni with ongoing opportunities to develop their writing, and connect with peers and mentors. the program offered 6 online workshops and encouraged alumni to give back through mentorship and leadership roles.thought leadership and publications: wtw staff published the following articles on writing: brittany collins published an article with the education news outlet teachthought on ways to use writing to support grieving students; janelle milanes published a piece on edsurge on the need for more narrative writing experience in preparation for college essays; angelina nguyen published an article with parenting teens & tweens about how parents can help their teens with the college admissions essay. In addition, advisory board member billie fitzpatrick facilitated a presentation on peer review in the writing classroom at the national conference of teachers of english annual meeting.