urbanac Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Hi all, I majored in poli sci/english and have worked in education for about 4 years. I want to get serious about applying to grad school next year (apply next year, admit 2015). I'm most likely going to be applying to a bunch of political science MA and/or PhD programs in poli sci-specifically interested in political theory (how much of a cliche am I ?!) In my senior year of undergrad, I received a fellowship for legal theory (what I really want to study) under which I produced a thesis paper. It was a 50 page paper that essentially took the work of a legal theorist named Robert Cover and applied it to The Wire (yes, the TV show) to examine institutions of authority/power and morality. Assuming it's a well written paper (grammar, clarity of ideas), what are your thoughts around submitting this paper for top tier political science programs. My big concern is that there's a lack of quantitative analysis/ research and grad programs will think it's fluffy/not important. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tao.of.Graduate.School Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 It's difficult to know what to advise without reviewing the paper, but I would encourage you not to dismiss the paper outright. Graduate students in Political Science typically come from a number of fields, presumably because the discipline encourages outside perspectives (at least, let's hope!). In other words, I would encourage you to play up your fellowship and indicate how it and other opportunities gave you a unique perspective on the field. Quantitative analysis and research can be taught at the graduate level, so I wouldn't worry too much there. Good luck to you!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanac Posted August 28, 2013 Author Share Posted August 28, 2013 Thank you..."how it and other opportunities gave you a unique perspective"-- that helps a lot. Does anyone else have any experience with this kind of thing or are there any other materials about what's considered too fluffy for a writing sample? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rising_star Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Why would it be too fluffy? If you used legal theories in a sophisticated way, it demonstrates your critical thinking, analytical, and writing skills, all of which are things you want to showcase in a writing sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juilletmercredi Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Is there a lot of quantitative analysis in political theory anyway? You should submit a writing sample that reflects what you are going to do, and if you are going to do political theory without a lot of quant analysis then that should be fine. The real problem with it is that it will be too long. Most writing sample requests are of 10-20 pages in length. So you would have to submit a section of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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