I'd like to bump this topic back up, as I have a similar question. If I'm reading pinknblue's post correctly, s/he is asking about choosing a topic on which to produce a writing sample to submit with applications (not necessarily choosing a research area). I'm in much the same boat. It's been 10 years since I graduated with my MBA, and I'm about to start applying to Ph.D. programs in sociology. Due to the time lapse and the change of field, I don't have any appropriate academic writing samples to submit, so I'll be crafting a new one specifically for my apps.
Does it matter how current or "sexy" the topic is in this case? Also, does it matter if the paper is more of a literature review than original field research? It seems to me the main point of the sample is to showcase one's writing ability, but perhaps there's more to it than that.
Also--and I apologize is this is a rather silly question--when a school requests a writing sample of a specific length (like 15-20) pages, should I assume this is double-spaced?
Thanks!
