Writing Sample

[muffinlit]

Ok, so as I begin to think what could possibly be my problem, besides the obvious that perhaps I'm not awesome, and the writing sample is such a major part, that I'm second guessing my choice in sample.

The past two rounds I've used a chapter from my thesis, which obviously is my best piece of writing, but I'm thinking that maybe it's disjointed or random (I'm not using the introduction, which lays out the theory, I'm just doing a lot of textual analysis). Is just a straight up 20 page paper that has an obvious beginning, middle, and end better? I'm curious what other people have chosen for writing samples and what they might think of thesis excerpts.

[EAL2010]

Ok, so as I begin to think what could possibly be my problem, besides the obvious that perhaps I'm not awesome, and the writing sample is such a major part, that I'm second guessing my choice in sample.

The past two rounds I've used a chapter from my thesis, which obviously is my best piece of writing, but I'm thinking that maybe it's disjointed or random (I'm not using the introduction, which lays out the theory, I'm just doing a lot of textual analysis). Is just a straight up 20 page paper that has an obvious beginning, middle, and end better? I'm curious what other people have chosen for writing samples and what they might think of thesis excerpts.

When I applied, I used a full (18 page) seminar paper. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with using a thesis, but my adviser (who was previously on an adcom) told me that they basically read the first few pages of your sample to see how things are set up, and then flip to the end to see if you cited the "right" people. While that was somewhat disheartening to hear, it did help me to focus my efforts.

[strokeofmidnight]

It depends. Every program will take a slightly different approach. I'm fairly sure that most programs (at least among the ones that I applied to) read the WS's of their finalists fairly carefully. I had several conversations about the details of my writing sample when I was admitted/interviewed...so clearly, they didn't just skim it. I have heard from numerous sources (most of whom had recently served on ad-com's) that they do skim during the first (or for some schools, the second) round. Your first page or two REALLY matters at that point. In short, it can keep you out, but in order to move through the last round, the entire sample needs to be compelling.

Several of my peers have applied very successfully with a thesis excerpt. As long as it can function as a stand-alone piece (rather than a "building" chapter), I think you should be fine.

My writing sample was not an thesis, but it was incredibly long (well past the limits given by every program). I ignored page limits for programs that wanted 20-25 pages and turned in the whole thing (over 30 pages), but couldn't very well turn in a sample that was more than twice as long for places that wanted 10-15 pages. For those programs, I left the conclusion and intro intact, and cut out parts of the supporting arguments in the middle. I used brackets to indicate the omissions and also to summarize the omitted arguments.

[diehtc0ke]

Did you at least provide an abstract that glossed over that introduction work? I think providing an excerpt from your master's thesis is a good idea but it should feel like a complete paper (beginning, middle end). I was just starting my year off when I began this admissions process and so had the time to construct an entirely new paper from scratch that ended up being 25 pages exactly, which was a good length for most programs.

My advisers also told me that adcoms give much weight to the first two or three pages of a writing sample so I would keep that in mind. If you think you're sample is "disjointed or random" in the slightest, you have to start making sure it feels as tight and cohesive as you can.

[wordslinger]

I puzzled over my writing sample too. In the end I used a section from my thesis, and frankly it's not a very good standalone piece. It's also a bit polarizing in terms of concept and presentation, but I figured that the schools may as well know what they are getting into with me because that's the kind of work I do. I did revamp a section from my introduction to try to contextualize the section I used.

Good luck to you. I think choosing the writing sample is the hardest part.

[PaperChaser]

Since my writing sample was probably the best part of my apps (um, unless the committees were wowed by my stunning 2.7 undergrad grades!)....I'll tell you what I thought made the difference for ME. The first time I applied (and got in nowhere), I was less than halfway through my MA, and I used a paper from an undergrad class. It was awful. When I applied for this year, I DID use parts of my thesis. Like others have said, the whole thesis is probably too long. Considering that my thesis was pretty strange (but memorable, apparently), I used the introduction (5 pages), the major theoretical section (I took out anything extraneous to make it 15 pages), and the two shortest chapters that applied the theory (about 7 pages). That was STILL too long, but I really couldn't cut much else out for it to all make sense, so........if the app didn't say "12 point font, double-spaced," then I used 11 point font and 1.5 spaced it. Bending the rules a bit, but....that got it under 25 pages

[8521679]

I just sat down and wrote a whole new paper exclusively for the application. I spent a couple months researching and a couple more writing. I found all the "right" people to cite after brushing up on the general conversation in that particular part of the field, even working certain articles written by professors at my hoped-for schools into the paper itself. And I made sure the writing sample complemented the goals I laid out in my SOP. I don't think any (really, any) of the work I did as an undergrad was anywhere close to being sufficient, even though I graduated with a 3.85 from a top-tier liberal arts school. The new paper worked. I was accepted to multiple top-20 programs.

[bookchica]

I used a chapter from my master's thesis in my apps this year to no avail. (0 for 7) This particular chapter of my thesis, touched only marginally on the work I claimed to be interested in in my SOP. I'll probably need a new sample for next year, very clearly related to my SOP interests. I too have a 2.75 undergrad GPA (in English courses even) that surely didn't impress adcomms, so I'll have to do better with my writing sample and SOP next year.

Paperchaser-- so the pieced together MA thesis WS was successful in your apps this year?

[spartaca]

When I was applying last season, I had yet to write my MA thesis, so I wasn't faced with this specific issue. I did, however, have two seminar papers that I could've potentially used & that fit with the broader field in my SoP. However, I was taking a seminar that was the best fit for my specific interests during this time and decided instead to use the paper I would be writing for that class as my application sample.

Of course, the end of the semester rolled around and the intended "polished final draft" seminar paper ended up being a not-so-polished work-in-progress that I eventually used as the basis for my thesis. But I only had a week with which to revise and edit the WIP seminar paper before I needed to send out apps. I decided to use it anyway and had a fair level of success. (Though, unlike many on this board, I didn't apply to any Ivies and only one top-20, so this could be inappropriate advice for those programs).

Ultimately, I took a huge risk submitting this paper, but it was most representative of a) my general field, the specific types of questions and issues I'm interested in, and c) the level of complexity and nuance I am capable of in my writing. Similarly, it fit almost exactly within a paragraph of research questions I posed in my SoP. So, while I took a leap of faith by submitting something a little less cohesive and polished than the original two papers I'd been considering, it paid off because it gave my application more focus and continuity as a whole.