Source for strong writing sample examples?

[blackstrap]

I'm so sorry if this has been covered to death, but my searching here and on the web has yet to generate a single example of a great critical wiring sample for Ph.D. applications. Examples of the SoP abound, strangely . . .

I'm a few pages into mine, and am struggling some with tone, formatting, and organization. I've been out of academia for some time, and could really use some exposure to jobs well done.

Thanks so much for your time. I've only just discovered this forum, but it has quickly become invaluable in navigating these difficult waters!

[WildeThing]

That's tough because writing sample are very long and personal in that they are meant to reflect your abilities as a scholar and the type of research you do. Your sample should really look like an article or long-ish seminar paper (I guess something creative might work, too, but that's definitely a bigger risk). The best thing to do is select your best paper and ask the professor of that class for notes on improving it to be a WS, or asking a mentor. Writing a new paper from scratch is more laborious and risky because you really want that feedback to make it the best that it can be.

[blackstrap]

5 minutes ago, WildeThing said:

That's tough because writing sample are very long and personal in that they are meant to reflect your abilities as a scholar and the type of research you do. Your sample should really look like an article or long-ish seminar paper (I guess something creative might work, too, but that's definitely a bigger risk). The best thing to do is select your best paper and ask the professor of that class for notes on improving it to be a WS, or asking a mentor. Writing a new paper from scratch is more laborious and risky because you really want that feedback to make it the best that it can be.

Thanks so much for the response. Your advice is definitely sound, but I think my unique situation may warrant a different approach. After an MFA at the University of Utah, I immediately began teaching secondary, as more school was just not an option at that point. I taught AP Lang and Lit for a decade, and learned a lot. Because it's been so long since my MFA, and because I am a completely different person after that decade, I feel a fresh writing sample may be best.

I hope to peruse a few successful samples so that I can generally get my bearings, as it were, and acclimate myself with the parameters of the task.

[Glasperlenspieler]

A writing sample is (at least in part) meant to gauge a person's ability to produce high quality seminar papers once admitted to the program. Seminar papers, in turn, are designed to prepare students to write articles that could be potentially published in a high quality academic journal (of course most seminar papers don't attain that standard, which is perfectly normal). So, your best bet is to pick up a couple recent issues of major academic journals in your field. The closer your writing sample can come to approximating that, the more likely you are to be successful. Again, most writing sample won't be publishable, but if you can demonstrate a familiarity with the rhetorical, argumentative, and stylistic features of your field, it will put you in a good position. (NB: all the mimicry of professional standards in the world won't make up for the lack of a compelling, interesting, plausible, and well-argued for idea.)

[indoorfireworks]

Here's one full example and a guide for selecting/writing one. I remember coming across another example, but can't find it now. Will PM you if I find it.