Can I use a Lit Review as my Writing Sample in PhD Application?

[Obliviatea]

Dear all,

 

I am currently preparing for my PhD application and am wondering if it would be fit to use a literature review as my Writing Sample. I gathered that you need to choose a piece of writing which demonstrates your art historical research ability at its best. 

Should I choose a piece of writing that closely examines artworks in a variety of ways, or to use a literature review that closely examines current (past 20 years of) art historical scholarship in my particular field?

Thank you and I am willing to clarify any ambiguities if needed. Looking forward to hearing from y’all.

[Bronte1985]

A lit review will not cut it, nor will a paper that analyzes a work of art "in a variety of ways" without a coherent argument. Your writing sample needs do several things. It needs to put forward an original argument. It will also need to demonstrate that you can do visual analysis, and that you can do so in dialogue with other scholars while drawing on relevant primary sources, both textual and visual. This is the kind of work you will be expected to produce in grad school, and the admissions committee will want to make sure that you're ready to do it. More than that, they want to know that you're ready to become a professional scholar and make a contribution to your chosen field. If you have not written this kind of paper before, you may want to look into getting a masters to get more research experience. 

[Obliviatea]

On 10/20/2022 at 10:44 AM, Bronte1985 said:

A lit review will not cut it, nor will a paper that analyzes a work of art "in a variety of ways" without a coherent argument. Your writing sample needs do several things. It needs to put forward an original argument. It will also need to demonstrate that you can do visual analysis, and that you can do so in dialogue with other scholars while drawing on relevant primary sources, both textual and visual. This is the kind of work you will be expected to produce in grad school, and the admissions committee will want to make sure that you're ready to do it. More than that, they want to know that you're ready to become a professional scholar and make a contribution to your chosen field. If you have not written this kind of paper before, you may want to look into getting a masters to get more research experience. 

Thank you @Bronte1985, this is helpful information.

I am currently writing my MA thesis in contemporary Chinese art at a MA program in Art History and I now realized I was incredibly vague in this post (it is my first grad cafe post). I was motivated by fear caused by ignorance, to ask this question before I have done any research on how to do a Writing Sample. Now I have learned more about how to craft a good Writing Sample, I realized that I could mend or bend or melt my original materials (given it a term paper or a thesis chapter) into a polished sample paper with (1) a strong argument (2) suitable research framework (3) necessary reference and interpretation that benefit my argument (4) originality of scholarship.

I went to the writing center a few times and found it helpful. I am also actively finding peers and professors who would like to lend a helping hand in revising my Writing Sample. Would you say I am getting a grasp on this type of writing? Do you have any other advices?

Hope this post can help others in need.  Good luck to all!

[Bronte1985]

21 hours ago, Obliviatea said:

Thank you @Bronte1985, this is helpful information.

I am currently writing my MA thesis in contemporary Chinese art at a MA program in Art History and I now realized I was incredibly vague in this post (it is my first grad cafe post). I was motivated by fear caused by ignorance, to ask this question before I have done any research on how to do a Writing Sample. Now I have learned more about how to craft a good Writing Sample, I realized that I could mend or bend or melt my original materials (given it a term paper or a thesis chapter) into a polished sample paper with (1) a strong argument (2) suitable research framework (3) necessary reference and interpretation that benefit my argument (4) originality of scholarship.

I went to the writing center a few times and found it helpful. I am also actively finding peers and professors who would like to lend a helping hand in revising my Writing Sample. Would you say I am getting a grasp on this type of writing? Do you have any other advices?

Hope this post can help others in need.  Good luck to all!

Sounds like you're on the right track!