Talking about WS in SOP vs. WS cover sheet

[blackshirt]

Hey, all.

As I'm working on my SOPs, I'm realizing that I address my writing sample very explicitly--to the tune of an entire paragraph explaining how my writing sample evolved, how it fits in with my other work/research interests, and the ways in which it's a jumping off point for my potential graduate work.

Is this too explicit? I know that it's important to present our applications as a cohesive, focused picture of our academic selves, but I'm wondering if I need to be more coy about the WS, if I shouldn't need to talk at length about it/it should be self evident. On the one hand, I feel like it comes out pretty naturally as I'm describing my academic path or what-have-you, but on the other, I've noticed that no SOP prompt mentions it at all.

I've heard of applicants including a little paragraph-long explanation of the WS on its cover sheet--should I do that instead, and will it factor into my WS page count?

For background, my WS is an independent research paper that evolved out of a class. (I did write 2 honors theses in undergrad, but both were for interdisciplinary departments and thus a little tangential to the type of work I'm proposing to do in an art history department.) It's 24 pages including title page and works cited, although the text itself is 20 pages almost exactly. Most of my programs ask for 20 pages, so would it be pushing the envelope to include a cover sheet on top of all this? Should I break style rules and combine the cover sheet & title page? Or is it that I'm being silly and I can keep the explanation-in-SOP approach?

Thanks for your input!