sending an incomplete paper + Abstract

[0000000000AAA]

Is anyone planning to do this for NYU? I have a conference style paper that I could send, but I'm tempted to send the first 12 pages of my (20 page) writing sample and then an abstract saying, "I go one to do this, that, and the other."

Crazy?

Edited November 30, 2011 by WellSpring

[TripWillis]

Yeah, I would not do that. Common wisdom (?) says to send complete works always.

[yank in the M20]

Could you perhaps take a strand out of your argument and thereby condense the 20 page paper to 12? It'll be painful, but might be the better piece. Depends on how integrated the various strands are, I guess.

[0000000000AAA]

Yes-- I can, and that's likely what I'll end up doing. It just feels so silly and arbitrary. Most of the 15 programs I'm applying to say something like 15-25 pages--basically do what you think best showcases your work. NYU, on the other hand....

[Grunty DaGnome]

Oh, NYU.....*sigh*

[Timshel]

I have some schools that have a 15 page max and then other schools who have a 20 page minimum. Awesome.

[yank in the M20]

I feel for you guys. I was lucky in that five of my schools had a pretty standard length of either 15-20 or 20-25 so I did a full 20. Then one asked for 5000 words so I had to lose about two pages which I could do by getting rid of some of the quotes from the text, little bits of close reading that were good but not essential because I had others similar enough, etc. The last asked for two pieces so I shaved my 20 to 19 there--easy in comparison. Keep on it, though! We're nearly there now.

[Loimographia]

Actually, I'm just going to copy/paste what my own prof e-mailed me when I asked him about cutting down my 40 pages thesis to 10 pages: "Submit one or two sections as an excerpt. You can write a brief (separate) introduction to put the sample in perspective, lead into it, but that introduction must be counted as part of the 10 pp. max. Also, the less choppy you make it, the better: i.e., try to have as much continuity in the argument that you except as possible. One long passage is better than three or four shorter excerpts. You can, however, use ellipses to weave together different sections."

He's the nitpickiest professor I've ever met, so if he says it's an OK-go situation, I trust his word. That said, I think it might be easier to simply condense a 20 page paper, since a 12 page excerpt is probably going to end at an awkward, inconclusive spot (I lucked out in that my thesis was essentially a two-pronged argument, so I could submit either and it would have a conclusion-y feel). Meanwhile, I'm going to go mope that of the six schools I'm applying to, I have 10 page, 15 page, 20 page, 25 page and 50 page limits... yay for 5 different versions of the same damn paper > !

[Sigaba]

Actually, I'm just going to copy/paste what my own prof e-mailed me when I asked him about cutting down my 40 pages thesis to 10 pages: "Submit one or two sections as an excerpt. You can write a brief (separate) introduction to put the sample in perspective, lead into it, but that introduction must be counted as part of the 10 pp. max. Also, the less choppy you make it, the better: i.e., try to have as much continuity in the argument that you except as possible. One long passage is better than three or four shorter excerpts. You can, however, use ellipses to weave together different sections."

He's the nitpickiest professor I've ever met, so if he says it's an OK-go situation, I trust his word. That said, I think it might be easier to simply condense a 20 page paper, since a 12 page excerpt is probably going to end at an awkward, inconclusive spot (I lucked out in that my thesis was essentially a two-pronged argument, so I could submit either and it would have a conclusion-y feel). Meanwhile, I'm going to go mope that of the six schools I'm applying to, I have 10 page, 15 page, 20 page, 25 page and 50 page limits... yay for 5 different versions of the same damn paper > !

A question: Does this professor work in an English department or a History department? (What may be okay in one discipline may not be in another.)

[Loimographia]

That's a fair point, he may have only been speaking for history. But, I do think that in general, if you feel that any further reductions of a paper seriously reduces its argument's integrity or clarity, then you're better off submitting an excerpt, rather than allowing the adcom to think your writing skills were weak.