School doesn't specify how long writing sample should be?

[grad29]

Here are my instructions:

• A Writing Sample: preferably of a psychological nature such as a summary of literature, research paper, psychological reports, etc. It must be writing using APA format and be your own work. Please include a note describing the sample (PDF).

None of the other 8 programs I'm applying to ask for a writing sample, so I don't have to meet anyone else's requirements. What would be an appropriate length for the actual paper, excluding title page, abstract, references, etc...? 5 pages? 10 pages? 15 pages? 20 pages? 

 

Also, since this is a school psychology program I'm applying to, I felt it would make sense to do something related to education. The topic I'm planning on doing it on is "what are some of the barriers students face to learning in public education?". As this is a broad topic, I may narrow it down to "what are the reasons why students drop out of school?". I feel like the former topic would include some of the later and I feel like the later topic there is plenty to write about. 

 

Thoughts? Thanks! 

[rising_star]

I would avoid writing an entirely new paper given the short amount of time left to do so. As for length, no more than 25 pages double-spaced if possible.

[grad29]

I would avoid writing an entirely new paper given the short amount of time left to do so. As for length, no more than 25 pages double-spaced if possible.

 

The deadline isn't until January 15th, so I have "plenty" of time to write a new paper. Plus, I've been out of school for 5 years and don't exactly have a 25 page paper on the hard drive ready to ship out. So I will have to write a new one. I'm already about 5 pages into it with lots of different ideas flowing, so I don't think it'll be too rough. 

[isilya]

What kind of program is this for? Seems like psych, but is this a Masters? PhD? What subfield?

[grad29]

What kind of program is this for? Seems like psych, but is this a Masters? PhD? What subfield?

 

Masters program for School Psychology.

[rising_star]

westy, it isn't that it would be tough to write a paper. It's that it will be difficult to write a good writing sample unless you still have access to academic databases (like PsycInfo) and journal articles, as well as feedback from peers and professors. Your writing sample doesn't have to be the maximum length to be good. If you're really concerned about length, take a look at the "Instructions for Authors" of journals in your field and use their article length as a guideline. In my discipline, most full-length research articles are 5000-8000 words, not including references, just to give you an example. Good luck!

[grad29]

westy, it isn't that it would be tough to write a paper. It's that it will be difficult to write a good writing sample unless you still have access to academic databases (like PsycInfo) and journal articles, as well as feedback from peers and professors. Your writing sample doesn't have to be the maximum length to be good. If you're really concerned about length, take a look at the "Instructions for Authors" of journals in your field and use their article length as a guideline. In my discipline, most full-length research articles are 5000-8000 words, not including references, just to give you an example. Good luck!

 

Yes, I agree with that, but I don't really have much of a choice. Thankfully the entry requirements of the school that's asking for one don't seem that demanding. It's definitely not a program that has 200 applicants and only 20 are accepted, or anything like that. 

 

Although PsycInfo is obviously helpful in research, you don't really need it. I can work off a lot of the more popular studies that are a google click away. Feedback is something I'll get from the members on this site and my dad - whose a high school English teacher, for whatever that's worth ha. I'm also a decent writer, scored a 5 on my AWA in the GRE (lol). 

 

I feel like I'm definitely capable of writing a research paper. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing papers. I will seriously spend an hour on one paragraph to make it perfect, but it would definitely be helpful to have feedback when it comes to a lot of little things, like how I'm supposed to cite things, how I'm supposed to insert graphs in APA, etc... I do know how to construct the title page, abstract, headings, reference pages, etc...I'm nowhere near an expert on conducting academic research. Writing an actual academic paper is an entirely different ballgame, but I feel like I can come up with something presentable. 

Edited August 7, 2015 by westy3789