Writing Sample Comparative Politics

[Tirapol2526]

Hi all,

I am working like most of you on my application for PolSci grad school and preparing my writing sample right now. Since I intend to apply for comparative politics, I would like to ask you what you think would be the better approach:

At the moment, I want to construct the paper that after the introduction I present a concise survey of the specific literature, then how it relates to a country, present country specific hypotheses and then test it with empirical data and write an analysis/conclusion in which I want to draw a short analogy to other countries. Then in my SoP, I will say that I want to do a similar research later in grad school for other countries as well.

Or do you think, it would be better to write a paper in which I compare 2 countries - after I have introduced the problem - according to the comparative method?

I am asking because my paper outline would look like the first one but I could connect it to my intended research in my SoP, so do you think it actually matters a lot that I will not use the comparative method with at least 2 countries?

Thank you very much for your thoughts and good luck for your applications! Best wishes from Thailand!

[Penelope Higgins]

Either approach is fine. Ideally you would just use a paper that you already have written. But if you are writing a new paper, either a single case study (so long as it addresses questions of interest to political science) or a comparative study would be fine.

Hi all,

I am working like most of you on my application for PolSci grad school and preparing my writing sample right now. Since I intend to apply for comparative politics, I would like to ask you what you think would be the better approach:

At the moment, I want to construct the paper that after the introduction I present a concise survey of the specific literature, then how it relates to a country, present country specific hypotheses and then test it with empirical data and write an analysis/conclusion in which I want to draw a short analogy to other countries. Then in my SoP, I will say that I want to do a similar research later in grad school for other countries as well.

Or do you think, it would be better to write a paper in which I compare 2 countries - after I have introduced the problem - according to the comparative method?

I am asking because my paper outline would look like the first one but I could connect it to my intended research in my SoP, so do you think it actually matters a lot that I will not use the comparative method with at least 2 countries?

Thank you very much for your thoughts and good luck for your applications! Best wishes from Thailand!

[ridgey]

Do you have an appropriate paper that you've already written? If not, you might want to think about whether you have enough experience in comparative politics to be a strong candidate. To be competitive, you'll need to have taken courses relevant to the field. If you can't think of an appropriate paper, try looking at your transcript and thinking about whether another subfield might dovetail better with the coursework and research you already have under your belt.

This is probably an important consideration at the very top places, but I think in general politics programmes don't assume or require too much background, compared to, I dunno, physics. You'll be able to do the coursework even without a background in the area.

As to your question, I would be inclined to use a good piece of writing I already had, even if it's in a different subject area. (In fact, that's what I did). To me, it seems pretty ambitious to create a piece of writing in the midst of application season.

That said, I think either of your potential topics would be suitable. The deciding factor should be which will show your writing talents better.

[ladedodaday]

This might seem like a little bit of a no-brainer, but comparative politics does not really mean that you are comparing different countries. In many cases it does, but there has also been lots of groundbreaking work that focuses solely on one country (like Putnam's work on social capital in Italy). You should just use whatever you feel is your best work, not whichever one you think is more "comparative." Also, the writing sample is a very minor part of your application; admissions committee members usually just skim it!

[ladedodaday]

re the weight that admissions committees place on the writing sample: you should NOT assume that this is always the case! at UVA (not a top tier school - #33, according to US news) explicitly states that the writing sample is the most important part of the application. if a school requires a writing sample, it means that it will be a factor in their decision; otherwise, they wouldn't request it (as a case in point, Harvard explicitly asks applicants to not submit one).

i agree that your background in comparative politics might not be as important at places outside of the top tier, but it is absolutely important if you want to get into a top program (top 30 or so).

Ah, I think you might have misunderstood me a little bit. The background in comparative politics is certainly important, but comparative politics does not always mean comparing different countries. So for the OP, either writing sample would work.