Interview Writing Samples

[SpeechLaedy]

Hey all. So for those of you who have had interviews that included writing samples, how long did you have to write them? 10 minutes?...5 minutes?!  ? Was there any word-count or character limit/minimum? Any subject matter you might suggest to review? I know it may sound like a lot but honestly, ANY tips would be helpful. 

 

I am terrified about the writing sample especially after knowing now that it is unavoidable so I'm trying to prepare as much as I can. I already planned on setting a timer and writing about certain things about myself or SLP in that time to get ready for it, but it would really ease my anxiety if I had a better idea of the amount of time I'd be working with or any helpful info. 

Edited February 18, 2017 by SpeechLaedy

[Tulip55]

Hi there! I had a writing sample as part of my interview at a school, and had 45 minutes to complete it. There were two scenarios I had to choose from to write about. It wasn't bad at all!!

[imunster]

2 hours ago, Tulip55 said:

Hi there! I had a writing sample as part of my interview at a school, and had 45 minutes to complete it. There were two scenarios I had to choose from to write about. It wasn't bad at all!!

Were the prompts related to SLP at all?

[speechie575]

I had one today at the end of my interview. No time limit/character count. It took me about 15 min though. It was actually a prompt related to a grad school clinical scenario! It wasnt bad at all. Don't stress yourself out too much 

[SpeechLaedy]

8 hours ago, Murr57 said:

I had one today at the end of my interview. No time limit/character count. It took me about 15 min though. It was actually a prompt related to a grad school clinical scenario! It wasnt bad at all. Don't stress yourself out too much 

You said it took you 15 min. How long did they give you to write it though (max time)? 

And thanks. The only way I won't stress too much about it is preparing lol I get really nervous with writing while timed. My brain freezes up if I don't practice a little. 

[speechie575]

2 hours ago, SpeechLaedy said:

You said it took you 15 min. How long did they give you to write it though (max time)? 

And thanks. The only way I won't stress too much about it is preparing lol I get really nervous with writing while timed. My brain freezes up if I don't practice a little. 

She didn't give me a time limit! The girl that went before me finished and gave it to the Professor in the middle of my interview. But the girl who went after me seemed to have a quicker interview and came in and started while I was still working on mine. But I don't see how it could have taken anyone more than 30 minutes... there wasn't that much you could have written about. I think they were just looking for you to include key terms like evidence based practice.

[speechie575]

Also... I have another one today thats proctored online (just writing, no interview) and they're giving us an hour. No indication as to what the prompt will be about though 

[StPaulCCC]

16 minutes ago, Murr57 said:

Also... I have another one today thats proctored online (just writing, no interview) and they're giving us an hour. No indication as to what the prompt will be about though 

Wow, that's really different.. Sometimes I wish there was a uniform process for schools (interview/ no interview/ just writing prompt). I suppose every school has a different focus, but it certainly makes the applicants feel like a piece of taffy.

[speechie575]

12 minutes ago, StPaulCCC said:

Wow, that's really different.. Sometimes I wish there was a uniform process for schools (interview/ no interview/ just writing prompt). I suppose every school has a different focus, but it certainly makes the applicants feel like a piece of taffy.

Ugh I know. For this school they request a writing sample first, then the interview. 

[SpeechLaedy]

3 hours ago, Murr57 said:

She didn't give me a time limit! The girl that went before me finished and gave it to the Professor in the middle of my interview. But the girl who went after me seemed to have a quicker interview and came in and started while I was still working on mine. But I don't see how it could have taken anyone more than 30 minutes... there wasn't that much you could have written about. I think they were just looking for you to include key terms like evidence based practice.

Oh wow! No time limit?! That's very very interesting. I didn't know there were schools that had no time limit on the writing ?  For the writing you did, I assume you had to have the intro-body-conclusion type of setup.. or was it more of a free-format? 

[speechie575]

1 hour ago, SpeechLaedy said:

Oh wow! No time limit?! That's very very interesting. I didn't know there were schools that had no time limit on the writing ?  For the writing you did, I assume you had to have the intro-body-conclusion type of setup.. or was it more of a free-format? 

This one was more of a free-format. When she gave it to me she said you have to write an short essay, and then said, "actually its just more of a sample." And judging by how quick the girl before me finished, I figured it didn't matter how I formatted it because there were no specific directions. 

I just did the other online one and took 58 minutes out of hour provided, and wrote 495 words out of the 500 word limit. For this one I did an intro-body-conclusion setup.

[SpeechLaedy]

28 minutes ago, Murr57 said:

This one was more of a free-format. When she gave it to me she said you have to write an short essay, and then said, "actually its just more of a sample." And judging by how quick the girl before me finished, I figured it didn't matter how I formatted it because there were no specific directions. 

I just did the other online one and took 58 minutes out of hour provided, and wrote 495 words out of the 500 word limit. For this one I did an intro-body-conclusion setup.

Oh okay. Wow. Every school is so different. Thank you so much for your input! 

[awm_23]

5 hours ago, Murr57 said:

This one was more of a free-format. When she gave it to me she said you have to write an short essay, and then said, "actually its just more of a sample." And judging by how quick the girl before me finished, I figured it didn't matter how I formatted it because there were no specific directions. 

I just did the other online one and took 58 minutes out of hour provided, and wrote 495 words out of the 500 word limit. For this one I did an intro-body-conclusion setup.

I'm interviewing at Mercy and I heard they have a writing sample too! Were the samples that you did more to test your knowledge or just to see your writing skills? I'm not a strong writer so I'm a little nervous lol

[speechie575]

13 hours ago, awm_23 said:

I'm interviewing at Mercy and I heard they have a writing sample too! Were the samples that you did more to test your knowledge or just to see your writing skills? I'm not a strong writer so I'm a little nervous lol

I would say both! One of them made sure to emphasize to answer the question in a "professional manner". The first one I did was definitely easier for me than the other, but I'm happy with how I answered both of them. Both questions tested the students knowledge of previously learned CSD material.  Don't overthink it though! You'll be fine.

Edited February 19, 2017 by Murr57
Correction

[BeachySpeechy]

I hate writing under pressure! Does anyone know if CSUF and Emerson require a writing sample? I have difficulties writing with a time limit. That's why my AW score is on the lower side...I just didn't have enough time to finish writing. I can write...I just need time to sort out my thoughts and brainstorm. It's annoying that they judge your writing skills with this type of format.

[kayyyyy_]

4 minutes ago, BeachySpeechy said:

I hate writing under pressure! Does anyone know if CSUF and Emerson require a writing sample? I have difficulties writing with a time limit. That's why my AW score is on the lower side...I just didn't have enough time to finish writing. I can write...I just need time to sort out my thoughts and brainstorm. It's annoying that they judge your writing skills with this type of format.

Emerson does NOT. :]

[BeachySpeechy]

4 minutes ago, kayyyyy_ said:

Emerson does NOT. :]

What a relief!!! Now I only need to get an invitation to interview from them LOL 

[SpeechLaedy]

12 minutes ago, BeachySpeechy said:

I hate writing under pressure! Does anyone know if CSUF and Emerson require a writing sample? I have difficulties writing with a time limit. That's why my AW score is on the lower side...I just didn't have enough time to finish writing. I can write...I just need time to sort out my thoughts and brainstorm. It's annoying that they judge your writing skills with this type of format.

I am the EXACT same way lol which is why the GREs were a bit of a challenge for me even though I practiced 

[BeachySpeechy]

11 minutes ago, SpeechLaedy said:

I am the EXACT same way lol which is why the GREs were a bit of a challenge for me even though I practiced 

Do you have an interview with a school that requires a writing sample? I wonder if they will allow you to type up the writing sample on a computer. I can write a lot faster on a computer than by hand. 

[awm_23]

6 hours ago, Murr57 said:

I would say both! One of them made sure to emphasize to answer the question in a "professional manner". The first one I did was definitely easier for me than the other, but I'm happy with how I answered both of them. Both questions tested the students knowledge of previously learned CSD material.  Don't overthink it though! You'll be fine.

Thanks for the input! I just hope they don't ask me to talk about something with anatomy or something really specific that I don't know much about haha

[SpeechLaedy]

2 hours ago, BeachySpeechy said:

Do you have an interview with a school that requires a writing sample? I wonder if they will allow you to type up the writing sample on a computer. I can write a lot faster on a computer than by hand. 

Yes I do. I wish they did have the option to type because that definitely is a lot easier than writing. I actually never realized that I wouldn't be typing the writing sample until you just said that ? I'll try to ask the folks who have done interviews there about that. So thanks for bringing that up! 

42 minutes ago, awm_23 said:

Thanks for the input! I just hope they don't ask me to talk about something with anatomy or something really specific that I don't know much about haha

Have you never taken an anatomy course in the CSD major? If it's part of your coursework it may be asked about. I've seen posts on here mentioning you may have to brush up on the basics about it 

Edited February 20, 2017 by SpeechLaedy

[BeachySpeechy]

7 minutes ago, SpeechLaedy said:

Yes I do. I wish they did have the option to type because that definitely is a lot easier than writing. I actually never realized that I wouldn't be typing the writing sample until you just said that ? I'll try to ask the folks who have done interviews there about that. So thanks for bringing that up! 

I saw another post where someone had to handwrite their essay (I think it was over Skype). This makes me cringe because I would need extra time if I had to write it out by hand. Maybe it's their way of checking for spelling errors lol. 

[kayyyyy_]

5 hours ago, BeachySpeechy said:

I saw another post where someone had to handwrite their essay (I think it was over Skype). This makes me cringe because I would need extra time if I had to write it out by hand. Maybe it's their way of checking for spelling errors lol. 

That's mine.. i have to do that for one of my interviews.. :[

[BeachySpeechy]

1 hour ago, kayyyyy_ said:

That's mine.. i have to do that for one of my interviews.. :[

That's awful 

[Elska]

9 hours ago, BeachySpeechy said:

I hate writing under pressure! Does anyone know if CSUF and Emerson require a writing sample? I have difficulties writing with a time limit. That's why my AW score is on the lower side...I just didn't have enough time to finish writing. I can write...I just need time to sort out my thoughts and brainstorm. It's annoying that they judge your writing skills with this type of format.

Negative for CSUF as well