WRITING SAMPLES

Graduate Schools may ask you to submit a recent writing sample. Some students make the mistake of sending an "A paper" from an introductory course taken in their first or second year. It is far better to send an A- or even B+ paper written as a mature student for an advanced upper division course or seminar in your junior or senior year. The writing sample should probably be a research paper that demonstrates that you are able to deal with current work in the field. Ask your faculty referees or mentors which writing sample to send. (It's O.K. to send a photocopy of an actual class paper with the teacher's comments on it -- but you don't need to leave the grade with the comments if you don't want to.)

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