writing sample question

<p>about the writing sample, what do adcoms look for?
art history, btw.</p>

<p>for me, i'm submitting a paper i wrote in an undergrad seminar class. it was an "A" paper and presented as a thesis and all, but most of what i wrote was a presentation of a variety of scholarly material. not to say it wasn't original, but at that point in my academic "career", i was hardly in a position to write a highly-innovative and ground-breaking piece. </p>

<p>the reason im so worried is that my mother, a journalist, read it over for me and told me she could tell that i just referenced (or stitched together) other people's work. but to me, the innovative aspect of it was what i argued. also, i feel it demonstrated my ability to resource and pool material into a coherent paper. </p>

<p>is this enough reason to consider re-working the entire paper in such a short period of time (earliest due date is 11/30)? what level of writing/innovation do they expect when it comes to writing samples? do they care more about the content or just if you can put together a half-way intellegent paper?</p>

<p>thank you so much.</p>

<p>Can you post the sample?</p>

<p>the sample is over 13 pages...are you sure about that?</p>

<p>I don't think that the importance lies in your ability to be innovative. I think it's just required to see whether or not you can write clearly using standard English. The writing sample is just that, a sample of how you write. If you have doubts about whether they want something original or just a regular paper, then I woudl advise you to contact the department you're applying to and get clarification. If they are not helpful (I asked a department once for clarification regarding the essay question and was told that none would be given) then ask a professor at your school what would be in your best interests.</p>