At times you will be asked to provide writing samples as part of your job or internship application.  A writing sample provides an employer with an example of how you organize and express your thoughts.  The purpose is to convince an employer that you can create the kind of written materials and handle the type of work that is expected of an employee in the position for which you are applying.  A writing sample is common for positions in media, law or research assistant roles in a variety of industries.  Below are some tips to help you decide what to submit and how to prepare writing samples:

Choose samples that demonstrate the type of writing you would do on the job.

Unless otherwise specified by the employer, and if possible, make sure that your samples match the genre of the writing that the position would involve.  For example, if you are applying for journalism positions, submit “clips”—actual articles that have been published in a campus newspaper, blog, or other publication.  For a research position, submit an in-depth analysis of an issue or a topic.  For a PR position, submit a press release that you have written from a previous internship or as the marketing chair of a campus group.  If you don’t have any, you can write a press release for an upcoming event (just make sure you specify that it has not been published).

Submit your best writing. 

If you are deciding between two papers you have written, and one is better written than the other but your weaker paper is topically more relevant, then choose the paper that is better written to submit. The other option is to rewrite the relevant paper to be stronger before you submit it. Remember, it’s your writing skills that the employer is assessing, and being topically relevant is just an added bonus.

Provide excerpts if your samples are long. 

Most employers will specify how many pages or how many clips they want. If they don’t, then submit 2-5 pages of writing, usually double-spaced (unless it is a clip).  This can be a combination of 1 or more writing samples.  If you want to use a paper that is longer than 5 pages, provide an excerpt with a notation at the top that tells the employer that it is an excerpt from a _(number)_-page paper on ___(topic)___ and where in the paper this excerpt is from. You might share the introduction, sections of the body, and your conclusion, so the reader is still able to follow your thought process.

Polish your writing samples. 

Make sure that you send in papers that do not have your professor’s comments. Provide clean copies of your writing and revise them as necessary. Proofread your document to avoid errors or typos.