Writing Sample Guidelines
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Adapted from Lily Garcia's twice-monthly online discussion from The Washington Post
Baltimore: Many of the job openings I'm interested in are asking for a writing sample. Can you
give me a few standard guidelines, such as how long writing samples should be and what most
employers are looking for?
First ask the employer to provide you with guidelines. If they don't, follow these:

Aim for approx. 500 words (i.e. two-three pages double spaced);

Do not violate confidentiality (i.e. make client names anonymous);

Make it relevant to the job (i.e. if you are applying for a legal job, submit a legal writing
sample);

Ensure that your work is typo-free;

Try to pick a sample that demonstrates intelligence, personality and strong analytical
skills;

Keep in mind that most employers requesting a writing sample do so to assess your
writing (and sometimes research) abilities, as well as your skills in the effective
presentation of ideas in a professional context.
Re: Writing samples: Can you spruce up your sample to better reflect your skills? If the sample
is a published clip, can you edit it ?

Once something has been published, you cannot edit it for use as a writing sample.
Adapted from Lily Garcia’s twice-monthly online discussion. The original article can be found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/10/18/AR2008101800711_pf.html