What to Consider in a Strong Writing Sample

Elinor Bate, MTS ’27

When preparing a writing sample for application to HDS, think of it not just as a technical requirement, but as a small testament to the tradition of humane letters. The humanities (religion, philosophy, history, literature) are grounded in close reading, careful interpretation, and a willingness to critically analyze. Your writing sample is your chance to show that you belong in that conversation.

In religious studies, especially, writing is more than a means of communication; it is a mode of thoughtful academic inquiry. Many of the questions you will grapple with at HDS when studying religion require nuanced, attentive, and careful writing. A strong writing sample demonstrates to the admissions team that you can not only analyze sources, but also think widely and critically about them.

What should you submit? Pick a piece that highlights your ability to form an argument, write rhetorically, and structure a formal piece of analysis. You might draw from an academic paper in any humanities or social-science field, adapt a piece of professional writing, or craft something new on a topic you hope to pursue at HDS. Reusing previous work is perfectly acceptable, but make sure to select an excerpt rather than the full piece so you stay within the word limit (footnotes and bibliographies don’t count). Editing an existing paper can actually be an opportunity: it forces you to clarify your argument, highlight your strongest analysis, and remove redundancies.

Ultimately, your goal is to present writing that is thoughtful, well-structured, and clear. Good writing is part of the workmanship of the discipline of religion, so do not rush this! 

Lexi Kallaher, MTS ’26

In my experience, selecting a writing sample is either the easiest task in the application process or the most troubling. For applicants who are close to the end of their undergraduate time, problems arise if they did not have a religious studies background. At HDS, we have students with degrees in math, biology, social sciences, psychology, history, and many other fields! So what should you submit as your writing sample? In general, the sample should have a liberal-arts orientation (i.e., not a biology lab report) and, most importantly, should demonstrate your ability to conduct graduate-level research and analysis. The topic is not at all as important as the demonstration of your ability to construct an argument! 

For applicants who have been away from school for a couple of years, problems arise as to whether one even has a writing sample to use. First, remember, you can always write something new to submit! Second, depending on your job, you may be able to use something (i.e., think tank analysis piece, legal analysis, long-form investigative journalism piece, etc). Again, what matters most, is the demonstration of constructing a complex argument with evidence and analysis. We have had applicants revisit old writings from their undergrad and expand, write new pieces, or submit professional writing. The choice is yours!

To answer some frequently asked questions: 

Do citations count against the word count? No. Can I go slightly over the word limit? Admissions officers would prefer and strongly encourage that you do not. It is okay to submit an excerpt of a longer paper! How will the reader understand my piece if it is not in the full form? It is acceptable to add one to three sentences of context at the top of your writing sample, explaining what it is and even flagging that you took some things out. For mine, I wrote two contextual sentences explaining what the paper was and what I took out.