Julian Said:

When applying for a job that wants a sample of my writing, what kind of topic should I write for the sample?

We Answered:

Send something politically correct, business-related, and technical. Avoid sending anything that has errors in it as this will take you out of the running. If you ahve anything published, that's always a good choice. And really, if you're not sure about it, get a professional to look over it. I use www.wordtechs.com.

Good luck snagging this new challenge!
~Tia~

Melinda Said:

Applying for a law clerk position. They are asking for a sample writing. What are they referring too?

We Answered:

Did you take any kind of legal research classes? I am going to be honest and say you are probably in over your head if you do not know what they meant by a writing sample. Do you know what a law clerk does? You will be competing against first and second year law students. A law clerk is a very sought after position. I don't mean to be discouraging, but if you don't know...you are under qualified.

The type of writing sample they are looking for is called a legal brief. I write these often and I can tell you that if you are not familiar with legal research, Westlaw, LexisNexis or even a law library, you have no hope of landing this job. Do you know the parts of a legal brief? The format? This is often what they want. Law clerks often help judges with legal research and the writing of opinions.

I am a paralegal and took many classes in legal research and writing. There is a specific way things need to be cited and it takes practice to find the legal issues. This is what they are looking for in writing samples. Are you capable of finding cases "on-point" with the legal issue.