When you’re a writer, your body of work has to speak for itself. You won’t always be there when a prospective publisher is reading your work; and the process of refining your portfolio starts when you go to graduate school. A writing portfolio provides the college admissions team with a collection of your writing, showcasing your voice and the strengths you can bring to a graduate program. It goes beyond the traditional graduate school application, by demonstrating your current writing ability and potential.
Ensuring your portfolio presents a strong body of work is essential. Explore how to build an effective, compelling portfolio, so you can have the best chance at admission to a writing program.
Understanding the Purpose of a Writing Portfolio
Your writing portfolio is like a calling card. It provides reviewers insight into your talent, range and readiness for graduate-level work. Admissions teams are looking for promise, not perfection. Your work’s originality and clarity will speak volumes about your talent and potential, so ensuring your portfolio is concise and impressive gives you the best chance at admission to your chosen program.
One of the most important things to remember as you compile your portfolio is that your authentic voice matters more than trying to “sound academic”. Overly polished pieces may come across as detached at best and as written by AI at worst. In a world overly saturated with artificial intelligence and computer-generated prose, your authentic, human writing should stand out. Work hard to ensure you find the balance between editing for strength and editing to bring out your voice; the world needs your creative vision, so let it shine through on the page.
Choosing the Right Pieces for Your Creative Writing Portfolio
The pieces you submit in your writing portfolio will likely be the first impression the admissions team has of you and your writing abilities. As such, it’s essential to ensure you’re presenting your best self. Here are some tips to keep in mind:
Revise Ruthlessly
Editing is what separates good writers from great ones. Focus on strong openings so you hook your readers from the first sentence, stanza or stage direction. Keeping clarity throughout your narrative or poetic arc helps the reader know where they should follow you through the winding road of prose. Consistency in voice allows your reader to become familiar with you and your style, helping them stay immersed in the world and mood you craft, rather than being jarred out of their suspension of disbelief when you say something out of place.
As a baseline, grammar, punctuation and formatting need to be consistent and correct; otherwise, you risk your readers dropping your work out of frustration.
It’s helpful to receive feedback from mentors, peers or writing groups as you progress through the editing process. They can hold your hand as you “kill your darlings” (as hard as it is to let go of lines you love) and help you assemble your portfolio.
Format Like a Professional
In the publishing world, formatting is king. Follow any stated formatting guidelines laid out by the program you submit to (Ex: MLA, APA, etc.) and keep these general formatting best practices in mind:
- Use double-spacing for prose pieces
- Use a legible font for your work (Times New Roman or similar, 12pt)
- Include page numbers
- Clearly label your genres and titles
When you craft your cover sheet, keep this template in mind:
- Your name
- The title(s) of work in the portfolio
- Genre(s) the work falls under
- Word count or page count
- Optional: a 1-2 sentence content or intent (if portfolio guidelines allow)
Tailoring Your Writing Portfolio for MSMU’s MFA Application
At Mount Saint Mary’s University, we have specific writing sample guidelines for our MFA program. Unlike some programs that require a comprehensive writing portfolio, our MFA in Creative Writing only requests a focused writing sample. Students in the program don’t need to worry about assembling a range of works across genres. What matters most to us is the strength of your writing — your voice, your storytelling and your command of the craft.
With that, here are some general things to keep in mind to give your submission the best shot.
Accepted Genres and Length Guidelines
Students may submit work in one or more of the following genres, with the submission not to exceed a total of 20 pages:
- Screenwriting/Playwriting: 10–20 pages
- Poetry: 6–10 poems
- Fiction: 2–3 short stories or a portion of a novel, double-spaced (10–20 pages)
- Literary Non-fiction: 2–3 essays or a chapter from a memoir or book, double-spaced (10–20 pages)
Additional Notes and Requirements
- Submit only electronically
- Total page count for all genres combined must not exceed 20 pages
- Coversheets are required for each genre section
- MSMU does not admit by genre. Select work that best represents your ability, regardless of category
Tip: Choose work that exemplifies your voice and skill rather than trying to tailor it to a specific form you think MSMU prefers.
Earn Your MFA in Creative Writing at The Mount
The Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Mount Saint Mary’s University is an artist-training program for graduate students who wish to write professionally in diverse genres, including novels, short stories, playwriting, poetry, screenplays and nonfiction. In addition to helping writers hone their craft, the MFA in Creative Writing Program offers the following benefits:
- A flexible format, with online and weekend courses
- Located in LA, putting students at the center of creative action
- Expert faculty with a variety of worldviews and cultural perspectives
- Graduate certificate options
You can learn more about obtaining an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mount in a meeting with one of our admissions counselors. They’d also be happy to walk you through the application process and how to best compile your portfolio.
You can also review our admission requirements and start your application!