Blog — graduate student application

TL;DR

A strong research paper can give a professor something much more useful than a good grade to talk about in a graduate school recommendation letter. It can give them evidence.

When a professor has seen how you choose a research question, find and evaluate sources, deal with conflicting information, build an argument, respond to criticism, revise your work, and explain a complicated idea, they have material they can use in a recommendation letter. Instead of writing, “John is a hard-working student,” the professor can explain why John stood out.

That distinction matters.

Graduate admissions committees are not only interested...