Explaining away bad LRW Forum

[Anonymous User]

So, I have two interviews this week with government agencies. I go to a top 20 school FWIW.

I have 4 out of 5 grades in. I have 3 A's and a B in my writing class. I'm afraid they are going to ask about the B in my writing class. Any suggestions on how to get out of this one?

[Aqualibrium]

So, I have two interviews this week with government agencies. I go to a top 20 school FWIW.

I have 4 out of 5 grades in. I have 3 A's and a B in my writing class. I'm afraid they are going to ask about the B in my writing class. Any suggestions on how to get out of this one?

"That's something I've scheduled a sit down with my LRW professor to discuss as soon as he gets the time. I know I worked very hard in that course; my professor acknowledged this, and reasoned that the tighter curve in LRW classes made the course very difficult to grade. Still I want to get to the bottom of this because I don't think that grade is a good indicator of my ability. I can obviously write well, I think my performance in substantive courses proves that. I'm just anxious to fix the mistakes I made in that course and get it in line with the high level of performance I've displayed in my substantive courses."

[Kohinoor]

"LRW is a boring timesuck. You know this in your heart to be true."

[Cupidity]

a solid writing sample can help

[Anonymous User]

a solid writing sample can help

OP here: I agree, but I'm gonna have to turn in the writing sample at the interview.

[Anonymous User]

I was faced with a similar situation this summer throughout OCI. I had all A's with a B in LRW. I was directly asked about this grade on two separate call-back interviews. My answer was similar to the one made above. I was also fortunate to have made law review (also had my piece selected immediately for publication) so i was able to use that as an indicator of my writing ability. Additionally, I touched on the small size of the class, a number of strong students, etc (i would briefly mention this and move on), but in the end I clearly stated that I didnt believe the grade was an accurate representation of my abilities, that my accolades only support this point, and that my writing samples (I brought two separate samples for this reason) would demonstrate my abilities. Be confident, and try to avoid the "I got screwed" speech.

[Judge Philip Banks]

"LRW is a boring timesuck. You know this in your heart to be true."

I like.

[helloperson]

So, I have two interviews this week with government agencies. I go to a top 20 school FWIW.

I have 4 out of 5 grades in. I have 3 A's and a B in my writing class. I'm afraid they are going to ask about the B in my writing class. Any suggestions on how to get out of this one?

"That's something I've scheduled a sit down with my LRW professor to discuss as soon as he gets the time. I know I worked very hard in that course; my professor acknowledged this, and reasoned that the tighter curve in LRW classes made the course very difficult to grade. Still I want to get to the bottom of this because I don't think that grade is a good indicator of my ability. I can obviously write well, I think my performance in substantive courses proves that. I'm just anxious to fix the mistakes I made in that course and get it in line with the high level of performance I've displayed in my substantive courses."

Maybe don't write "I can obviously write well" followed immediately by a comma splice, though. Aren't poor grades in LRW understood to be par for the course, though?

[Aqualibrium]

So, I have two interviews this week with government agencies. I go to a top 20 school FWIW.

I have 4 out of 5 grades in. I have 3 A's and a B in my writing class. I'm afraid they are going to ask about the B in my writing class. Any suggestions on how to get out of this one?

"That's something I've scheduled a sit down with my LRW professor to discuss as soon as he gets the time. I know I worked very hard in that course; my professor acknowledged this, and reasoned that the tighter curve in LRW classes made the course very difficult to grade. Still I want to get to the bottom of this because I don't think that grade is a good indicator of my ability. I can obviously write well, I think my performance in substantive courses proves that. I'm just anxious to fix the mistakes I made in that course and get it in line with the high level of performance I've displayed in my substantive courses."

Maybe don't write "I can obviously write well" followed immediately by a comma splice, though. Aren't poor grades in LRW understood to be par for the course, though?

Shrug

[JOThompson]

So, I have two interviews this week with government agencies. I go to a top 20 school FWIW.

I have 4 out of 5 grades in. I have 3 A's and a B in my writing class. I'm afraid they are going to ask about the B in my writing class. Any suggestions on how to get out of this one?

I feel your pain on this one. My grades in substantive classes are solid, but I have a freaking C+ in legal writing. I drove four hours to an interview and was no-offered on the basis of my low legal writing grade. Luckily, I have employment now, but it was a challenge to overcome the stigma of having a low grade in the only practical class I took all year.